'CSI' Costumes Give Sin City Class

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is at the forefront of the new image of Las Vegas: sexy, cool and elegant.

An article at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences examines the way CSI, Lucky and the upcoming Las Vegas TV series portray the city as a combination of its historical image as "Sin City" and its current popularity as a family- and tourist-friendly resort.

"Obviously they’re the best-dressed crime scene investigation unit ever," said CSI costume designer Eileen Cox Baker of Gil Grissom, Catherine Willows and their associates. "The ensemble pieces are put together to look like these characters just pull them out of their closet every day."

Willows, as played by Marg Helgenberger, "is a woman who’s no shrinking violet," says Baker. "She does very well in a line of ready-to-wear clothing from Dolce & Gabbana. We put her in jackets, pants and shirts that, together, look effortless."

William Petersen, who plays Grissom, wears designers Tommy Bahama and Ermenegildo Zegna.

Though CSI is filmed primarily in suburban Los Angeles, Baker has had to outfit fashionable rascals look and showgirls to recreate the seedier side of Las Vegas. "I bought silver bikinis and found these bead necklaces that I then applied to the bustline and crotch. When we were done, it looked like it had been hand-beaded."

But Baker added the most challenging aspect of her job was dressing the deceased. "When someone dies — and usually someone does in every show — that corpse needs six to eight versions of the same costume, each in varying stages [of cleanliness]," she said. "Several need to stay clean for the opening stunt, then we need two to three bloody ones after the killing. No one realizes what a hidden cost that is."

For more on Las Vegas television style, see the original article here. Thanks to The William Petersen Appreciation Page for the link.

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