Do The Right Thing (1989)
Costumes by: Ruth E. Carter
Directed by: Spike Lee
This movie may be for you if: you know how to properly open an NYC fire hydrant, you’ve ever waited in line for sneakers, and Elvis never meant shit to you.
Where to watch: available for free on The Internet Archive! Also included in the subscription for MGM+.
Do the Right Thing captures a single sweltering day in Brooklyn. The story follows a group of Bed-Stuy residents during the hottest day of the summer, their actions set against an oppressive heat that becomes more symbolic as the story unfolds.
The movie’s costumes were designed by Ruth E. Carter. Carter first met director Spike Lee while working in LA’s Theater Center in 1986, beginning a collaborative relationship that has spanned 14 films. Carter has been nominated for the Best Costume Design Academy Award four times, winning twice for her work on Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). Carter was the first Black woman to win the Best Costume Design Oscar, and is the first Black woman to win multiple Academy Awards in any category.
The fashion of Do the Right Thing is bold, colorful, and Afrocentric. The costume design was strongly inspired by the real-life style of 1980’s Brooklyn, whose communities were one of the strongest influences on the burgeoning aesthetic that we all know today as streetwear. The fashion of Do the Right Thing is one of the earliest examples of streetwear on the big screen, helping shape the aesthetic of major streetwear brands in the decades following its release.
In Carter’s book, The Art of Ruth. E Carter, she recalls “instructions from Spike: ‘This film is going to have to look hot! Everybody is sweaty.’ He wanted me to make special crop tops and midriffs for the ladies and basketball shorts for the men. We walked around the set all day with spray bottles filled with glycerin and water, spraying people under the arms and on the chest.”
The movie’s younger characters sport colorful tank tops, graphic tees, and (of course) sneakers. Do the Right Thing secured a product placement deal with Nike, a natural fit in what would later become a decades long relationship between Lee and the brand.
Lee’s feature film debut, She’s Gotta Have It, was released just a few years prior and prominently featured Air Jordans. The movie’s success led to Lee revisiting his sneaker-obsessed character Mars Blackmon to star alongside Jordan himself in a now-iconic ad campaign, cementing Lee’s legacy as one of the most influential people in sneaker culture.
One of Do the Right Thing’s most memorable moments comes from a scene in which Buggin’ Out (played by Giancarlo Esposito) confronts a stranger for stepping on his pristine Air Jordan 4s. Lee was the first to bring the rules and etiquette of sneaker culture to the big screen, giving mainstream audiences a look into a growing subculture that was rooted in Black American life. The offending character, the singular white neighbor on the block, represented white privilege, the effects of gentrification, and a (familiar to many) disrespect for the existing community’s culture.
While most of the sneakers used in the film were selected specifically by Lee, Carter added personalized touches. Carter’s additions, like tying a Pan African flag colored bracelet to the laces of Radio Raheem’s Nike Air Revolution’s, remain a touchstone in the visual aesthetic of the sneakers of the film.
In 2006, Jordan released the Spiz'ike in tribute to Lee, which has dropped in dozens of playful colorways in the years since its release. For the 35th anniversary of Do the Right Thing in 2024, 100 numbered pairs of Jordan Spiz’ike Lows were released with numerous special details in homage to the movie. In 2017, Jordan released a Buggin’ Out-inspired kit that included a pair of pre-“scuffed” sneakers to commemorate the scene. Jordan also put out Air Jordan 1 Retro ‘Radio Raheem’ and Air Jordan 2 Retro ‘Radio Raheem’ in colorways inspired by the character’s outfits in the film.
The film’s use of athletic symbols extend beyond shoes - specific team logos and player jerseys reveal character context and personalities without any additional dialogue. The sneaker-scuffing neighbor wore a bright green Larry Bird tee, immediately signaling tension and giving the audience an instant framework for the character, despite his brief appearance.
Spike Lee as Mookie wore his own Jackie Robinson jersey, bringing it to set and announcing to Carter: “I’m gonna wear this.”
“The leather necklaces worn by Buggin Out were also requested by Spike,” recalled Carter. “It was in style to wear something African in Brooklyn and Harlem. Culture was everywhere. But it was truly in direct opposition to the massive amounts of gold being worn by many other urban youths, especially Black inner-city kids. Spike would have none of that. Instead, he insisted on these handwoven necklaces, which were purchased off the tables of street vendors from Brooklyn to Harlem. Giancarlo Esposito added his own personal crystals to his collection of necklaces"
In July of 1989, a month after the release of Do the Right Thing, The New York Times ran a trend piece on the Afrocentric accessories that were suddenly being sold all over the city. The press reflected the continuing cultural and political conversations about Black identity taking place throughout many American communities at the time, and reflected the movie’s immediate impact on NYC style.
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