Double Feature

For "Darjeeling," Anderson tapped Jacobs because of "his huge resource, in addition to his taste and talent. Marc was up for anything, which I liked," says Anderson, who sketched out some ideas. Jacobs made some adjustments. (Back in 2005, Anderson had visited the Vuitton workshop outside Paris and viewed archival collections of trunks and suitcases. He may feign ignorance of fashion, but he's certainly conversant in the big names in luxury.) Anderson's brother Eric provided the illustrated "Little Prince"-like motif of palm trees, rhinos, zebras and other wildlife.

"At first, the drawings were silk-screened, but Marc didn't like that," recalls Anderson. "He wanted them embossed, and it made the luggage much better." Jacobs, who says he is much too busy right now to design costumes for other films, demurs when asked about his participation: "Wes knows exactly what he wants, and his vision is very particular, which makes it quite easy."

The result is a large set of tawny luggage and a trio of suits with matching back belts and angled cuffs for the three main characters, played by onscreen brothers Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman. Once again, as in Anderson's previous films like "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums," the cast wears one look throughout the film. "I like actors to have costumes that help them to get into character," says Anderson. "Whether it's a good idea or not, I tend to give them uniforms."

The Anderson effect

Those uniforms can boost a brand's popularity too. The custom Adidas sneakers with yellow laces that Bill Murray and his crew wore in "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou" in 2004 were so coveted -- and unavailable -- that the website Cool Hunting launched an online petition with 600 names to get the sneaker company to create a special edition. They didn't.

But it's the quirky, easily attainable look of "The Royal Tenenbaums" that established Anderson as a fashion trendsetter. In 2002, Esquire ran an article called "How to Dress Like a Tenenbaum." Vintage Fila tennis togs and Adidas sweat suits became must-haves for men. And who can forget Gwyneth Paltrow slumping around like a preppy raccoon on lithium, with her heavily kohled eyes, striped Lacoste shirt dress and toffee-colored mink coat?

Not Anderson, who spotted the Lacoste shirt dress in a department store window. "I had never seen a dress like that in a movie," he explains. He worked with Fendi to get the look of the fur exactly right. He approved the shade of mink after examining samples and even sketched out his vision for the coat for the luxury house on a cocktail napkin.

That obsessive attention to detail has led some critics to chastise him for paying more attention to the suit cuts and scenery than the story itself. Anderson's take is much cooler: "When I was a kid and went to a movie, I might come out of the theater and want to be one of the characters," he says, sipping a cappuccino. "The first thing I did was try to get the costume right."

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monica.corcoran@latimes.com