To say Babylon is a visual spectacular is an understatement.
After all, there are literally thousands of looks featured in the upcoming Paramount flick, with stars Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt each undergoing more than a dozen outfit changes, according to the costume designer Mary Zophres.
"Babylon has by far the largest number of actors that I've ever dressed on a film," she says in E! News' exclusive featurette. "There are 7,000 costumes in this movie between background and 150 speaking parts. Principal cast members had about 15 changes."
Zophres adds, "The costumes were quite outrageous because we wanted it to be unlike anything we'd ever see on film before."
But why so many? As a tale about Hollywood's exciting transition from silent era to sound films during the 1920s, Babylon's "characters largely define themselves through what they're wearing," explains director Damien Chazelle, who previously helmed the musical smash hit La La Land.
Take Robbie's Nellie LaRoy for example. To capture the aspiring actress' free spirit and eager attitude, Zophres says she dressed the character in a plunging red number made to look like "something she cobbled together herself, like tap pants and a scarf wrapped around the waist."
Robbie adds of the purposefully slap-dash look, "Nellie comes from nothing and if we can see that in a costume, then great!"
As for Pitt? His Jack Conrad is the epitome of Hollywood cool. "My pitch for Jack was that he's such a big movie star that he's just not formal," Zophres says. "He wears a tuxedo to the parties but other than that, we don't see him in a suit."
Some of the pieces Pitt rocks include hand-knitted sweaters and cardigans, which Zophres raves make the Oscar winner look "fantastic."
Also starring Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li and Tobey Maguire, Babylon opens in theaters Dec. 23.