The Quick Change

The Movie: “Flashback”

The Set Up: Kiefer Sutherland plays a straight-laced FBI man saddled with the job of escorting a ‘60s fugitive prankster (played--dare we say from life-- by Dennis Hopper), back to justice.

The Look: Clothes play a major role since both Sutherland and Hopper (pictured) wear their ideals on their sleeves--literally. Sutherland sports a no-name suit and a pair of mirrored shades. Hopper avoids any overtly hippie trappings, wearing a canvas jacket, jeans and lots of hair. As the plot thickens, Hopper pulls a quick change on Sutherland by getting him drunk, switching outfits and--after a shave and shower--effortlessly taking on the Fed’s identity. The two eventually find themselves at a once-thriving commune where the sole inhabitant, Carol Kane, is a vision of vintage counter-culture fashion complete with poncho and flowing dress.

The Labels: According to costumer Eileen Kennedy, Sutherland’s suit was “the kind you find at any American department store, like Sears.” Movies being movies, the suit wasn’t actually purchased there. It was specially made for the film by a big name designer who wishes to remain anonymous. (Who could blame him?) Kennedy avoided stereotypical clothes for Hopper. “He wasn’t made to look like a hippie in tie-dye,” she says. Instead, she keyed into the character as “working-class hero,” and had a working-class jacket made, based on a classic dating back to the 1800s.

The Stores: Kennedy spent a lot of time searching for the most believable duds for Carol Kane. “In the ‘60s, hippie girls used to wear vintage thrift-store clothing a la the Victorian era,” she says. “You used to be able to find that type of dress at any inexpensive second-hand store, but those days are long gone.” Finding dresses both realistic and eye-catching led her to boutiques--especially Repeat Performance in Los Angeles and the Elizabeth Lucas Collection in Santa Monica. On location in Glenwood Springs, Colo., she hit the local thrift stores to round out her stock of ‘60s regalia.

The Switch: In order for Hopper’s character to pull off the switch from hipster rebel to conformist, Kennedy enlisted the actor’s help. “I put Dennis in a circle of clothing and asked him to pick something out that both he and Kiefer would wear,” she recalls, explaining that most of the movie was shot in chilly Colorado. “Dennis picked lightweight clothing to make Kiefer as uncomfortable as possible.” This was based on Hopper’s personal belief that any real Fed would be crawling out of his skin in a radical’s clothes.

The Wrap: “The ‘90s are gonna make the ‘60s look like the ‘50s.” Or so Hopper’s character predicts at the end of the movie. Clothes-wise, that could get complicated. Hopper, the ‘60s rebel, is dressed for the new decade in a high-toned, cream-colored, Gianni Versace suit. Sutherland, the one-time yuppie materialist, heads into the ‘90s on a motorcycle, dressed in ratty jeans and a T-shirt.