Costume Designer Ruth E. Carter on Stitching Together Her Legendary Career
With more than 70 films to her credit, including Malcolm X (1992), Amistad (1997), Selma (2014), Black Panther (2018), and Dolemite Is My Name (2019), costume designer Ruth E. Carter has created a visual representation of Black history and the Black experience for generations of moviegoers. “Costumes can be another character in the film. For ...
“Air” Costume Designer Charlese Antoinette Jones on Designing the Near-Jordan World of 1980s Nike
Except for a glimpse of his back, we never once see Michael Jordan in person in Amazon Prime’s Air. This Ben Affleck-directed film, in which Affleck also stars as Nike founder Phil Knight, tracks the course of Nike’s surprise successful bid for an endorsement from the greatest basketball player of all time, leading to the ...
“Winning Time” Costume Designer Emma Potter on Bringing Magic and Larry Bird Into the 1980s
In all their gold and purple splendor, the Lakers are back for a second season of HBO’s Winning Time, which tracks the rise of the team’s path to glory during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The show’s first season focused on Magic Johnson’s (Quincy Isaiah) rookie season and the team’s unlikely title win. This ...
How “Bel-Air” Costume Designer Queensylvia Akuchie Brought an African influence into Season 2
Culture was costume designer Queensylvia Akuchie’s (Long Slow Exhale, Grand Crew) inspiration behind creating the bespoke wardrobe in Bel-Air Season 2, a series that refreshes the beloved Fresh Prince of Bel-Air sitcom of the early ‘90s with a whole new cast. “Connecting the culture of the roots and background of each character was immensely important ...
“Poker Face” Costume Designer Trayce GiGi Field on Dealing Out Vintage Vibes
“The show was a huge challenge, and I love a good challenge,” costume designer Trayce GiGi Field (Dead to Me) shares about working on Rian Johnson’s (Glass Onion, Knives Out) clever crime drama Poker Face. The breakout series stars Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll) as Charlie, a no “bullsh*t” crime solver on the run from her ...
“What We Do in the Shadows” Costume Designer Laura Montgomery on Dressing Vampires in Flux
The undead roommates of What We Do in the Shadows embarked on journeys of rebirth in season 4 – some more literally than others – that included remodeling, reincarnating, and remarrying. All these new endeavors gave Emmy-winning costume designer Laura Montgomery an opportunity to redefine the rules of vampire fashion. For hundreds of years, Nadja ...
“Atlanta” and “P-Valley” Costume Designer Tiffany Hasbourne’s Singular Style
Costume designer Tiffany Hasbourne began her journey as a stylist to some of the biggest names in music, including Missy Elliott, 50 Cent, French Montana, and Busta Rhymes. She got the attention of gatekeepers in Hollywood by styling the cast of High School Musical, and then rose to prominence by designing costumes for shows like Shooter, ...
“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” Ciara Whaley on Recreating That Strong 90s Style
With the latest installment of the Transformers franchise, director Steven Caple Jr. wanted to evoke the experience of growing up a kid in the 90s. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts begins in Brooklyn in 1994, and from the settings to the costumes and the era-defining hip-hop, everything evokes the style and sensibilities of the period. ...
“Transatlantic” Costume Designer Justine Seymour on Outfitting Socialites & Surrealists in a Time of War
In 1940, the U.S. still maintained an official stance of neutrality in World War II. Across the Atlantic, however, relief organizations were already on the ground, working their influence at local embassies and trying to convince the American government to grant entry visas to refugees. Netflix’s new limited series, Transatlantic, is based on the efforts ...
“Beef” Costume Designer Helen Huang on Dressing “Chill” Angelenos Seething With Rage
Girl honks boy. Boy gets revenge. Complications ensue. Beef features Oscar-nominee Steven Yeun and comedian Ali Wong as star-crossed L.A. malcontents whose lives go haywire after a road rage incident. Created by Lee Sung Jin (Silicon Valley, 2 Broke Girls), who was tapped last week to write Marvel’s upcoming Thunderbolts movie, the ten-part Netflix series ...
How “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” Costume Designer Amanda Monk Casts a Sartorial Spell
Dungeons and Dragons, or D&D as it’s more commonly called, is the king wizard of role-playing games. First rolled out in 1974 by co-creators Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, it’s shifted from friends playing in basements to the public lexicon, in part, from the popularity of shows like Stranger Things, which has its characters rolling ...
“A Good Person” Costume Designer Tere Duncan on Dressing Florence Pugh’s Woman in Crisis
Costume designer Tere Duncan leaped into the fray of Zach Braff’s A Good Person with the challenge of crafting the looks for a character in crisis without relying on the usual tropes—baggy sweatpants, mismatched socks, visible stains. That woman, Allison (a fantastic Florence Pugh), is facing multiple horrors at once, grieving the loss of her would-be sister and ...
“Scream VI” Costume Designer Avery Plewes Gives Ghostface & Co an NYC Style Upgrade
Scream VI costume designer Avery Plewes was a big part of successfully moving the franchise out of Woodsboro and into the stylistically and energetically amped up New York City. The sequel goes big in every possible regard. For a terrifying sequence set on Halloween night aboard a subway train, Plewes made 200 costumes to create ...
“George & Tammy” Costume Designer Mitchell Travers on the Power Couple’s Fashion Forward Approach
When George Jones and Tammy Wynette sang, the nation listened. The chart-topping talents performed some of the most memorable songs in country music history and their love story rivaled any of their lyrics. Together, they shaped the industry amid the rise of television and against the backdrop of a rapidly changing American landscape. Showtime’s limited ...
Why Every Digital Costume in “Avatar: The Way of Water” Really Exists
Daring adventures, illuminating discoveries, and unbelievable wonders are hallmarks of James Cameron’s blockbuster films. In trademark fashion, Avatar: The Way of Water is a technological feat that developed new filmmaking tools in production. Yet, costume designer Deborah L. Scott (Titanic, Back to the Future, Avatar, E.T.) said that is all secondary to Cameron’s driving force. ...
“Kindred” Costume Designer Jaclyn Banner on Dressing the First Octavia E. Butler Adaptation
Although Hugo and Nebula-winning novelist Octavia E. Butler was the first science fiction writer to ever receive a MacArthur Fellowship and the first Black woman to gain popularity and critical acclaim as a major science fiction writer, many are unaware of her genius and influence on the genre. That is about to change because now, ...
How “Tár” Costume Designer Bina Daigeler Dressed Cate Blanchett in Power
There is a sharpness to Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) that has allowed her to scale her way to the top of the classical music world as director of the Berlin Philharmonic. Those hard, cutting edges prove useful in her profession but leave scars on her personal relationships. Her straight edges and demand for perfection are ...
How “TILL” Costume Designer Marci Rodgers Captured the Racial Dynamics of 1955 America
Some of the most powerful stories are the most difficult to watch, but Mamie Till-Mobley (Danielle Deadwyler) knew there comes a time when we can’t afford to look away. When her son Emmett Till (Jalyn Hall) became one of the most tender and tragic victims of racial violence in America, she bravely shaped his legacy ...
“House of the Dragon” Costume Designer Jany Temime’s Deadly Elegance
French costume designer Jany Temime has outfitted plenty of iconic characters, including Harry Potter (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), James Bond (Spectre), and Marvel’s Black Widow. But in terms of sheer scale, none of those feature-length films can match the ten-hour introduction to House of the Dragon, which just had its season finale on ...
“Ramy” Costume Designer Nicky Smith on Season 3’s Style Evolution
Ramy Youssef’s consistently excellent self-titled Hulu series Ramy centers on his titular character, a young Muslim trying to reconcile his elastic identity. He’s the son of Egyptian immigrants living in New Jersey stretched in multiple directions, between his Muslim community, God, his friends, and his still murky future. The series was a critical hit when ...
