In Tony, Costume Designer Chloe Karmin Hints at What Would Become Anthony Bourdain’s Signature Style

In TONY, the A24 biopic covering chef Anthony Bourdain’s early years, costume designer Chloe Karmin took on a formidable task: Capturing the essence of the chef’s style during his most malleable years while working for a small kitchen in Provincetown. “It's funny because we just know this version of him that has so many uniforms,” says Karmin, referring to his later, star-making turn on the TV show Parts Unknown. “You know, the form of a chef and writer.”

“It's not just, ‘Oh, here's this character that you yearn for again,” she added of crafting his pre-fame look. “But how can we depict a time that none of us have seen?”

Before the henleys and desert chukka boots, Bourdain was but a chameleon. Without a TikTok algorithm to guide his looks, he leaned on the colorful group of characters who worked with him on the line to shape the way he dressed. And like any awkward teenager, his style was portrayed as a bit chaotic and confusing throughout the film—as per Karmin’s plan. “We’re at a time where an extremely recognizable character is totally unrecognizable–finding his perspective before it begins.” This especially shone through in Dominic Cessa’s characterization of Tony, as he attempts to mirror his scene partners both in persona and style.

But the Bourdain we know was not a purveyor of trends. No. He was admired for turning forgotten basics into must-have essentials. So Karmin intentionally emphasized common throughlines that felt familiar to the fans who experienced Bourdain not just through food but through fashion. A flipped lapel, an art deco-inspired Michelin man graphic tee, and most notably, the seersucker Pierre Cardin suit referenced in Kitchen Confidential. These specific stylistic references helped to ground Tony’s character in what he would ultimately become, versus cementing the story solely in what he was.

“I didn't put him in a powder blue suit, even though it's so clearly written about—it didn't have this searing sense of sticking out like it’s supposed to, and it doesn't have the foreshadowing of who he would become,” Karmin said. Instead she channeled Boudain’s future rock ‘n’ roll self, weaving in a few additions, including a “railroad denim stripe” to the suit, that ultimately felt a bit more like Bourdain with a dash of Hedi Slimane.

I was about 21 years old when I picked up my first copy of Kitchen Confidential, discovering the young Bourdain as an unrefined writer-cook, yearning to crack into the innards of the underbelly of the culinary world. It was a stark break from the man I had watched on the first season of Parts Unknown. My version of Bourdain came packaged in a linen button-up, washed-out jeans, Persols and a remarkable reverence for food. And yet, the Tony I had read about was nearly unrecognizable by comparison.

Like Bourdain, for years I had grappled with my own style. I struggled to embody some semblance of a nomadic literary-coded e-boy with a deep affinity for good cheese. But how can you possibly replicate such an indelible style? And though simple by design, I learned that the recipe for Anthony Bourdain’s signature look isn’t so easily recreated.

Evidently, style evolves, and the recipe that has cooked up Anthony Bourdain’s unmistakable aura requires the right ingredients only he could have known. Surely anyone can go out and buy boots, jeans, and a leather jacket—but do all these amount to the essence of what makes Bourdain, Bourdain? Ask the 10k+ Internet boys wearing flip-flops and chinos and get back to me. We understand Bourdain’s style is multi-layered, and the secret ingredient to his fashion isn’t found in one garment alone; it’s a mosaic of all the places he’s been, people he’s met, and food he’s eaten. So if you’re a 20-something, able-bodied individual curious about the world, get out there, travel and discover yourself in the process—Anthony would have loved that.