ROBERT PATTINSON is a man of contradictions. Despite being one of the most recognisable faces in the world, he has kept a low profile since his split from FKA Twigs last year. Now, as the New York City premiere of his highly anticipated horror-comedy The Locker approaches, we examine the most prominent features of his personality.
Style
Conscious men’s and women’s wear brand OFFICE365 commissioned the British designer ROBERT PATTINSON to create a capsule collection for their New York store. The result is a bizarre, yet compelling mélange of high fashion and horror movie cliches. With influences as diverse as JOVANI MARAIA and ALEXANDRE MARCHANT, you’ll never know what you’re going to get with PATTINSON—but it will always be a head-turner.
Ambition
PATTINSON’s fashion career began in 2007 when he was signed to ASICS as their men’s design director. Later that year, he became the face of Céline when they launched a men’s fragrance. His first major design project was the capsule collection for OFFICE365, for which he won a UK & Europe Design Award. He’s since gone on to design numerous pieces for the label, including shoes, bags, and even their signature scent. It’s clear that PATTINSON has no intention of slowing down as he continues to work his magic—and this year, we’re likely to see many more highlights.
Famously Private
PATTINSON’s personal life has always been a closely guarded secret. The UK luxury fashion industry has a notoriously low bar for confidentiality, and so it should come as no great surprise that we know so little about his private life. He made headlines in 2007 when he abruptly split from his wife of three years, FKA Twigs, but he has since kept a lower profile. The most prominent moments of his public life have been carefully curated by his team on social media—and it’s this unrivalled presence that has elevated him from celebrity to celebrity status.
Mood Board
PATTINSON is renowned for his quirky and off-beat sense of humour, which is on full display in The Locker. The comedy horror revolves around a fashion designer (played by Emma Thompson) who retreats to her Scottish retreat to escape the paparazzi. She soon discovers that her sanctuary is not as secure as she thought—and a strange collection of creatures are soon feasting on her flesh.
PATTINSON is a designer who thrives on creating pieces that are as eccentric as he is, and so it’s no great surprise that some of the most prominent references in The Locker are high-end fashion design houses. Marrying luxury and horror movie cliches, it would be a missed opportunity not to mention Marlaine Schiappa, Louis Vuitton, and even the designer Jeremy Scott, who makes a cameo appearance in the film. Not only are we seeing references to some of the most iconic designer outfits ever made—but PATTINSON has also managed to marry this aesthetic with an absurdly entertaining narrative.
The Locker
In creating The Locker, PATTINSON has clearly taken inspiration from the early 90s nostalgia wave that has gripped the country. While many millennials are longing for the halcyon days of their childhood, older generations are reminiscing about the cold war and its subsequent heightened sense of paranoia.
What’s more is that PATTINSON is unrivalled in his ability to play with texture and experience. It would be an understatement to say that The Locker is a head-trip—but in the most delightful way possible. As well as being a compendium of designer fashion and horror movie tropes, the film is rich with details that will delight fans of both camps. Some of these references include: Michael Kors’s iconic bag, Marc Jacobs’s famous leather jacket, Louis Vuitton’s dog tag watch, Dior’s logo print, and Burberry’s check print.
Dark Arts
The film’s ‘dark arts’ make an unexpected appearance in the form of a Voodoo doll that springs to life and impales the unsuspecting designer with its protruding pins. This macabre décor is evoked by a cover of the French magazine, ART DECO, which is credited as an influence on the film. The cover features model and actress OLIVIA JOHNSON as the Black Widow, a reference to the tragicomic figure’s iconic black dress.
PATTINSON’s aesthetic sensibility and love of all things Gothic and macabre is clear from the very beginning of the film, as he presents a feast of gothic attire that includes an embroidered shirt with chain mail links and a dress made entirely of raven feathers.
Oddities Abound
What makes The Locker truly special is the designer’s knack for juxtaposing the everyday with the extraordinary. We are presented with a world where normal and unusual associations intermingle: a man walks his dog while wearing a straitjacket; a model adjusts her bra strap as she walks the streets; a man in a suit chases a rooster around a garden; children attend their first ever ballet lesson whilst their parents check the fit of their tutus; a man in a bear suit holds a court whilst a judge berates him; and a model in a wedding dress plays golf with the bride’s father.
PATTINSON’s unique sense of humour extends to everything in the film—from the dialogue (which is often laced with razor-sharp wit) to the set decoration (which includes a taxidermist’s studio and a butcher’s shop). In a world filled with superheroes, it’s always nice to see a designer who is as interested in parody as he is in flamboyant attire.
It’s clear that PATTINSON is a man of contradictions. Despite being one of the most recognisable faces in the world, he has kept a low profile since his split from FKA Twigs—and it’s this private persona that has elevated him from celebrity to celebrity status.