Under the Toga

Barneys New York made a toast to the ancient world’s luxury when it held a cocktail party at its Beverly Hills emporium on Aug. 4. The stars of the party were the cast and the costume designer of the HBO series “Rome.” The party celebrated the release of the DVD of the second season of the recently canceled show. Barneys devoted some of its exclusive window space to the costumes of Rome’s costume designer, April Ferry, pictured at center.

The Oscar- and Emmy Award–winning Ferry made an intense study of how slaves and aristocrats dressed in the time of Caesar and Augustus. She led a group of 45 craftspeople to assemble an authentic look of ancient Roman society. It took six months to create the costumes, from loincloths to armor, before shooting began for the first season in March 2005. While it was a Herculean task to create the Roman wardrobe, Ferry said that it was easier than assembling a wardrobe for a film set in modern times. “All the actors know how they look good in contemporary clothes,” she said, adding that actors always defer to the costume designer in period movies. Also pictured, from left, are “Rome” actors Polly Walker, Kevin McKidd, James Purefoy and producer Anne Thomopoulos. —Andrew Asch