US tech mogul’s wedding guests get Kiwi Strangely Normal touch

Off-beat Auckland tailors Strangely Normal are sworn to secrecy about how they will dress the guests at tech mogul Sean Parker’s elaborate fantasy-themed nuptials in June.

Mr Parker, co-founder of file-sharing service Napster and the first president of Facebook (he was played by Justin Timberlake in The Social Network), is reported to be spending $10 million to tie the knot with singer Alexandra Lenas in California.

The elaborate affair, reported to include a $US350,000 dance floor and a $US9 million landscaping budget, will see guests arrive in costumes designed and made in New Zealand.

Kiwi Oscar-winning costume designer of Lord of the Rings fame Ngila Dickson has been hired to come up with the concepts.

She has commissioned Clare Dutton and Michael Cox, founders of the Strangely Normal label, to design and make all garments for the men.

Ms Dutton says this involves designing and making them to Ms Dickson’s drawings.

Beyond that, she tells NBR ONLINE she can’t say any more about the huge project they are working on in the Avondale workroom because of a confidentiality agreement.

“We’re busy trying to crunch a whole lot of statistics so we can fit everyone,” she says. “I really wish I could tell you more.”

Mr Parker, who allegedly told Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to drop the ‘the’ in Facebook, has a net worth of $2 billion, according to Forbes.

He has been reported in international media to have said the series of wedding guest outfits will be based on modern suits and dresses with some elements of “Victorian flair and whimsy”.

Sean Parker (Forbes).

Rich and famous
It’s not the first time Strangely Normal has tailored for the rich and famous. Big-name clients include Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jason Connery, John Lithgow and Hugh Laurie.

Hollywood producers and directors Eric Gruendemann, Michael Laughlan and Charlie Siebert have also had the Strangely Normal treatment and two Oscar winners have accepted their awards in Strangely Normal tuxedos.

Movie and TV wardrobe jobs include  suits and casual wear for Sir Antony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, suits for the four lead friends in Sione's Wedding Savage Island, and other garments for Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnez and the cast of Hercules.

Several linen suits were tailored for Hugh Laurie in Mr Pip - all identical, but distressed at different stages to mark the time lapsed on New Guinea. 

Danny Houston liked the series of wool/cashmere coats made for him in 30 Days of Night he paid a visit to Strangely Normal's workroom to have one made to take home.

Strangely Normal's last project with Ngila Dickson was the 2012 movie Emporer and involved making highly tailored morning suits -  Edward V111style- for the Hirohito and 4 other Japanese members of Parliament. Actors incluced Matthew Fox and Tommy Lee Jones.

"Timeframes can be tight when stars fo a higher calibre are involved - they're here briefly and the garments need to be turned around within a short period for refitting," Ms Dutton says.

Strangely Normal beginnings

Ms Dutton and Mr Cox founded Strangely Normal in 1977 when they began selling vintage clothing alongside 1950s-inspired menswear at Cook St Market.

As the availability of original clothing in good order grew scarce, they started making new garments, paying homage to the 1950s and 60s style, and selling them from their first shop on Hobson St.

The current store O’Connell St was opened in 2006.

New York-based business consultant Ron Elliott invested in Strangely Normal in 2011 and is understood to have helped the company expand into the US.

Mr Elliott, who holds a 26% stake, started early childhood educational product supplier Excelligence Learning Corp in 1985, took it through a Nasdaq IPO in a reverse merger before selling it to a private equity firm.

gbond@nbr.co.nz