The story behind THAT James Ivory Timothee Chalamet shirt
- Published
Andrew Mania drew Timothee Chalamet's face from a scene in Call Me By Your Name
James Ivory became the oldest ever Oscar winner when he picked up this year's award for best adapted screenplay for Call Me By Your Name.
The 89-year old also became the oldest winner of the red carpet - by wearing a shirt with the face of the film's star, Timothee Chalamet, painted on it.
Time called the shirt, external the "best part of the Oscars red carpet", while Indiewire called it "iconic, external".
The man behind the look, British artist Andrew Mania, is having a moment.
"All of the attention since the Oscars has been overwhelming," he told the BBC, adding: "I feel like a rabbit in headlights."
The Bristol-based artist hand-painted the one-off custom shirt, but gives credit to Ivory for daring to wear such an unusual outfit.
James Ivory shows off his look pre-Oscars
"It's quite a brave thing to wear something so different - especially to the Oscars. It's quite a unique look," says Mania (actually his real name).
It follows the touching moment between Ivory and Chalamet at last month's Bafta Film Awards, when the 22-year-old actor helped the screenwriter on stage to accept a prize.
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Mania says the whole thing came about after he saw Call Me By Your Name at the cinema last November.
In one of the final scenes, Chalamet's character, Elio, wears a shirt with a print of what appears to be Matisse-inspired faces on it.
"I wanted that Matisse shirt so much that I decided to paint my own one - as it seemed the easiest solution," says the artist.
"I looked into how to do it, and then made myself a second one. It made sense to do one of Elio's face, since I'd been inspired by the film."
The portrait artist then told a friend about the shirts, who - unbeknownst to him - happened to have worked on a project with Ivory and was still in touch with him.
He sent a photo of Mania's Elio shirt to Ivory, who "immediately responded saying he loved it and wanted one".
Close-up detailing from Ivory's shirt
"He said straight away he wanted to wear one if he got nominated for an Oscar. This was back in mid-December, so we had no idea any of this would actually happen."
Mania says he "couldn't be more flattered" to dress James Ivory for the Oscars, "especially someone I've admired so much since a teenager."
Mania says he finally met the filmmaker - best known for directing films such as Howards End, The Remains of the Day and A Room with a View - a couple of weeks ago.
"It was just after he'd won his Bafta award and he was really happy with the shirt I'd made him," says Mania.
But nothing prepared him for the response he would get from the world's media, and from Chalamet himself.
Mania says he spoke to Ivory on the phone after his Oscars success: "He told me Timothee was crazy about the shirt. As soon as he saw James, he opened his jacket and couldn't believe it."
Ivory has since said he will give the shirt to Chalamet, since he liked it so much.
According to Mania: "James also asked Timothee if he'd model for me. Timothee says he's keen - so I'm hoping we can make that happen."
Mania continues: "Seeing James win was quite an emotional moment - especially with my shirt on!"
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Since Sunday, Andrew has had a lot of interest from people wanting their very own Timothee Chalamet shirts.
It seems like half the people who have seen the shirt have asked how to get their hands on one - and Mania says he'll definitely make more.
"I think I need help to pursue it though," he admits. "Each one is hand-painted and individual.
"I haven't figured out the pricing yet. Maybe I could do a line of T-shirts," he ponders.
Anything that means we can wear a beautiful drawing of Chalamet's face in the near future is good by us.
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