Patrick Bateman’s Killer Style Is Back
When the Bret Easton Ellis book American Psycho hit shelves in 1991, there were howls of protest and calls for the story, about a maybe-murderous ’80s Wall St. banker, to be censored. 25 years later, and the American Psycho book people are most talking about is the one filled with songs crafted by Duncan Sheik that a Broadway cast performs eight times a week. To be sure, the story is tamer than the source material (something tells us theatre-goers don’t take to necrophilia) but the show retains plenty of the story’s biting commentary on business, fashion, and, okay, a little bludgeoning.
Bateman and the stereotype he represents are both lampooned and revered in the musical, which is directed by Rupert Goold with cutting precision. And a large part of that comes in the form of what Bateman and his friends and colleagues wear, something anyone who’s read the book or seen the widely-embraced 2001 film adaptation (starring a ripped and unhinged Christian Bale in top form) knows. They’re so intrinsic to Bateman’s identity, that there’s even a full song dedicated to namedropping designer labels in the musical. It’s also the reason why men’s e-tailer Mr Porter got involved, as a “wardrobe partner” to the show (there’s even an American Psycho-inspired selection of wares featured on their site, plus a chat with Benjamin Walker, who plays Bateman). Read more at GQ.
