Fedoras on top as Cillian Murphy moves on from flat caps

Fedoras on top as Cillian Murphy moves on from flat caps

By Alifereti Sakiasi
24/07/2023
‘It was a really difficult hat to make. It needed a particular quality of fabrication and to sit a certain way’ – Ellen Mirojnick, costume designer. Photograph: Melinda Sue Gordon/AP

Cillian Murphy’s portrayal of the vicious gang boss Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders caused a rise in the popularity of old-fashioned flat caps over the past seven years.

And now the star’s new role in the biographical thriller Oppenheimer is having a similar effect on a different type of headgear.

Retailers are reporting an increase in demand for fedoras, a style similar to the hat Murphy wears in his portrayal of the “father of the atomic bomb”.

John Lewis is now selling 21% more fedoras than flat caps, while specialist hatters Herbert Johnson says it is seeing increasing demand for the style from a younger demographic.

J Robert Oppenheimer’s hat was central to his iconography. Alongside the film’s costume designer, Ellen Mirojnick, both Murphy and director Christopher Nolan were involved in the process of choosing the final hat.

“I think of Oppenheimer like a rock star,” Mirojnick said. “He was very particular about his look. It was memorable. He embodied the power of communication like no other.”

Nolan requested that Mirojnick not dress any other characters in hats, even though the film spans many decades where hats would have been the norm.

In an interview with the LA Times, Nolan said the hat was so specific “like Freddie Mercury’s teeth.”

“It’s like artfully dishevelled hair, it takes a lot of fussing, and I often fussed with the hat just before a take.”

Mirojnick was unable to track down the original hat but was given several photographs of Oppenheimer wearing it at Princeton and during his time at Los Alamos laboratory where he developed the bomb.

4425

Murphy’s Peaky Blinders character, Tommy Shelby, helped popularise old-fashioned flat caps. Photograph: Robert Viglasky/BBC/Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd.

Featuring a wide brim, Mirojnick said the hat worn by Oppenheimer in real life was not technically a fedora as it had a flat rather than pinched crown.

“It’s commonly mistaken for a porkpie hat too. Instead it’s like a cross between the two.”

Due to its unique design (Mirojnick believes Oppenheimer may have sourced it in New Mexico) she commissioned a hat maker to emulate it.

The first three makers she tasked all failed to get it right.

“It was a really difficult hat to make,” Mirojnick said. “It needed a particular quality of fabrication and to sit on Murphy’s head a certain way.”

In a final attempt, Mirojnick contacted the LA-based hatters Baron Hats, who specialise in film.

Working from reference pictures, the company’s founder, Mark Mejia, started by taking Murphy’s measurements on an antique conformateur which gives an exact impression of head size and shape. After making a specific hat block, Mejia met Mirojnick, Murphy and Nolan for a fitting.

“It was different from anything that we’ve made before.”

The biggest challenge Mejia faced was the fabrication.

Made from undyed beaver felt, Mejia says it is lighter in weight than most hats on the shelf. “It’s not a material people work with too often now so I had to order special material for the film.”

Two months later, the final hat was ready.

Mirojnick said she knew “it was perfect” when she took the hat out of the box and placed it on Murphy’s head.

“This particular hat makes such a statement.

It completes Oppenheimer’s silhouette perfectly. Even if you just saw his shadow you would know it was him.”

Source: The Guardian

FEATURE NEWS
Fiji’s inflation rate drops to -0.9 in April 2025
Fiji’s inflation rate dropped to -0.9 percent in April 2025, marking the lowest monthly rate since May 2021 and a significant decline from 7.1 perce...
4 hours ago
LATEST NEWS
Amenatave Yauvoli is new Acting Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service and Public Enterprises
Fiji’s Ambassador to Indonesia Amenatave Yauvoli has been appointed as Acting Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service and Public ...
3 hours ago

Investigation into FHL Tower electrocution ongoing, work resumes after stop order lifted – Agni Deo Singh
Minister for Employment Agni Deo Singh says investigations into FHL Tower where a construction worker was electrocuted are ongoing while work ...
3 hours ago

Coastal Inundation warning remains for coastal areas
Drivers and people living in the coastal areas from Natadola to Vatukarasa along the Coral Coast on Queens Highway, Kadavu, and nearby smaller ...
4 hours ago

Online Safety Commission receives complaint about viral video showing Acting Corrections Commissioner involved in a fist fight
The Online Safety Commission has received a complaint regarding a video currently circulating which shows a senior government official involved in an ...
17 hours ago

Oldest operational US War Vessel, USS Blue Ridge, docks in Suva
United States of America Navy Vessel 7th Fleet Flagship USS Blue Ridge LCC 19, the oldest operational Navy Vessel in operation with 1,000 Navy crew ...
18 hours ago



fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan
Latest Videos

Stay tuned for the latest news on our radio stations

CFL radio frequencies
IN DEPTH
Tragedy at PRB Flats: Couple found dead in suspected murder-suicide in April
A couple were found dead at the new Lagilagi Public Rental Board Flats today and it is alleged at this stage that it was a murder suicide case on ...
1 day ago

Tevita Ikanivere on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan
The show focuses on Ikanivere’s journey, his family, career and how far the Drua has ...
14 days ago

Daniel Fatiaki and Professor Narsey on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan
Chair of the Electoral Reform Commission and former Chief Justice, Daniel Fatiaki and Electoral Reform Commissioner and economist, Professor Wadan ...
14 days ago

TOP