If the '60s are making a modern-day comeback, it's thanks in large part to Janie Bryant, the renowned costume designer behind the popular television series Mad Men.
Since 2008, she has been the force behind a revolution in the fashion world, bringing vintage back and inspiring designers such as Prada along the way.
Bryant is doing with 1960s style exactly what stylist Patricia Field did a decade ago with Sex and the City (the Manolo Blahnik craze, gold jewelery and vintage dresses).
You can see traces of Bryant all over the place; at retailers selling "nerd" glasses on Broadway, in the aisles of Forever 21, recent Michael Kors shows, in Halloween costumes and even on invitations to themed events. Even Brooks Brothers started selling a three-piece "Mad Men Edition" suit.
It is not often that a television show becomes so successful because of its clothing choices.
"I was not expecting this at all," Bryant says. "I see it everywhere, on the catwalk, in the street. The first time it really hit me was when (show creator) Matt Weiner called me at the beginning of season two to tell me he saw guys dressed up as Don Draper on the street."
I meet the Tennessee-born Bryant at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, where she is getting ready to present a conference for fashion students. A "lady" to her core (she doesn't own a single pair of flat shoes), Bryant proudly shows me her handbag, a piece from her new collection of clothing for American chain QVC.
With the success of Mad Men, Bryant has slowly built an empire consisting of items such as vintage nail polish, a book on one's quest for personal style (The Fashion File) and clothing for women. She is now planning to step into the world of men's clothing, lingerie, wedding dresses and even bedding, all faithful to her passion for vintage.
Bryant is obsessed with antique clothing. She picks every piece of material for the show in Los Angeles second-hand stores with the same discerning eye as a museum curator. Good thing too, as Reiner is known for being a stickler for details. For example, he demands that his actresses stop working out so that they don't have muscled arms.
Each episode uses between 75 and 200 costumes, a massive task for which Bryant counts on a team of nine to help. She makes the majority of the costumes herself.
"Let's just say that the budget is really tight, we have to be really creative," Bryant says.
After studying fashion design in California, New York and Paris, Bryant then transitioned into the world of costume design. She earned an Emmy Award for her work on the show Deadwood in 2005, but it was Mad Men that really put her on the map in 2007.
Bryant says she draws inspiration from stylish early-1960s films such as The Apartment, The Days of Wine, Madison Avenue and Les Bonnes Femmes, which she studies religiously. Production for the fourth series of Mad Men wrapped in September and Bryant is still waiting to find out when filming for season five will begin.
Bryant also works with Montreal actress Jessica Pare, who play's Don Draper's fiancée Megan, on the show.
"I love Jessica so much," Bryant says. "That character was all about the new life for Don Draper, about showing what was going on in fashion at that time. It is still office wear, but we still have glimpses of mini dresses, boots; she's the modern young girl."
As for the character of Betty Draper (January Jones), Bryant said she draws inspiration from both her grandmother and Grace Kelly. Bryant has also been credited with the rediscovered appreciation for women with curves on the small screen, such as Christina Hendricks.
And what is she most proud of?
"That people are starting to dress up more," she says.
