Lowkey Fit Flix is a series where we pay tribute to great films that aren’t necessarily known for their wardrobe but feature excellent menswear.
Jaws is unanimously considered as one of the greatest films of all time. It was Hollywood’s first blockbuster. It launched Steven Spielberg’s career. It changed how we look at the ocean, forever placing in the back our minds, however illogically, that there may be a killer shark out there. We’re here to throw some more praise at this cinematic masterpiece for an aspect of the film that is often overlooked: Jaws had a killer wardrobe (sorry, had to do it).
A large part of Jaws’ success comes from it’s authentic feel. The audience is drawn into the location and cares about the characters because it all feels so real, almost as much a documentary as it is a film. Spielberg famously insisted on filming in the Atlantic Ocean instead of a lake or tank – which had never been done before – because the texture of the open ocean could not be faked. Martha’s Vineyard was chosen as the shooting location because it perfectly matched the novel’s fictional setting of Amity Island. Spielberg and production designer Joe Alves didn’t have to change anything to bring Peter Benchley’s sleepy little New England resort town to life. Once the location was set, the characters had to dress the part of early 1970’s vacationers and haggard sea folk.
The wardrobe vibe for the film was very much inspired by the location. Martha’s Vineyard provided the New England preppy aesthetic of the beach-goers as well as the grizzled blue collar aesthetic of the small business owners and fishermen. Amity’s white collar residents and tourists that flocked to the island during the summer wore typical 1970’s resort wear. Meanwhile, the heroes of our story – Police Chief Brody, marine biologist Hooper, and the grizzled veteran Quint – are all clad in timelessly cool workwear.