We do not give enough credit to the athletes who build a wrestling persona. It’s more than just putting on a voice for the mic or working on your swagger for the ring. Think about how a wrestler wants to look as they strut around before a match. Do they have a specific color they want to wear when they are wearing almost nothing as they toss, taunt, and hurl their opponents? These athletes have to tap into another aspect of themselves before the bell is rung, and Jen Starzyk reveled in the research for the real-life tragedy of Sean Durkin’s The Iron Claw.
There are a lot of sons in the Von Erich clan and they are all close in age, so it was an opportunity to use costuming to show their personalities. In his few scenes, Zac Efron’s Kevin Von Erich sports a lot of blue in and out of the ring. There is an all-American boy to his costumes that is a curious juxtaposition to his hulking frame. Holt McCallany, as patriarch Fritz, wears a lot of no-frills button-up shirts and a lot of plaid. Starzyk worked with McCallany on the gone-too-soon drama series Mindhunter, so she was thrilled for another opportunity to build a character with him. Stanley Simons’ Mike Von Erich feels like a black sheep of the family since he isn’t into the sport, so his pieces look different than those of his brothers’ with a lot of band t-shirts and more unforgiving fabrics.
Given the time period, we couldn’t ignore the bombastic fashion of the ’80s, and one of the most unsung pieces is the wedding dress worn by Lily James’ Pam. It’s gloriously puffy. On the same wavelength, Ric Flair’s loud, pink, fabulous attire was something that Starzyk was eager to put together. There is a fascinating blend of grandiosity and machismo all throughout the sport of wrestling, and Starzyk balances it beautifully while never shying away from the sparkle.
The Iron Claw is a film about legacy, family and brotherhood, and Starzyk’s designs are an important element to understanding the time period and the bond between these brothers. Whether they are conscious of it are not, wrestlers use clothing as spectacle inside the ring but their inspirations can be found outside of it.
The Iron Claw is in theaters now.
