No Tricks, Just Treats

The movie: “Sabrina.”

The setup: Remake of 1954 Billy Wilder classic in which a chauffeur’s daughter, Sabrina Fairchild (Julia Ormond, pictured), transforms into a beauty after a trip to Paris and wins the hearts of the modern princes her father serves--workaholic Linus Larrabee (Harrison Ford) and his playboy brother David (Greg Kinnear).

The costume designers: For Linus, Bernie Pollock (“The Natural,” “Indecent Proposal”). For the rest of the cast, Ann Roth (“Klute,” “Working Girl,” “Wolf”).

Sabrina’s look: At first, she’s hidden behind glasses, shaggy hair and shapeless clothes. Even after a stint working at Paris Vogue, Sabrina emerges as a mostly sporty American pantsuit girl (think Armani, Calvin or Banana Republic’s copies). Like Annette Bening in “The American President,” who wore similar simple suits, she looks like a woman for whom clothes aren’t a high priority. But she has her moments. She returns home wearing a saucy, shiny, brimmed hat that’s a stunner, and her strapless green velvet gown with sparkling silk marquisette bolero is destined to be copied the way Givenchy’s black dress with shoulder bows, which Audrey Hepburn wore in the original, was. Look for its offspring come prom time.

Hepburn had selected outfits from Givenchy’s 1953 couture collection for her movie. Today’s filmmakers could have enlisted a hot young fashion talent (Isaac Mizrahi?), but they weren’t trying to make as strong a fashion statement in this version.

As Roth said, “I saw a tape of the original and loved and admired the costumes. In our initial discussion, [director] Sydney Pollack and [producer] Scott Rudin never referred to it. We talked about a girl of the ‘90s evolving into a woman. An aspect of her evolution was the ability to pare down.”

Quoted: “Throwback, classic, timeless, with no tricks, no labels, no fads, no momentary cravings,” Roth said, summing up Sabrina’s style.

His look: Linus is irresistible, even in stodgy tycoon-wear. Pollack’s tricks included “tailoring the suits within an inch of their lives” and using the finest heavyweight French wools, even for summer scenes. They have more texture, photograph richer, and have a more natural, sexier drape, he said. David is the natural clotheshorse in the family. He throws a camel’s hair coat over tennis togs as if it were a bathrobe, and lets a patterned Versace bow tie brighten up a white dinner jacket look.

Sources: Roth designed Sabrina’s wardrobe (made at Euroco in New York). For the evening dress, Ross dyed the velvet and washed it until it was soft and clingy. The arrival hat was made by Patricia Underwood and will be available at Saks Fifth Avenue next month with a $220 price tag. Linus’ suits and tuxedo were all made per Pollack’s designs by Cerruti 1881. His shirts were made by Anto in Beverly Hills.