WHEN Deontay Wilder makes his way to the ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena to fight Tyson Fury on Saturday night in Las Vegas, you can bet it will be a spectacular entrance.
The Bronze Bomber, 34, has become famous for his warrior couture in recent bouts – wearing leather bejeweled masks, crystallised crowns and feathered cloaks for his walk-in, as he marches towards battle.
Deontay Wilder wore this mask and crown to face Dominic Breazeale in 2019Credit: Getty Images – Getty
The costumes are the creations of LA designers Cosmo + Donato
The elaborate costumes are the works of Los Angeles-based designers Cosmo + Donato, and can cost up to £60,000 a go.
Their relationship with the WBC champion began when he fought the Gypsy King for the first time.
His fiancee Telli Swift saw a mask at their Cosmo’s Glamsquad store on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood, and she immediately thought it would be perfect for the fearsome puncher.
However, Cosmo Lombino, 56, and Donato Crowley, 52, had no clue who Wilder was when they first asked to design an outfit for him.
DEONTAY WHO?
Speaking exclusively to SunSport, Cosmo revealed: “Deontay’s fiancée, actress Telli Swift was shopping in the store and happened to see one of our masks on display.
“She said her fiancé was a boxer and showed us a photo of Deontay wearing these Mardi Gras, New Orleans-style plastic or paper masks.
“Both of us didn’t know whether to laugh or shed a tear for the poor guy!
“She wanted to raise his fashion up, so that’s how it got off the ground.
“Neither of us follows sports, so we didn’t know exactly what an amazing opportunity this was until we met Deontay himself, who broke it all down for us in a very casual, unassuming way.
“But he lets us have complete creative control. He trusted our vision, and we created the crown and mask that are now his logo.”
Cosmo + Donato were commissioned by Wilder’s fiancee Telli Swift to make his ring outfits
The warrior couture cost up to £60k like this one when Deontay Wilder fought Dominic BreazealeCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Wilder’s fiancee Telli Swift was shopping at Cosmo’s Glamsquad when she discovered their masks
A FASHION UPGRADE
In Wilder’s original epic bout with Fury in 2018, his lookbook was upgraded.
The mask became more opulent, and it was accessorised with a stunning gold crown, as well as a Game of Thrones-inspired cloak.
Cosmo +Donato knew they had to push the boat out for their new client.
“The mask is the foundation for the Bronze Bomber warrior mindset Deontay gets into 24 hours before a fight, but to us that wasn’t enough,” Cosmo said.
“The Bronze Bomber was an Olympic medalist, a king in the world of sports, so the king needed a crown to complete the statement.
“As our own means of branding him, we established that this crown and mask set was always the foundation for each and every look.
“Plus, everything has to be constructed in a way that his handlers can quickly remove it after he enters the ring.”
The elaborate crown and mask for Wilder’s fight with Luiz Ortiz in December 2019Credit: Getty Images – Getty
Cosmo + Donato began working with Wilder for the first Tyson Fury fightCredit: PA:Press Association
HORROR SHOW
Incredibly, the feathers on Wilder’s cloak were leftovers from a Stephen King TV production Cosmo +Donato were working on at the time.
Donato revealed: “When we started working with Deontay, our costume department was already working on a Stephen King television project requiring about 35 pounds of bird feathers.
“He doesn’t know it, but that other project led us into the idea to debut the Bronze Bomber as this tribal-warrior with a dash of cockiness and a heavy-hand of spiritual respect and authority.
“Thus, we were hand-sewing coque plumes together to create this epic chief of the tribe headpiece and tanned hyde poncho.”
The feathers on Wilder’s cloak were leftover from a Stephen King productionCredit: Action Images – Reuters
Wilder’s outfit wouldn’t have looked out of place on Game of ThronesCredit: AP:Associated Press
‘THE BRONZE BOMBER’ PERSONA
The night before a fight, Cosmo + Donato are with Wilder for his fitting – just like a Hollywood star before Oscars night.
They also accompany him into the dressing room as he makes his final preparations before he’s presented to his fans.
The pair, who create the mystical illusion for Deontay, are themselves spooked by the personality he becomes as he’s about to make his way to the ring.
“When you see him the day of a fight, it’s not Deontay, the eyes look right through you. It’s really like a possession or something,” Donato said.
“I don’t want to say that it caught us off guard, but Deontay Wilder is the total opposite of that persona.
“He’s very poised and very polite, easy-going. That was when we really got it. We weren’t dressing Deontay Wilder, we were working for The Bronze Bomber, an icon and king.”
The outfits Cosmo + Donato design that Wilder wore for the weigh-in before the first fight with FuryCredit: AP:Associated Press
Cosmo + Donato joke that when they’re fitting Wilder on fight night he transforms into a different person
IT’S DONE PURPOSEFULLY
Although he’s intimidating in his own right, standing at 6ft7in tall and with a record of knocking out 41 opponents from 42 wins, Wilder purposefully wants to strike fear into his opponent on fight night with his costumes, the pair revealed.
Cosmo said: “Deontay wants the costumes to reflect the Bronze Bomber’s menacing energy.
“When he walks into the ring, he wants to set the tone with what he’s wearing.
“Not everyone can wear costumes of this magnitude. The weight and physical discomfort of some of this stuff – usually the costume wears the man.
“But Deontay owns this, carries it like the warrior he is. Yes, there’s an air of superhero or comic book fantasy. Of course, we’re in on the joke.
“But to make it believable, even if for only a split second, it transports the wearer and the audience to the kingdom of this Bronze Bomber anti-hero you’re rooting for, then we’ve done our job.”
One of Wilder’s earlier Mardi Gras masks, when he fought Bermane Stiverne in 2017Credit: Getty Images – Getty
Wilder has a fitting like a Hollywood star the night before a fight
COSTUMES CAN COST UP TO £60K
To make Deontay look this good, it costs money.
“Looks can go anywhere from $30,000 (£23k) to $75,000 (£60k),” Cosmo revealed.
“And he wears them for five minutes!”
“This type of warrior couture isn’t for someone on a budget, let’s just say that.”
As for what we can we expect from Deontay, Cosmo and Donato on Saturday for the Fury rematch, the pair told SunSport that boxing fans should get very excited.
“We’re fairly certain what we’re doing for this Wilder/Fury rematch hasn’t been done before,” Cosmo said.
“It’ll be mind-blowing for the sports world and a show before the show.”
Not everyone can pull off the heavy, heard-wearing outfitsCredit: Reuters
But Wilder carries them well, say Cosmo + DonatoCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The looks cost anywhere from between £23k-£60k and are worn for five minutesCredit: EPA
Wilder’s outfit for the Tyson Fury rematch is heavily influenced by 60s movie The Devil Rides Out
“From my time in art school, I developed a love for the golden age of Hammer Studios”, Donato added.
“The look was born when I came across an old poster for The Devil Rides Out from like the sixties.
“It’s terrifying, and we feel it’s just the right time to instil some terror.”
Tempers flare as Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder face off ahead of big fight
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
