From Wings to Stars: Costume Designer Gersha Phillips on Redesigning Captain America
Gersha Phillips is no stranger to the kind of immediately recognizable costumes that tell a viewer immediately what world she’s in, like the intergalactic looks and Starfleet designs she crafted for the recent Star Trek feature Section 31 and the Star Trek series Discovery and Strange New Worlds. Skewing to the realism side of the closet, Phillips has designed the duds for My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 and director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s historical epic The Woman King.
Bare-Knuckle Couture: “A Thousand Blows” Costume Designer Maja Meschede’s Knockout Designs
Editor’s note: Spoiler alert! This story discusses plot lines of A Thousand Blows Season 1.
The subtle storytelling of Maja Meschede’s costume designs is hiding in plain sight if you’re able to look away from the simmering drama of A Thousand Blows, a six-part series from Peaky Blinders scribe Steven Knight that follows Hezekiah Moscow (Malachi Kirby) and his brother Alec (Francis Lovehall), two Jamaicans immigrating to London during the late 1800s.
“Conclave’s” Oscar-Nominated Costume Designer Lisy Christl on the Fashion of Faith
Following his Oscar-winning WWI epic, All Quiet on the Western Front, Edward Berger’s latest, Conclave, focuses on a different kind of battle, dropping us into the Vatican in his twisty ecclesiastical thriller. After the death of the current Pontiff, the honorable and evenhanded Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is charged with convening one of the most secretive rituals in the world, the conclave, where over 100 cardinals from around the world are sequestered until they decide who amongst them will be the next leader of the Catholic Church.
“A Complete Unknown” Costume Designer Arianne Phillips on Channeling the Bob Dylan Mystique
Costume designer Arianne Phillips has never met Bob Dylan, but she did discover a personal connection while researching the singer’s early days for her new project A Complete Unknown (in theaters now). “I was born in 1963 in New York City on Cornelia Street,” she says. “I thought I knew a lot about Bob Dylan, but in the course of my research, I learned that right around the corner, Bob Dylan was living on Fourth Street at the very same time.
“Gladiator II” Costume Designers Janty Yates and David Crossman on Lunatic Emperors & Blood-Splattered Warriors
She won an Oscar for outfitting the first Gladiator, and 20 years later, costume designer Janty Yates once again teamed with Ridley Scott to cloak ancient Rome’s ruling class in bespoke finery. Gladiator II stars Paul Mescal as a slave who fights his way to freedom, with Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, and Fred Hechinger in featured roles. Yates and military expert David Crossman, who costumed the downtrodden gladiators,
Mushroom Couture: “Wicked” Costume Designer Paul Tazewell on Drawing Inspiration From the Natural World
Few films this year showcase intricate detail and epic scale like director Jon M. Chu’s Wicked does. The breathtaking costuming created by acclaimed costume designer Paul Tazewell is a vital element of the filmmaker’s captivating vision.
Wicked, a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, is inspired by the long-running stage show based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 titular novel. Cynthia Erivo plays Elphaba,
“Yellowstone” Costume Designer Johnetta Boone on Beth Dutton, Dueling Sons, and the End of an Era
Yellowstone rides again, six years after creator Taylor Sheridan defied Hollywood expectations by creating the country’s most-watched cable series. The show’s fifth season, part two, streaming weekly through December 15 on the Paramount Network, continues to follow the dysfunctional family of Montana ranchers formerly ruled by Kevin Costner’s grumpy patriarch, John Dutton. Now he’s gone, but his fierce daughter Beth (British actress Kelly Reilly), rivalrous sons Jamie (Wes Bentley) and Kayce (Luke Grimes),
“Blitz” Costume Designer Jacqueline Durran Threads Through a Traumatic History in Steve McQueen’s WWII Epic
Costume designer Jacqueline Durran first dressed Saoirse Ronan in director Joe Wright’s sweeping English drama Atonement in 2007. She did so again for Wright’s action thriller Hanna and Greta Gerwig’s heartwarming period adaptation of Little Women, winning an Oscar for Gerwig’s adaptation of Louisa May Aclott’s beloved book. Durran collabs with the dazzling Irish performer for a fourth time in Steve McQueen’s wartime epic Blitz which follows Ronan as a widowed mother (Rita) trying to protect her only son George (magnificently played by eleven-year-old Elliott Heffernan) from the looming atrocities by sending him on a train far away.
“The Penguin” Costume Designer Helen Huang on Gotham’s Gritty Glamour
Costume designer Helen Huang bridges reality and comic book storytelling in The Penguin, finding a brilliant balance that gives the series weight and a churlish glamour befitting a story set in Gotham’s criminal underworld. The hit series led by showrunner Lauren LeFranc is familiar—Gotham is our most explored comic version of New York City—yet heightened and deliciously detailed, blending a tactical mob story with the haunting metropolis in a period of rapid decay following the Riddler’s bombing and flooding of the city at the end of The Batman—The Penguin is set in that tragedy’s aftermath.
Designed to Shred: How “Alien: Romulus” Costume Designer Carlos Rosario Stylized Horror
Previously, we talked to Alien: Romulus costume designer Carlos Rosario about how American farmers’ attire from the 1940s-1960s inspired some of the wardrobe for our Jackson’s Star inhabitants and several sartorial callbacks from the first two films in the franchise.
In part two, Rosario discusses how director Fede Alvarez’s approach to his ferocious interquel helped the designer account for the wear and tear on the costumes, caused,
“Alien: Romulus” Costume Designer Carlos Rosario’s Retro Vision & Vintage Style Blends – Part One
The only film so far to take this summer’s box office juggernaut Deadpool & Wolverine off the #1 spot for a spell was Fede Álvarez’s sci-fi horror Alien: Romulus, which brought back one of the most frightful monsters in cinematic history—the lobster-like face-strangling Xenomorphs! Taking place between Ridley Scott’s 1979 revered original and James Cameron’s 1986 fan-favorite sequel, Aliens, the cortisol-triggering interquel from 20th Century Studios centers on a new generation of colonists in their 20s,
“Ahsoka” Emmy-Winning Costume Designers Elissa Alcala & Devon Patterson on Carrying on a Cosmic Legacy
The late Shawna Trpcic, costume designer for Ahsoka, was posthumously awarded an Emmy this past weekend at the 76th Creative Arts Emmy Winners for Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes, alongside her assistant costume designer Elissa Alcala and costume supervisor Devon Patterson, who won for the finale, “Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord.” It was an emotional win for Alcala and Patterson, who, like Trpcic, are Star Wars fans and highly regarded and now freshly minted Emmy winners.
Eye on the Emmys: Outfitting Feudal Japan with Emmy-Winning “Shōgun” Costume Designer Carlos Rosario: Part Two
*After the 76th Creative Arts Emmy Winners, announced on September 8, and ahead of the 2024 Prime Time Emmy Awards on September 15, we’re looking back at our interviews with some of this year’s nominees. Costume designer Carlos Rosario won for Outstanding Period Costumes for a Series for Shōgun, episode 6, “Ladies of the Willow World.” He won alongside his colleagues Carole Griffin, costume supervisor, and assistant costume designers Kenichi Tanaka, Paula Plachy, and Kristen Bond.
Eye on the Emmys: Outfitting Feudal Japan with Emmy-Winning “Shōgun” Costume Designer Carlos Rosario: Part One
*After the 76th Creative Arts Emmy Winners, announced on September 8, and ahead of the 2024 Prime Time Emmy Awards on September 15, we’re looking back at our interviews with some of this year’s nominees. Costume designer Carlos Rosario won for Outstanding Period Costumes for a Series for Shōgun, episode 6, “Ladies of the Willow World.” He won alongside his colleagues Carole Griffin, costume supervisor, and assistant costume designers Kenichi Tanaka, Paula Plachy, and Kristen Bond.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” Costume Designer Graham Churchyard on Bringing Back Logan’s Yellow Suit
Deadpool & Wolverine is more than a comic book movie—it’s like 20 comic book movies slashed and smashed into one, pulling characters from the past, present, and future of Marvel and 20th Century Fox’s film history. Audiences witnessed these characters all coming together again in the void, some even making history in the process.
The void is a post-apocalyptic wasteland where Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) cross paths with familiar faces and new superheroes with stark new powers.
“The Acolyte” Costume Designer Jennifer Bryan on Dressing Jedis, Witches, Wookies & More
Note: this interview contains spoilers for the first three episodes.
In its newest Star Wars franchise, The Acolyte, Disney+ heads back in time to a century prior to the rise of the Galactic Empire. Amandla Stenberg stars as identical twins Osha and Mae, the former an ex-Jedi Padawan and the latter a vengeful warrior on the run. Both can use the Force, although the Jedi Order is neither twin’s birthright — the girls’ early childhood was spent in a coven of witches on Brendok,
“Horizon” Costume Designer Lisa Lovaas on Dressing Kevin Costner’s Epic Western
“I like big,” says costume designer Lisa Lovaas, and that’s exactly what she got by signing up for Kevin Costner’s new mega-Western. Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, in theaters now, runs three hours, and its sequel, two hours and 44 minutes long, hits in August. Production on Chapter 3 is now in progress. Filmed in Utah, Chapter 1 follows white settlers battling Native Americans in and around the frontier town of Horizon,
“The Bikeriders” Costume Designer Erin Benach’s Vintage Vibes for Rough Riders
They never achieved the notoriety of the Hell’s Angels, but during the 1960s, when the California biker gang became infamous outlaws, the Vandals were wreaking their own brand of hog-riding havoc in Chicago. The Bikeriders (in theaters June 21) dramatizes the rise and fall of the Midwest club led by Tom Hardy’s “Johnny” and his violent right-hand man Benny (Austin Butler), as observed through the often-astonished eyes of Benny’s wife Kathy (Jodie Comer).
How “SNL” Costume Designer Tom Broecker Recreated Barbenheimer for Ryan Gosling’s Sensational Monologue
It’s the week of April 13th and on the call sheet to host the 17th episode of SNL’s 49th season is Ryan Gosling, an actor who’s been capturing the hearts of hopeless romantics since The Notebook. The Canadian’s filmography is a treasure trove of unforgettable performances, from Blue Valentine, Drive, The Big Short, La La Land,
How the “Bridgerton” Costume Designers Dialed up the Romantic Fantasy in Season 3
In the Bridgerton universe, imagination is key. One of the reasons the show skyrocketed in popularity since its season one debut is that it’s a romance and a period drama reimagined. It’s a romance set in a royal world with diverse characters, whimsical clothing, and orchestral covers of modern-day pop hits that give the period trappings a modern sensibility.
And what better way to sell a romantic, fantastical world than through the detailed costuming created by Bridgerton costume designers John Glaser,
