Ryan Reynolds as Adam Reed in The Adam Project (2022)
Vitals
Ryan Reynolds as Adam Reed, time-traveling fighter pilot
Washington State, Spring 2022… then fall 2018
Film: The Adam Project
Release Date: March 11, 2022
Director: Shawn Levy
Costume Designer: Jenny Eagan
Background
For four weeks after it premiered, The Adam Project remained the #1 most streamed movie on Netflix, only recently surpassed. This adventure comedy incorporates elements of sci-fi and action into a fun and often touching celebration of nerdom, summed up by a character stating that “sometimes it pays to be a nerd, guys.”
The movie centers around Adam Reed (Ryan Reynolds), whom we meet as a rogue fighter pilot in the year 2050. “You’ve seen Terminator, right? That’s 2050 on a good day,” he explains of the dystopian future which may or may not be the result of the time-traveling technology pioneered by his late father Louis (Mark Ruffalo), an idealistic quantum physicist.
Having “borrowed the shit out of” a jet to search for his wife Laura (Zoe Saldaña) who went missing on a mission that sent her back to 2018, Adam ends up crash-landing at his boyhood home in the year 2022, where he—and the farting gunshot wound in his abdomen—shocks his own 12-year-old self (Walker Scobell). Louis’ then-recent death in a car accident had left his wife Ellie (Jennifer Garner) a widowed single mother, trying to remain strong for the adolescent Adam, who has the same sarcastic tongue as his adult counterpart but, as the constant target of middle school bullies, he has yet to trade in his brains for muscles.
This blend of family dynamics and quantum dynamics suggests that The Adam Project offers a little something for everyone… including a treat for menswear enthusiasts.
What’d He Wear?
I have a soft spot for action movies with a “hero outfit”, specifically a single costume change worn by our protagonist for most—if not all—of the movie, such as Cary Grant’s glen plaid suit in North by Northwest, Robert Redford’s chambray snap shirt and jeans under a tweed sport jacket then a pea coat in Three Days of the Condor, or the famous tweed jacket and navy roll-neck that Steve McQueen settles into for the climactic final act of Bullitt.
After a disappointingly short screen-time in No Time to Die, the popular waxed cotton Rogue Territory “Ridgeline Supply Jacket” finally got its cinematic time to shine as the anchor of Ryan Reynolds’ principal “hero costume” in The Adam Project.
The 12-year-old Adam commits to helping his 40-year-old self, the latter dressed in his deceased father’s blanket-lined Rogue Territory jacket and Omega Speedmaster.
Having sustained a farting gunshot wound during his doomed flight through time, the adult Adam determines that he needs to find a pharmacy so he can treat himself, but his 12-year-old self wisely reminds him that his bloodied flight suit may be a bit too conspicuous for public, suggesting that he raid the now-deceased Louis’ closet for something else to wear.
Nearly two years have passed since Adam’s father died, and Ellie still can’t bring herself to clean out his closet… which benefits the adult Adam, who returns from 2050 in need of something to wear other than his flight suit. Check out the Rogue Territory jacket awaiting its closeup, hanging third from the dividing wall on the right-side wardrobe.
Adult Adam: I used to love this jacket.
12-year-old Adam: Dad did too.
Almost in response to the jacket’s underwhelming screen time in No Time to Die, The Adam Project builds a mythology around the Reed family’s Ridgeline jacket. “This is a classic,” the adult Adam responds while holding back tears when he encounters his mother Ellie in a bar, who—unaware of Adam’s identity—comments that “my husband had a jacket just like that.”
Louis himself is a little less complimentary when he encounters his son returning from the future wearing his Ridgeline, commenting “is that my jacket? Looks a little tight on you… you look like a condom with buttons.” (Interestingly, the buttons do eventually pop off of Adam’s jacket… though it’s due to a compromised electromagnetic seal pulling at them, not an issue of tightness!)
Flanked by his son at two different ages, Louis mocks how tight his treasured Rogue Territory jacket looks on the adult Adam.
Rogue Territory developed the Ridgeline jacket to be consistently styled among its lineup of pieces inspired by classic workwear, updating designs from more than a century earlier as indicated by the contrast-threaded diagonal buttonhole on the front placket that links not to be a button but recalls the bygone era of when men regularly wore pocket watches and would loop their watch-chains through this extra hole.
The tan shell is a 10-ounce American waxed canvas which—like most waxed garments—requires re-waxing through its lifespan to best retain its water repellency and finish, while also developing a worn-in patina. The waist-length jacket echoes early 20th century chore coats and trucker jackets, fastened with five branded nickel rivet buttons up the front placket, with Rogue Territory’s signature ornamental buttonhole positioned diagonally between the second and third buttons down, with the contrasting thread evidently colored to match the rest of the jacket for The Adam Project.
The jacket has a pocket set-in against the left chest, with a horizontal slot-like opening and lighter contrast stitching framing the edges of the pocket. Two blanket-lined patch pockets placed at the hip level have side-entry openings, bar-tacked at the top and bottom, with the curvature of the pockets adding more dimension to the jacket. Each set-in sleeve closes with a single nickel rivet button at the squared cuff.
Adam gives his younger self a few lessons in dealing with middle-school bullies.
The Ridgeline supply jacket worn by Ryan Reynolds in The Adam Project has a blanketed lining, slightly differentiating it from the unlined version worn by Daniel Craig for those fleeting seconds in No Time to Die. Rogue Territory produced this lined Ridgeline jacket exclusively for STAG Provisions in downtown Los Angeles; while the tan version currently sold out as of this writing in April 2022, the jacket is planned to be restocked by this September.
The lining is a neppy striped mid-weight Japanese wool blend, consisting of a taupe ground with colorful slubs woven into the cloth, the stripes alternating between a narrow navy bar stripe and two wide navy stripes flanking a yellow bar stripe. A patch pocket made from the same tan waxed cotton as the outer shell is sewn onto the inside of the chest on the right side. (Unlined versions of the Ridgeline show a faint seam framing this pocket, though this naturally isn’t seen on the blanket-lined version.)
While there’s no pocket on that side of the jacket, Adam tucks away his non-lightsaber in preparation of the battle to come.
Presumably also pulled from his father’s wardrobe, Adam wears a dark charcoal cotton crew-neck T-shirt that takes on a greenish cast in certain light. Though he rarely wears the shirt on screen without the jacket layered over it, the short sleeves show off Ryan Reynolds’ physique, also reinforcing that some of Louis’ clothes may be a little snug on Adam given the size differences between the 5’8″ Mark Ruffalo and the 6’2″ Reynolds.
Adam wears navy twill chino-style trousers, perhaps chosen to echo the bottoms of his flight suit. I’ve seen a few sources (Steal His Style, for one) suggest that these slim-fitting trousers are the J Brand “Brooks” model in a “federal blue” blend of 97% cotton and 3% elastane; the premium denim brand’s liquidation in August 2021 means there won’t be a reissue of this style anytime soon, though the J Brand site assures fans that some styles will still be available from sister brand Theory.
Adam’s navy flat front trousers close through a hidden hook-and-eye closure on an extended waistband tab. Though they have belt loops, Adam doesn’t wear a belt, and the back appears to have a jeans-style yoke slanting toward the center on each side of the seat. The trousers also have side pockets, jetted back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms.
Behind the scenes of a fight scene choreographed for The Adam Project, with the face masks reminding us of the production that took place early in 2021. (Photo by Doane Gregory)
Adam wears chukka boots with well-worn tobacco brown suede uppers and Goodyear welt construction onto hard dark brown leather soles. The boots are derby-laced with flat olive woven laces through five sets of brass-grommeted eyelets on each shoe, plus a pair of gilted speed hooks that remain mostly covered by the trouser bottoms.
Adam’s not-a-lightsaber falls next to his borrowed suede boots.
Adam’s wardrobe in 2018 and 2022 is understandably contemporary (and relatively timeless) given that he pulled everything from the closet of his father, who presumably died between those two years. Nothing about his attire hints at anything futuristic, aside from the DNA-driven power key for his plane. Apropos his military service, the digital pendant is essentially a silver dog tag, shaped like an elongated octagon with a black silicone rubber border and worn on a black-finished ball-chain necklace.
Adam checks the status of his purloined jet.
The rest of Adam’s “jewelry” has more meaningful connections to his family, including the silver wedding ring symbolizing his marriage to Laura and his father’s Omega wristwatch. Though the make is never mentioned by name, the Omega Speedmaster Professional worn by both the adult and adolescent Adams helps the latter identify the former as the older version of himself.
Wearing the accessories symbolizing his family’s significance to him—a wedding ring and his father’s Omega—Adam takes in his younger self’s wisdom during a night at the Pine Ridge motel.
A self-proclaimed science nerd like Louis may have chosen the Omega Speedmaster given its role as the official NASA-authorized “Moon watch” worn by the Apollo 11 astronauts during the lunar landing in 1969. Adam started wearing the chronograph after Louis died, perhaps giving the adolescent some comfort in the fact that his Omega was arguably the nicest watch worn by any kid—and likely any teacher—in the middle school where he faced such frequent bullying.
The Speedmasters seen on both Adams’ wrists have stainless steel 42mm cases, looking almost comedically oversized on the diminutive 12-year-old Adam’s left wrist but a little more at home with his adult counterpart. Encircled by a black tachymeter, the round black dial boasts three sub-registers—a 30-minute scale at 3:00, a 12-hour counter at 6:00, and a running seconds indicator at 9:00—and luminous non-numeric hour markers plus three dots at the 12 o’clock position.
Louis wore his Speedmaster on a black leather strap, as his sons would continue to do through adolescence and adulthood, though the adult Adam wears a heavy-duty smooth black leather NATO strap that could ostensibly be extended to wear on the outside of his flight suit while the younger Adam wears his father’s more conventional black textured leather bracelet.
A glimpse at the younger Adam’s wrist gives us an unblemished look at the family Omega.
Another sartorial highlight worth mentioning from The Adam Project appears when we encounter Louis in November 2018 instructing a class of college students, including the bespectacled Sophie (Esther Ming Li) who wears a gray crew-neck sweatshirt imprinted with a stenciled likeness of Nicolas Cage but captioned as “John Travolta”, a joke surely to resonate with fans of Face/Off as well as to Louis himself, who comments in the midst of answering her question: “I just got your shirt by the way, it’s very clever.”
Castor Troy—or should I say Sean Archer—gets some time to shine in the classroom, thanks to Sophie.
What to Imbibe
Adam takes some night air while sharing a room at the Pine Ridge motel with his father and his younger self, stepping outside to throw back a beer. The Adam Project provides some regional verisimilitude with Adam’s choice of beer from Ninkasi Brewing Company, an independently owned brewery in Eugene, Oregon founded in 2006. The white-and-blue label suggests that Adam may be drinking their standard pilsner or perhaps Pacific Rain, Ninkasi’s Northwest pale ale.
Adam keeps his 12-year-old self from grabbing his beer.
How to Get the Look
Ryan Reynolds as Adam Reed during the making of The Adam Project (2022)
Adam Reed pulls together a simple, comfortable, and—for him—meaningful “hero outfit”, consisting of durable and wearable pieces like the blanket-lined version of the Rogue Territory Ridgeline Supply Jacket made famous by 007 and paired with one of the most iconic watches in history, the “Moon watch” Omega Speedmaster.
- Tan waxed canvas Rogue Territory “Ridgeline” blanket-lined supply jacket with shirt-style collar, five branded nickel rivet buttons, decorative “watch chain” buttonhole, slotted breast pocket, side-entry curved patch hand pockets, and single-button squared cuffs
- Charcoal cotton crew-neck short-sleeve T-shirt
- Navy stretch cotton twill slim-fit trousers with extended hook-closure waistband tab, belt loops, side pockets, jetted back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
- Tobacco-brown suede chukka boots
- Silver digital dog tag on black ball-chain necklace
- Omega Speedmaster Professional chronograph watch with stainless steel 42mm case, black round dial with three sub-registers, and black leather strap
As of this writing in April 2022, Rogue Territory is sold out of the blanket-lined version as seen in The Adam Project but has plans to restock by September. In the meantime, you can find both versions of the tan waxed cotton Ridgeline supply jacket from the below retailers:
- Brooklyn Clothing Co. (unlined)
- Redcast Heritage (unlined)
- Rogue Territory (blanket-lined)
- Rogue Territory (unlined)
- Stag Provisions (blanket-lined)
- Stag Provisions (unlined)
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie, currently streaming on Netflix.
You can also read about other movies and TV shows that featured Rogue Territory jackets in this comprehensive roundup from James Bond Lifestyle.
The Quote
When a bad idea is the only idea, it becomes a great idea.
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