Vitals

Ian McShane as Anthony Wood, controlling Hollywood husband and ex-convict

French Riviera, Late summer 1972

Film: The Last of Sheila
Release Date: June 14, 1973
Director: Herbert Ross
Costume Designer: Joel Schumacher

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

As Ian McShane celebrates his 83rd trip around the sun today, I want to return to one of his earlier roles among the stylish 1973 murder mystery The Last of Sheila‘s ensemble cast.

Only thirty when the film was released, McShane co-stars as Anthony Wood, the charming but controlling manager for his actress wife Alice (Raquel Welch). The couple are included among the frenemies invited by eccentric producer Clinton Greene (James Coburn) to spend a week stationed on his yacht, Sheila, named for the late wife who died exactly one year earlier in a mysterious hit-and-run. Clinton reveals a plan to be more than just hosting seven days frolicking in the Ligurian Sea, unveiling a dark—and ultimately deadly—mystery game centered around gossip and murder.

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What’d He Wear?

As a bold exception to his preference for all-white clothing, Anthony dresses for his first night ashore at Clinton’s games in a colorful piece of wearable art.

Made from indigo-dyed, machine-knitted acrylic with a prominent design over the chest and sleeves banded in blue, lime, black, ochre, white, pink, and periwinkle, Anthony’s crew-neck sweater was produced the previous year by The Ritva Man—a company founded by Mike Ross in 1969 as an offshoot of his wife Ritva’s fashionable knitwear label. His is specifically part of the limited-edition “Artist Collection”, which featured embroidered artwork in collaboration with their original creators, cut true to Ritva’s characteristic “body-hugging” fit described by V&A. The first Artist Collection lineup was made in a run of only 150 pieces, each sold for £40 and packaged with Perspex frames so they could be displayed like art when not being worn.

Contributing artists for the line’s 1971 introduction included Elizabeth Frink, Patrick Hughes, Allen Jones, and David Hockney, whose 1965 drawing “Pico Blvd.” appears on Ian McShane’s screen-worn sweater. The rectangular appliqué depicts a terracotta-roofed white building under a clouded blue sky, among the silhouettes of a palm tree, a black “PICO BLVD.” street sign, and the top of a figure’s head visible at the bottom. Even sweaters featuring the same art were produced in different variations; McShane’s sweater closely matches the surviving example in the V&A, while another sold by Invaluable favors a black-dominant body with altered sleeve striping.

Anthony otherwise maintains his seasonally appropriate commitment to white clothing for late summer in the Riviera, demonstrated by his stark white cotton flat-front trousers with their side pockets and dramatically flared hems—consistent with the fashionable bell-bottoms of the mid-1970s.

Nearly all of Clinton’s guests wear Adidas sneakers at one point or another. Anthony is no exception, here sporting white nylon Adidas gym shoes with the brand’s characteristic triple side stripes—in this case, a bright blue leather—as well as cream sueded “T”-shaped toes which match the gum rubber outsoles. The low profile echoes several contemporary models, from the Gazelle’s flat soles to the sporty T-toe uppers found on the Rom and SL 72—but I don’t feel confident enough to make a solid identification beyond the brand.

Anthony wears a few pieces of subtle yellow-gold jewelry that are even less prominent with his sweater’s long sleeves and a full crew-neck covering the large pendant hanging from his thin gold necklace. In addition to the filigreed gold wedding ring on his left ring finger, he sports a plain gold watch with a round white dial and black leather strap over his left wrist and a plain gold bangle-style bracelet on the opposing wrist.

1973 was evidently a banner year for The Ritva Man’s “Artist Collection” on screen, as this wearable art also appeared on walking art Britt Ekland in the 1973 drama Baxter!

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How to Get the Look

Decades before graphic tees became fast-fashion staples, designer Mike Ross transformed knitwear into wearable art with The Ritva Man’s “Artist Collection”, modeled by Ian McShane in The Last of Sheila with Hockney art appliquéd over the chest of his indigo sweater with its banded sleeves—groovily appointed for a night out in the Riviera with white bell-bottoms, Adidias sneakers, and gold jewelry.

• Indigo acrylic crew-neck long-sleeved sweater with “Pico Blvd.” chest embroidery and colorful-banded sleeves
  • The Ritva Man Artist Collection “Pico Blvd.”
• White cotton flat-front trousers with side pockets and flared plain-hemmed bottoms
• White nylon sneakers with blue leather side stripes, cream suede “T-toe”, and cream gum rubber outsoles
  • Adidas
• Gold carved pendant on thin gold necklace
• Gold bangle-style bracelet
• Gold filigreed wedding ring
• Gold dress watch with round white dial on black leather strap

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Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.