Oh boy, oh boy, Jimmy’s closet has caught the attention of Shrinking audiences — and are contacting costume designer Allyson Fanger for details.
“It’s funny, I have to say I’m getting a lot of DMs and reach outs from people who are watching this show. And my first reach outs were for Jimmy’s closet. Like, ‘What’s he wearing? I wanna look like that.’ ‘He looks kind of a young professional in the world. But he still looks cool. What are his pieces?’” she exclusively tells Us Weekly. “His palette was very specific. I brought in all those kind of corduroy, textural jackets. I really like those for him.”
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Fanger collaborated closely with Jason Segel to create Jimmy’s look, with the pair wanting to make sure that the therapist’s life-altering experience of losing his wife came across through his wardrobe.
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“He definitely progresses. That was very deliberate to bring him together and then he kind of falls apart again a little bit. We really wanted to tap into all those moments,” Fanger explained. “It was about the way we mixed the clothes, the way we styled the clothes. It was a little messy, a little disheveled, but they were still good pieces. That was a really very distinct point that we wanted to get across with him. And we kept his certain brands that he felt very strongly about. I completely agreed. We went outside of it sometimes. I’m really collaborative with my actors. They need to feel their character and become their character and I’m there to help them.”
As for Segel’s brand choices? “He really likes Buck Mason, Buck Mason, Buck Mason. We have so much Buck Mason on the show,” Fanger told Us, laughing.
“It hits that right note of professionalism yet Californian and cool. And still you can wear that to work,” she continued. “We also use James Perse a lot, which he also really likes. He’s very tall, Jason. We also have to work with what’s gonna fit.”
For the show’s season 6 episode “Imposter Syndrome,” the actor and executive producer, 43, donned James Perse for Brian’s (Michael Urie) surprise engagement party — and he needed at least three suits to change into after Jimmy vomits.
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“We wanted it to be a suit and we needed it in multiples,” Fanger recalled. “We had to kind of search far and wide for a multiple that was going to work for that moment at the piano.”
To show that Jimmy “was a character that had good clothes” was important for Fanger and Segel — as was wearing “reused pieces.”
“We wanted to make sure he wasn’t your typical man-child guy. We really wanted to break out of that,” she told Us. “He had quality pieces. He wasn’t just wearing clothes from Urban Outfitters. You kind of think that in the beginning because he is such a mess. You might want to do that with him. But we wanted to make sure that he was a guy that once had it really together and now he doesn’t, but he still has the same closet.”
The dramatic comedy also stars Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Christa Miller, Lukita Maxwell, Ted McGinley, Devin Kawaoka and Heidi Gardner.
All 10 episodes of Shrinking are out now on Apple TV+.
