Contemporary costume design is always a tricky future; we all have opinions about clothes we see regularly. But Emma Potter’s work on “Countryman” came with an even higher level of difficulty: She must recreate the look of a Texan who spends her days in the oil fields.
There’s a fine line between accuracy and caricature, but Potter’s clothes fall on the right side. Sometimes to the actors’ possible chagrin, as co-creator Taylor Sheridan was adamant that the costumes match what the men on the piece wear. Although that meant no respite from the West Texas sun.
“It was actually a talking point with Taylor that everybody needs to feel what it would feel like to be there,” Potter told IndieWire. “So we basically did what guys out in the field would do. Like they’ve got a straw hat and a thin, long-sleeved shirt, but they’re still out in the heat. They’re still wearing boots. They’re still wearing jeans. And the guys who played our roughnecks were all the same. They’re wearing sweat-wicking shirts underneath, but they’re all fireproof. They weren’t made to look like that; had all the layers of similar protection on it, and it didn’t breathe.”
However, the suits and clothing served a very specific purpose: For men who spend their working days in the unrelenting sun, protection becomes paramount. “When I started digging around, you realize they wear the pale colors because it protects them from the sun,” Potter said. “They don’t roll up their sleeves because they want their sleeves down for protection. It’s amazing to see how dressed up these people are still in this heat, but how you also need it for protection.”
And as with all subcultures, nuances must be observed. And there is nothing more telling of a man in Texas than the brand and style of jeans he wears. For Billy Bob Thornton’s Tommy, Sheridan had a directive: Levi’s 527s. “That was another thing where I was like, really?” Potter said. “And then I put them on him, and you’re like, ‘Yeah, these are perfect.’
Photo research, conversations with Sheridan, and on-the-ground observation in Fort Worth built up an image bank for Potter, but nothing could help aging denim except time. Ask any costume designer and they’ll tell you the same thing: There’s never enough time to age clothes.
“I had the biggest aging team on this show that I’ve had,” Potter said. “When we started, I said, ‘Let’s go over to West Texas. Let’s sample the soil and the materials and then start preparing.’ We worked on things as early as eight weeks from the time we started filming and did it continuously throughout the show. Just these cement mixers and machines running constantly, and people very sensitively painting all these tiny little details.”
Fortunately, Ali Larter’s Angela served as a break from the wrinkled denim — for both Potter and the audience. An alien Texan with a personality as big as an oil field, Angela is the kind of tough-talking woman Sheridan excels at creating. And dressing her was as much fun as looking at her.
Finding Angela’s appearance took longer, in part because she’s been relegated to FaceTime appearances for the first three episodes. But as she became more defined, her appearance became easier to determine.
“She became a real person,” Potter said of reading the later scripts. “And I had this moment where I was talking to (Larter) and realized, like, yeah, she’s probably very into her clothes and her fashion and loves to shop. And we started digging around for vintage designer clothes. There’s this the beautiful vintage Alaïa moto jacket that she wears with her double leopard outfit, which is one of the first outfits we put together, and it was like, this is Angela here. She’s wearing vintage Levi’s 517s and then pair it with Louboutins. I loved where she came together. She felt very unique and individual, but also very fashionable and indicative of that area.”
“LandmanSeason 1 is streaming on Paramount+.
