Vitals

Denzel Washington as Malcolm X, revolutionary minister and civil rights activist

New York City, February 1965

Film: Malcolm X
Release Date: November 18, 1992
Director: Spike Lee
Costume Designer: Ruth E. Carter

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Malcolm X was born 100 years ago today on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. A charismatic and complex voice in the civil rights movement, he became the subject of Malcolm X, Spike Lee’s sweeping 1992 biopic starring Denzel Washington in the title role.

Washington had first portrayed Malcolm a decade earlier in Laurence Holder’s one-act play When the Chickens Come Home to Roost was always Lee’s top choice for the film. His performance earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor—one of two Oscar nominations for Malcolm X, the other recognizing Ruth E. Carter’s striking costume design.

Adapted by Lee and Arnold Perl from The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley, the film chronicles Malcolm’s extraordinary transformation from a sharp-dressed hustler during World War II and a convicted felon to a fiery minister of the Nation of Islam, and ultimately a more reflective activist who founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAUU).

The film’s narrative culminates on Sunday, February 21, 1965, as Malcolm prepares to address a weekly OAAU meeting at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan. Scored to Sam Cooke’s stirring “A Change Is Gonna Come”, the sequence follows Malcolm, his wife Betty (Angela Bassett), their children, his followers, and the men who would assassinate him as they converge at the Audubon Ballroom.

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What’d He Wear?

Ruth E. Carter’s costume design tracks the erstwhile Malcolm Little’s sartorial evolution from the brash zoot suits and broad-brimmed hats he wore as the young hustler “Detroit Red” to the more refined business suits in conservative shades of gray, navy, and black—paired with skinny ties and browline glasses—that he wore as the rechristened Malcolm X, advocating for Black empowerment around the country.

“Each stage in his life deserved a different color palette since his mindset was different in all the stages of his life,” Carter explains on her website. When he is Malcolm Little and Detroit Red, the color palette is playful with the zoot suits. When he is incarcerated, the palette is a blue like he is being cleansed. When he emerges as Malcolm X, there are black, white, and grey notes for his clean, strict, and unwavering devotion to the nation of Islam.”

Following extensive research that included visits to the Fashion Institute of Technology library in New York, Carter proceeded to compile Washington’s on-screen wardrobe that included suits custom-made from Saint Laurie and rented from Peggy Ferrell’s costume shop in Wilmington, North Carolina, and tab-collar shirts from Barneys New York, according to Betty Goodwin’s contemporary reporting for the Los Angeles Times.

Of course, the glasses had to be just right. “Denzel was adamant about having the exact style of glasses Malcolm X wore,” Carter told Goodwin. “I can put on a pair of Malcolm X glasses and look like Malcolm X.” While the real Malcolm most likely preferred the American Optical “Sirmont” model, Carter equipped Washington with the nearly identical black-framed “Clubman” glasses by Art Craft Optical, detailed with a gold chassis including the bridge and rims encircling the lenses.

After primarily wearing American business hats like trilbies and fedoras over the past decade, Malcolm follows his real-life counterpart’s example by sporting a black Karakul hat during the last day of his life. These hats are made from the tightly curled black fur derived from the pelts of young Karakul lambs, known as “Astrakhan” for the name of the Russian city where traders introduced the fur to the country. These caps are traditionally favored by Muslim men in central and south Asia, contextualizing why Malcolm X adopted one after his Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in 1964.

Malcolm X otherwise maintains his conservative Western business dress, including a smart gray-and-black herringbone tweed coat over his suit. The knee-length overcoat has a single-breasted, three-button front with notch lapels, side pockets, and set-in sleeves finished with cuffed ends.

Presumably, most of Malcolm’s clothing was destroyed in the fire that consumed his family’s home a week earlier on Valentine’s Day 1965, explaining why this is likely the first and only time we see this suit and sweater that wouldn’t have been part of his wardrobe until now.

The dark-gray woolen flannel two-piece suit includes a single-breasted jacket with notch lapels, a welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, four-button cuffs, and a fashionably short single vent. In a wardrobe that included both two- and three-button jackets (which harmonized with the real Malcolm X’s 6’4″ frame), this jacket has a two-button front.

The suit has matching flat-front trousers styled with side pockets and turn-ups (cuffs) that break over the tops of his black calf leather cap-toe oxford shoes, worn with dark-navy socks which echo his sweater. Though this cardigan typically covers Malcolm’s waistband, we can assume that the trousers are held up with a black leather belt as he often wears.

Whether it’s merely for warmth against the February chill or to soften his appearance to be consistent with the more nuanced and inclusive perspectives Malcolm held after his pilgrimage, he takes the stage with a navy-blue wool five-button cardigan sweater under his suit jacket.

Malcolm also eschews the neat but fussy tab collars he often previously favored, now wearing a plain white cotton shirt detailed with a point collar, single-button mitred cuffs, and—assuming it follows the design of some of his others—a front placket and breast pocket. His tie is plain black silk, knotted in a four-in-hand.

Another new item that Malcolm begins wearing after his pilgrimage is an ornately designed ring on his right pinky. This filigreed gold ring almost resembles a class ring more than a traditional signet ring, with a tan face inscribed with a burgundy design. The real Malcolm was photographed during this period wearing a ring depicting the symbol of Islam, but this clearly differs from the recognizable crescent and star.

On the opposing hand, Malcolm wears a simple but eye-catching all-gold wristwatch with a round gold dial, secured to his left wrist on a gold-finished Spiedel-style expansion band.

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How to Get the Look

Ruth E. Carter’s Oscar-nominated costume design reflects the real Malcolm X’s savvy understanding of making an impression through sartorial signatures like his browline glasses, serious suits, and skinny ties—and even the beard he grew to distinguish himself after separating from the Nation of Islam.

After we grow accustomed to his style for most of the film’s latter half, Denzel Washington’s Malcolm literally softens his appearance for his final scene by layering on a navy cardigan and topping the look with a black Astrakhan hat.

• Dark-gray flannel suit:
  • Single-breasted 2-button jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 4-button cuffs, and short single vent
  • Flat-front trousers with side pockets and turn-ups/cuffs
• White cotton shirt with point collar, front placket, breast pocket, and 1-button mitred cuffs
• Black silk tie
• Navy wool five-button long-sleeved cardigan sweater
• Black leather belt
• Black calf leather cap-toe oxford shoes
• Dark-navy socks
• Black Astrakhan fur Karakul hat
• Gray-and-black herringbone tweed single-breasted 3-button knee-length overcoat with notch lapels, side pockets, and cuffed sleeve-ends
• Black browline-framed glasses with gold rims
• Gold filigreed ring
• Gold wristwatch with round gold dial on gold-finished expansion band

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Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

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The Quote

It’s a time for martyrs now.