137: Meet Mr Gammon, the costume designer behind the award-winning Guinness ‘Sapeurs’ and ‘plug boy’ in the Sainsbury’s Christmas ad.

This week, we scoured wardrobes far and wide to catch a man who has dressed rock icons, Sapeurs of the Congo, a blue monster for Ed Sheeran, and even ‘plug boy’ from the Sainsbury’s Christmas ad; Mr Gammon.  

Costume designer, fashion stylist, and distinctive English gent, Mr Gammon is the go-to guy for creatively styled costumes. Whether it’s dressing The Rolling Stones, elegant men of the Congo, Usain Bolt, a school nativity like no other, or mum and dad in jeans and a t-shirt; no cast is too vast, nor celebrity too big.

We wag chins on his first ever job with an alcoholic called Malcolm, his first proper job dressing Adam Ant, making and selling bermuda shorts at school, being a colourful punk, what he loves about being on set, how a joke about needlework changed the trajectory of his life, managing expectations, where ‘Mr Gammon’ came from, taking 25 suitcases to film Guinness ‘Sapeurs’, making jackets for Mick Jagger, drawing as ‘creative offsetting’, and a treasure trove more. 

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Find Mr Gammon on Instagram
Here’s his website 
Loving You is Killing Me by My Life Story 
And a choice cut of Mr Gammon’s best work: 
Guinness Sapeurs 
Sainsbury’s The Big Night 
The brand new Carlsberg spot 'Curious Beginnings'
And DJ Shadow - Rocket Fuel ft. De La Soul

Timestamps
(02:09) - Quick fire questions, Doctor Who, and the reality check The Rolling Stones gave him 
(08:14) - First jobs, making bermuda shorts, and designing for Adam Ant 
(16:05) - His time at the Royal College of Art 
(20:30) - The ‘common good of the shoot’ when you’re on set 
(27:55) - Dealing with the opinions and emotions of different people on set
(39:39) - His new work for Carlsberg 
(41:35) - Listener questions 
(46:30) - 4 pertinent posers 

Mr Gammon’s book recommendations are: 
Small Trades by Irving Penn 
Michel the Giant: An African in Greenland by Tété-Michel Kpomassie
Learning to Love You More by Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher 
The Old Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux
The Financial Times Weekend Edition

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