FRESH FIELDING

'Night Court" costume designer talks Dan Fielding

Everyone wants Dan Fielding. In a recent episode of NBC’s “Night Court,” the public defender played once again by John Larroquette had to fend off advances from a defendant, a woman who was literally certifiable, and every woman in the courthouse named Carol. “I dress like this to please myself,” Fielding told one admirer, “not to be ogled and debased by deviants like you.” That line, in addition to advancing the plot and getting a chuckle, set Dan Fielding apart from his sitcom brethren: Dan Fielding, always sharply-dressed in a suit, really cares about clothes.

It’s not rare for men in TV comedies to be well-dressed. Characters from Sam Malone (“Cheers”) and George Costanza (“Seinfeld” )to Earn Marks (“Atlanta”) and Carmy Berzatto (“The Bear”) have inspired generations of men to put together “fire fits.” However, it is rare for those characters to care enough about their clothes to comment on it — and not in a comically braggadocious way like “Parks & Recreation’s” Tom Haverford. Style is central to who Dan Fielding is, and a lot of work goes into this subtle, visual storytelling. That’s because “Night Court’s” costume designer Molly Grundman-Gerbosi knows that the shape of a lapel and choice of pocket square says a lot about a character. “I always felt like Dan Fielding in the ’80s was dressing for the job he wanted and not the job that he had,” GrundmanGerbosi said. “He was fashion-forward. He was the trendy, elegant suit person… He always wanted to dress like he was working at a huge law firm, but it’s just night court.”

“Night Court’s” return to NBC after a 30 year break actually gave Grundman-Gerbosi an intimidating challenge: how do you take a character who was one of the most avid proponents of the 1980s power suit and bring him into the 21st century?

“Because [“Night Court”] was on for nine seasons, it’s pretty iconic,” said Grundman-Gerbosi. “John Larroquette as Dan Fielding has won all these awards. Everybody knows him from [“Night Court”] and he’s playing the same character.” On the flip side, GrundmanGerbosi would be working with an actor who is “six foot four inches of elegance in general, so you can dress him so beautifully.”

Fortunately for Grundman-Gerbosi, she had a gung-ho collaborator in — who else? — John Larroquette. “He’s a wealth of knowledge for his character,” said Grundman-Gerbosi. “Obviously, he knows [Dan] better than anybody else. We really wanted to make sure everything that we put on him, his costume, felt like Dan Fielding and trying to update that.”

A lot happened in the 30 years between series, both to Dan as a character (he has loved and lost and retired) and the suit as a concept (it is both alive and dead at all times — it’s Schrödinger’s suit). Dan Fielding goes on a full character journey in the pilot, from first appearing as a process server in a cafe wearing a rugged flannel, Clarks boots, and even more rugged beard to being back in a suit by episode’s end.

So, where would Dan Fielding’s suits come from? “[Larroquette] fits wonderfully in a Zegna suit,” said Grundman-Gerbosi, who initially had the actor try on some suits from the Italian luxury fashion house. However, the modern Dan Fielding would be found in a much closer location: John Larroquette’s closet.“[Larroquette] had brought a custom-made suit from home, because he had another event [to go to later] and he showed it to me and I said, ‘Well, that suit is gorgeous,’” explained Grundman-Gerbosi. It also ticked off her main storytelling box for Dan’s return in the new “Night Court” pilot: after losing his wife and quitting his job, he’d return to the courtroom in whatever suit was hanging in his closet. “And I said, ‘[That suit is] perfect because it’s something you would have had in your closet.”