Last Spring, Saturday Night Live’s costume designer, Tom Broecker, was chatting with cast member Bowen Yang about a brand called Tombolo. Bowen liked to wear it, and Tom began to think Tombolo might be the right partner to design a clothing collection celebrating SNL's 50th anniversary…
They say your ears ring when somebody is talking about you. In our case, it was the rhythmic chime of a cowbell that reached a head-splitting volume in May just before Tom's email landed in our inbox. Thankfully, our very own Laina plucked the email out from the depths of customer service and read it aloud to the team like Stefon giving a hot take on Weekend Update. Fast forward six months, and - poof - a capsule collection was born!
Tom's creative energy was contagious. He dove deep into the SNL archives and helped us tap into the show's early aesthetics. As Tom explained to us, he rarely indulges nostalgia because SNL is, at its core, about pushing boundaries. He made an exception for the 50th anniversary - a milestone that warrants some reflection. Even so, the mandate from Tom was clear - reference the old, but give it a new twist.
As SNL’s costume designer for over thirty years, Tom has also taken on the role of archivist, cataloging the show’s most important pieces.
Tom became particularly enamored by a very special and elusive shirt crafted exclusively for cast and crew in 1976. All that remained of this special shirt were images. The back of the shirt featured the show's original working title, "Saturday Night," chain-stitched in metallic thread. This unique iteration of the logo was hand-drawn by the then costume designer and isn't found in any official SNL branding. Each shirt was also personalized with the wearer's role on the show embroidered on the shoulder: "Writer," "Designer," "Cast," etc.
It became Tom’s personal mission to recreate these iconic pieces of SNL history...
Fortunately for us, Tom tapped us for the job. We meticulously recreated the shirt for the current cast and crew, updating the material for a slinky, chalky fabric that feels at once swanky and playful.
Sorry, folks, this one isn't for sale - it's just for cast and crew like the original.
The rest of the capsule is inspired by the idiosyncrasies of that iconic 1976 shirt. Our organic cotton terry cloth polo has raglan, tubular sleeves and contrast overlock stitching (a special thank you to Tom for modeling it for us).
This nostalgic polo looks like something Chevy Chase could have credibly worn tucked into bell bottom jeans in 1975. Or, fast forward to 2000 and imagine Will Ferrell squeezed into a size XS to play the cowbell with his fuzzy-haired belly exposed.
No Tombolo capsule would be complete without a cabana shirt. This one uses a decidedly 80s color palette of butter yellow and denim. It features original artwork on the back that pays homage to SNL’s rich history of musical guests and the promise of a crescent moon rising over the greatest city in the world on a Saturday night.
Last but not least is the satin souvenir jacket. It’s based on a jacket worn by a veteran SNL crew member until his retirement in his nineties. Tom described the jacket to us as the inspiration for the garment.
We added original artwork on the back and adorned the front with the very special early iteration of the logo.
It’s the ultimate SNL fan collectible, produced in very limited numbers.
Each successive generation grew up quoting their particular cohort of SNL cast members. For us, we rode a wave of hilarity by Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, and Norm MacDonald before being swept into the world of Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon and Tracy Morgan. We arrived somewhere in the middle of SNL’s storied timeline... ...but take a moment to wind back the clocks to 11:29pm ET on October 11th of 1975 in Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Center. Listen closely and hear the nervous swallowing and heart palpitations of the first ever cast and crew – many in their twenties – waiting backstage in the moments leading up to the first ever live broadcast of Saturday Night Live. It’s now been 50 years since that first, fateful season changed television forever. We’re honored to play a small part in celebrating its story.
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