How Tombstone Got The Right Look

An authentic story, a creative genius.But the costumes took the film to the highet stae of achievement.

- John Farkis

You can’t have an authentic set without authentic costumes. But even though Tombstone would begin filming more than two months before the start of Wyatt Earp, both productions were still competing for the same wardrobes…and Kevin Costner had already usurped all of Hollywood’s available Western costumes for his film.

As a result, the producers of Tombstone were forced to look elsewhere. Kurt Russell, who would later admit to True West that he was the director behind the 1993 blockbuster Western, wasn’t overly bothered. “That didn’t hurt,” he admitted. “It forced us to go to Europe, which, in fact, is where the nouveau riche of Tombstone bought their clothes in the first place.”

Screenwriter Kevin Jarre’s attention to detail was paying off in atmospheric richness, but at what expense? The original wardrobe budget was estimated at $402,692, but due to availability issues, the budget subsequently increased to $544,286. Several costume designer applicants submitted their portfolios and were interviewed, but they failed to realize Jarre’s envisioned concept. Brown, beige and earth tones were not what he wanted.

“If you look at clothes left from that period, if you look at wallpaper samples and paint samples and books, people have very wild use of color, they use lime green and purples and very jarring color schemes. This director really wanted to see that because a lot of Westerns, they do go for that sepiatone brown, amber, gold,” Tombstone Production Designer Catherine Hardwicke says.

Costume designer Joseph Porro had never worked on a Western before: The Blob, Fright Night Part 2, Death Warrant, Kickboxer 2, Universal Soldier, among others, but no Westerns or period films.