Long before cameras rolled on the new film The Bikeriders, costume designer Erin Benach immersed herself in the world of motorcycle clubs and the clothing that defines them, digging into iconic movies like The Wild One—and of course The Bikeriders, the 1968 Danny Lyon photo book which inspired writer and director Jeff Nichols’ film. Together with her team, including associate costume designer Lindsey Kear and assistant costume designer Christina Hribar, Benach created much of the film’s wardrobe from scratch, and scoured vintage dealers here in the US and abroad to ensure that the costumes worn by Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, and the other actors felt true to the source material.
“It felt like Where’s Waldo in some ways, where I would just inspect every inch of the source material and really dissect it,” Benach tells GQ.
In creating the costumes for The Bikeriders, Benach dialed in an aesthetic that remains iconic and aspirational to this day—and one that, thanks to Benach's upcoming collaboration with legendary motorcycle jacket brand Schott NYC, men will soon be able to shop for themselves.
We spoke with Benach about the challenges and rewards of costuming for a film so rich with source material, the importance of the Ageing and Dyeing Department, and the quintessential items every man needs to pull off the Bikeriders look—motorcycle not included.
Let’s start by talking about the source material for the film and the research that went into developing the costuming in the early stages. I assume it started with a deep dive into Danny Lyon’s book?
One of the most exciting parts was that Danny was along for the process, and would email us outtakes that never made it into the book. It was so helpful—I remember at one point I was having a hard time with Benny’s jeans and then Danny sent along a picture of Benny in the bar and it all just clicked for me.
Then we also did a lot of unpacking the history, because it wasn’t enough to know what model of jacket or jeans they wore – it was about how they wore it. Did they layer it? Did they decorate it? Because each character was based on real people, sometimes with slight adjustments. For example, Cal [played by Boyd Holbrook] was an engineer—he was more precise. He loved to put parts of motorcycles together and actually build them. So that was reflected in his clothing; he would sew leather along the trim of his jacket.
The movie The Wild One was also a major reference for us, and the book American Bikers by Beverly Roberts provided us with a lot of raw pictures that were so incredible.
Can you expand a little on how you used seemingly small details to illuminate character?
They’re a group of friends that have obviously been influenced by each other, and they’re wearing a uniform to be part of something. There were even patches that they all wore and those were based on real references; one of them was a patch that referenced the “one percenter.” It was kind of them making fun, because the automotive industry had said, at the time, 99 percent of bike riders and motorcyclists are law-abiding citizens. So these bikers said Cool, that’s not us! And I loved that historical reference.
One differentiating factor was with Johnny—because he started their group and in the source material that I found, he always had a red shirt on. So we used that particular red on Tom [Hardy]. I thought it was a very important character element. He also didn’t wear a cut—a denim jacket without sleeves– over his leather jacket. He was fancier and he had a leather version with patches and he also had a denim version with patches—he had a job and he could afford to have two versions of the jacket made.
I love that intentionality. At first, they just look like a bunch of tough guys who might be apathetic about their appearance. But they’re not—they’re sewing patches on their jackets and styling pieces to look unique.
Yeah, I loved that dichotomy. They look so effortless and cool and they don’t look overdone, but when you look really closely, they are so, so done. And I really wanted to capture that. They look so badass and hard-core, but when you unpack it you realize how much time and effort it must have taken to get them to look like that.
Do you picture them sitting around and sewing the patches on?
I think their ladies must have done that. [laughs]
The juxtaposition of Danny’s character against the bikers was really fascinating to watch as well.
Danny’s look was so unique and important to me because he was really able to be with these guys and be comfortable and be allowed to photograph them and know their secrets. It was important that he didn’t look like an imposter—it was his own version of it. He doesn’t look like he’s in a costume pretending to be them and it shows how he could ingratiate himself with them —there was a mutual respect you could see in how he dressed.
What was the construction process like on set? How much was sourced and how much was made from scratch?
I knew we couldn’t build all the jackets for the movie because everything we built would then have to be aged and that takes so much time and effort. So I picked my hero people that I could build for. We made Benny’s leather jacket from sketching [to construction], considering how much drape, how much extra fabric do we want, how much leather do we need to get that broken-in feel. And we have an in-house team that did that stuff. But then when we were in London doing fittings, we found this guy who had a warehouse outside of the city that had a lot of leather and denim. When we got there, it was all in stacks—it was like hitting the motherlode.
We also made all the patches; we designed them from scratch. We hired a graphic designer, we aged them, we sewed them. And we did a lot of metalwork for the jewelry because we needed multiples—pieces that looked like barbed wire or had skulls.
Not one piece went on camera without going through our Aging and Dyeing department, led by Troy David. Everything was overdyed green and yellow so it looked more aged, more sepia-toned. It was a rule I had from the very beginning, because you can tell when something looks new, and that was not going to fit in this movie. Everything had to be road-weary. It had to be dusty and dirty. These guys never washed anything.
The other tricky thing about this movie is, for our main cast, everyone had riding doubles, so we had to figure out a way to make exact multiples of these incredible one-offs. That was the hardest part of costuming this movie.
You’re known for costuming iconic jackets—for example your work on Drive, A Star is Born, and A Place Beyond the Pines.
Jackets really tell a story—they help add texture to a film and to a viewer's experience, and to illustrate the psychology of a character. When we worked on Drive, Ryan Gosling played me some of Johnny Jewel’s music and that’s when it really clicked for me—like, this is a superhero in Gotham’s LA. And then I understood exactly what the jacket needed to be. Satin, with a scorpion on the back. It would make no sense in another context or another movie, but it worked.
I also think men just look great in jackets. It gives them a shoulder, and a shape. It’s like armor.
And it’s a key part to achieving the Bikeriders look for the average guy, right? What other necessities should they have?
Well one thing I’m so excited about is I’m working with Schott New York, and we’re recreating jackets from the film. They’re a proper historical motorcycle leather jacket brand, and we’re doing a collaboration with them that you’ll be able to shop. It will come in a great size range, so you can really find a jacket that will fit you, and it’s made out of a leather that will wear amazingly. If you wear it six or seven times it will already start to mold to you.
A denim jacket is also a must. You also want to buy yourself a pair of Levi’s – mid or high waisted 501’s. And no stretch, of any kind. Zero. Then you need a basic white t-shirt—I like these from Dehen 1920, and these from Velva Sheer. Some black leather boots. And that’s it. You’re all set.