In 2000, the Canadian director Mary Harron made a movie adaptation of the 1991 Bret Easton Ellis novel “American Psycho” in which the protagonist, Patrick Bateman, a sadistic 27-year-old Wall Street banker played by Christian Bale, hangs out at trendy nightclubs, flaunts his credit cards — and murders people with a chain saw. Yet aspects of Bateman originally intended as satire (his skin-care routine; his lust for money and power) are now not only common but being unironically celebrated in American culture. Here’s how:
The Remake
The Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino has been collaborating with the screenwriter Scott Z. Burns on a new interpretation of Ellis’s novel. After news of Guadagnino’s involvement came out this past October, Patrick Schwarzenegger pitched himself for the project, although Austin Butler may be more likely.
The Look
Bateman clones were all over the fall 2025 runway. At Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello showed men’s wear with big-shouldered silhouettes, and Haider Ackermann’s debut for Tom Ford included double-breasted jackets, for men and women, with black driving gloves, another Bateman signature.
The Fragrance
In the book, Bateman wears musky Paul Sebastian PS Fine Cologne. Earlier this year, the Swedish perfumer Johan Bergelin of 19-69, in partnership with Ellis, released a scent titled American Psycho. Spicy and warm, it features a blend of bergamot, sage, sandalwood, vetiver and amber.
The Bar
Dorsia, the fictional Manhattan restaurant that refuses to give Bateman a table, is a caricature of its period. During the pandemic lockdowns, the New York-based beverage director Natasha Van Duser and her husband, Carlo Olcese, decided to bring the hot spot to life. Opened in February, the East Village bar is called Bateman’s (the name Dorsia was taken) and serves inventive spins on classic drinks like a Mean Girl lychee martini.
The Attitude
If Bateman were around today, would he trade crypto? Would he film his grooming routine for TikTok? Although he’d more likely be a tech bro than a banker, he’d no doubt revel in the cologne-drenched blend of conspicuous consumption and patriarchal values that 20-somethings have taken to calling “boom boom culture.”
Jameson Montgomery is a fashion assistant at T Magazine.
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