When the comedian Chris Fleming first met with the designer and stylist Anthony Sartino, he brought a couple of reference photos: Patrick Swayze, the mouse king from “The Nutcracker,” a feather-swathed Elton John and Michael Flatley from “Riverdance.”
Mr. Sartino’s reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, no, no, no, that’s not what I had in mind at all.’”
Mr. Sartino was tasked with outfitting Mr. Fleming for the taping of his comedy special “Live at the Palace,” which was released on HBO on Feb. 27. The design came to him almost immediately: It had to be a jumpsuit, and it had to be purple.
“I kind of have a rule about no jumpsuits,” Mr. Fleming said. But Mr. Sartino persisted. Having watched videos of the comedian’s intensely physical style on YouTube, the designer knew a one-piece outfit would prevent Mr. Fleming from having to adjust what he was wearing and give him the freedom to perform his signature acrobatics unencumbered.
“I like to do my research,” Mr. Sartino said. “He’s tumbling all over, he’s running, and I’m thinking, OK, four-way-stretch jumpsuit.”
The jumpsuit is made from a thin, high-end scuba fabric that not only stretches but is also durable enough to put in a washing machine. The suit is fitted through the body, with a wide band at the waist, like a discreet cummerbund, and a high collar. There are glittery embellishments at the small of the back and on the cuffs of the sleeves, which zip off at the shoulder. The removable sleeves allow Mr. Fleming to perform what he refers to as “a prude’s burlesque,” while also preventing him from overheating onstage.
The color, an eggplant purple, is also intentional — it stands out against the crimson red of the curtains behind Mr. Fleming at the Cadillac Palace Theater, where the special was taped. Purple also evokes the musician Prince, and for good reason: From 2003 to 2013, Mr. Sartino worked with the musician, helping to create his suit for the Super Bowl halftime performance in 2007 and designing the wardrobe for his “Welcome 2 America” tour from 2010 to 2012. In fact, that work prompted Mr. Fleming, who describes himself as a “massive Prince fan,” to reach out to the designer via Instagram DM.
“The way Prince wears clothes is just astonishing,” Mr. Fleming said. He described Prince’s look as being quintessentially stadium rock but also something “you could see him sitting cross-legged in a chaise longue wearing.”
“My aesthetic, I would describe it as kind of a gentle flamboyance because I am afraid of overwhelming people,” Mr. Fleming said. “There’s all these things I want to avoid. And every piece of clothing that I’ve seen Prince wear, I’m like, ‘Oh my god, that’s what it’s all about.’ Especially during Tony’s era.”
Mr. Sartino, who is 73, first worked with Prince’s longtime designer Debbie McGuan to track down classic suit makers who could construct the intricate designs the musician wanted. When she and Prince parted ways, “She called me and said, ‘Prince would like to work with you,’” he said.
Mr. Sartino would go to Paisley Park, Prince’s estate in Minnesota, and sketch on the spot for him, he said.
Prince’s look was well established by the time Mr. Sartino started working with him, the groundwork laid by designers like Ms. McGuan. “He liked themes,” Mr. Sartino said, “so it was easy for me.” Mr. Fleming, however, was his first comedian.
When Mr. Fleming started doing standup full-time in 2009, “everyone was just onstage wearing hoodies and flannel shirts,” he said. “I wanted to bring a rock ’n’ roll sensibility to it, and I didn’t know how.”
“When I saw him,” Mr. Sartino said, “he had the rock star body and long curly hair, and I thought, I’m going to make a rock star comedian.” For the taping of the HBO special, he looked up photos of the venue to get a sense of the space. “I saw this red and gold, and I thought, God, he’s alone on that big stage,” Mr. Sartino said. “Got to be purple. Prince purple.”
No matter where Mr. Fleming is, Mr. Sartino makes sure the attire matches the situation. For Mr. Fleming’s headlining performance at Carnegie Hall in New York in November, he designed what the comedian referred to as “bird armor,” a black feathery bolero that sat over a crisply tailored white shirt, based on the photo of Elton John that Mr. Fleming showed him during that first meeting. For a storied venue like Carnegie Hall, it provided a protective quality.
“Honestly, you walk out there, and you feel the same feeling of unease that you feel at a really wealthy person’s holiday party,” Mr. Fleming said. “And Tony knew that. I was thinking I was going to take that bird armor off, but I needed that that whole time to make it through that gladiator fight of performing at Carnegie Hall.”
For a recent appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” Mr. Sartino designed what the comedian described as an “Anne Geddes sunshine suit” — a bright yellow suit lined in a satiny orange material with an orange shirt to match. “He’s anticipating my needs,” Mr. Fleming said. “He can tell how anxious I am, and he knows how to give me whatever suit of armor I need to enter any arena.”
Mr. Sartino started working in fashion when he moved to Los Angeles from his hometown, Rockford, Ill., at age 18.
“I got a job as an assistant to a designer in Beverly Hills because he couldn’t sketch,” he said. “And that’s what I do really well.”
The designer’s shop had a factory in the back where “12 Jewish moms” who did intricate beading and sewing adopted Mr. Sartino and taught him their ways. From there, he assisted a woman who owned several high-end fashion stores, creating window displays, merchandising the stores and organizing trunk shows.
For the past 25 years, he has been working with DiMarzio — a company that produces guitar pickups and other accessories — to design outfits for guitarists being photographed for ad campaigns. Mr. Sartino said his encounter with Mr. Fleming felt fated.
“I was getting kind of bored,” Mr. Sartino said. “So I was manifesting. Give me something exciting, and here came Chris. All color. Happy color.”
The feeling is mutual.
“I feel like I’m stepping into something and accepting something about visibility, and my relationship with Tony couldn’t have come at a better time,” Mr. Fleming said.
“To have that transition from your real life, who you are in the world, to being able to feel worthy of standing on a stage and trying to compel people for an hour and a half,” Mr. Fleming said, “putting on clothes is the best way to enter that space, to enter that confidence. And putting on Tony’s clothes truly makes me feel like I can do anything.”
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