"A.J. needed a jacket. It was that simple:" The story of A.J. Soprano's iconic Slipknot windbreaker
A.J. Soprano, despite being New Jersey mafia royalty, was also just a teenager from the early ‘00s and, as a teenager from the early ‘00s, he loved nü-metal. A.J.’s wardrobe of band shirts was as extensive as his existential angst was hilarious (please refer to the @ajsopranoshirts Twitter account), but none of his wardrobe has been as widely celebrated as a Slipknot windbreaker from the third episode of The Sopranos’ third season.
In recognition of this iconic moment, The Ringer has published an oral history of the windbreaker that looks into the tortured artistic process that resulted in the costuming choice. “I think we got some merchandise from the band or record company. There was a Slipknot windbreaker in the package,” remembers Sopranos costume designer Juliet Polcsa. “I liked the color. A.J. needed a jacket. It was that simple!”
The piece explains that Robert Iler, who played A.J., “started showing up to set skateboarding with, like, Pantera shirts on and Slipknot shirts on,” which led to his character wearing the same kind of stuff. “I had [the Slipknot windbreaker] in burgundy, I had it in black,” Iler says. “I had both of those and I’d wear them for sure.” (He also says he had a Slipknot jumpsuit that he wanted to wear on the show, but this was cruelly denied by wardrobe.)