California Apparel News

Nominees put their costumes in a starring role for Oscar night

Costumes are more than fabric sculpted into period pieces seen on the silver screen. They are creations that bring characters to life and transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.

It’s an art form that supports the narrative while creating a whole new world for filmgoers. It’s the hunt for the right period piece or the search for a rare fabric design that will bring authenticity to the film.

California Apparel News Contributing Writer Claudia Schou recently spoke with four of the five Academy Award nominees for Best Costume Design in 2005.

Gabriella Pescucci, the costume designer for “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” was out of the country and could not be reached for an interview. Jacqueline Durran“Pride & Prejudice”

Jacqueline Durran got her start as a costume design assistant in the late 1990s, working on films such as Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” and Mike Leigh’s “Topsy-Turvy,” before landing her solo gigs as costume designer for “All or Nothing” (2002) and “Vera Drake” (2004). The British-born costume designer was thrilled with the task of creating Regency period costumes for the adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Pride & Prejudice.” How does it feel to be nominated for your first Oscar?

I am absolutely delighted to be nominated for an Academy Award. When I’m working on costumes, I try to be conscious of the distinctions that the script makes between characters, and I underline and emphasize those distinctions with my designs. It’s gratifying when people recognize your work because then you feel you really have made a contribution to the film. How did you adapt your design style to Jane Austen’s about an 18th-century family in Hartfordshire, England, whose lives are disrupted when a wealthy young man and his friends arrive?

The main differences between the costumes in this production and other Jane Austen interpretations are that we really pushed the provincial styling of the characters and tried to make them seem more real. We worked very hard to make the clothes look lived in and a bit scruffy. We had some one working full time to break the costumes down, dyeing and overdyeing, muddying hems, etc.

The director, Joe Wright, wanted the Bennets to look like a provincial family who didn’t have much money. When designing the Bennets’ clothes, I aimed for a handmade, unsophisticated look, using linens and cottons. It was also decided early on that the film would be set in 1796, which meant in fashion terms that we were in the transition stage between the 18th-century corset style with a natural waistline and the more extreme empire line of the 1800s. The Bennet girls’ dresses were designed with a slightly raised waistline, but Mrs. Bennet, being an older woman and knowing that the late 18th-century shape would be more flattering, was dressed in the slightly old-fashioned style.

I designed the costumes in a way that the Bennet girls were pretty up to date in their 1790s silhouette. Lizzie’s clothes are more consistent throughout the film. Her dresses were made either of cotton or linen. Their parents’ costumes were a bit old-fashioned for the era (wearing a late 18th-century style), in order to strengthen the distinction between these country people and the Bingleys/Darcy. The rich, urban characters wore styles fashionable in the first years of the 19th century. For example, Caroline Bingley’s first dress is taken from a painting of Madame Recamier by Jacques-Louis David. To further mark the difference, their clothes were made of silk. All of Caroline Bingley’s dresses were made of silk. There weren’t any original 18th-century items in the film, although some of the shawls were mid-19th century. The film was shot in some pretty spectacular settings. Did the film’s backdrop play a role in your costume styling?

It was wonderful working with Sarah Greenwood, the production designer, because we talked a lot about what colors each of the sets would be, the color of the character’s environment, and how all of those elements would work with the costumes’ colors.

The exterior of Darcy’s house was Chatsworth Manor in Derbyshire. The interior was Wilton House in Wiltshire. The Bennets’ house was located near Tunbridge Wells in Kent. The Bennet house is a private residence that was about to be renovated, so the art department created the Bennet house almost from scratch.

When we were shooting a scene at Chatsworth, the director asked for a tea service (for a scene no longer in the film), and the Duchess of Devonshire, who currently lives at Chatsworth Manor, volunteered to lend a tea service made in the 1780s that her ancestor, an earlier Duchess of Devonshire, the famous Georgiana, had bought while shopping in Paris with [Queen of France] Marie Antoinette! All of us were so nervous about breaking it, we decided not to use it. Arianne Phillips“Walk the Line”

California native Arianne Phillips, nominated for “Walk the Line,” starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, has made a name for herself as a celebrity stylist working with well-known musical performers such as Madonna, Lenny Kravitz and Courtney Love. But Phillips’ eclectic tailoring also helped to create cult followings for films such as “The Crow” (1994), “Tank Girl” (1995) and “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” (2001). Phillips recently discussed how she re-created the Man in Black.You’ve workedwith some pretty big musical performers on videos and live shows. In whatways is it similar or different working on a movie set with actors?

When you’re dressing someone, either as a costume designer or as a stylist, it’s a very personal, intimate experience. It’s also a very visceral experience in which you become aware of people’s most intimate insecurities. It’s a very sensitive issue, especially when dressing women. Costumes not only help actors get into character, they sometimes insulate them from their own insecurities. What’s your approach to costume design?

I’m interested in serving the story from beginning to end. I learned how to develop an understanding of characters from the time I was in junior high and high school performing in community theaters. My parents bought me acting books like Stanislavski’s “An Actor Prepares” because they knew I had a deep respect, even at an early age, for the theater.Johnny Cash was a tough, skinny guitar singer whose music was kind of dark for the 1950s. You did a really good job creating a portrait of a man who had some issues with his past. What kind of research did you do for “Walk the Line”?

I studied family photos of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. The production design staff shared a lot of their research with me as well. There were a lot of icons in our films like Roy Orbison, Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, so we studied film footage of them during that era. I studied visual flipbooks for men’s and women’s wardrobes from the 1940s to the 1960s. Many of Cash’s clothes have a contemporary or timeless feel. It’s interesting to see how relevant Johnny Cash’s style is today. Even though the costumes are authentically from the ’50s and ’60s, the clothes still make a lot of sense to us, so they don’t really feel period. Whatwas the design process for “Walk the Line?”

Some of the companies and tailors who made Johnny Cash’s clothes are still in business in Nashville, but my budget couldn’t afford it. So we did everything ourselves. We created muslins of the actors right away and designed the costumes using tons of storyboards with collages and lots of visuals. We did all of our prep work in Los Angeles before shooting the film on location in Memphis, Tenn.

For June Carter Cash’s character, I used vintage fabrics such as lightweight summer cottons, organza, silk and jersey. We used vintage fabrics that were sent to us from all over the country. June Carter Cash was very fashionable and someone who did pay attention to fashion magazines. My favorite dress is the red organza Swiss-dot “Howdy Doody” country-style dress with a sweetheart neckline. It’s the outfit she’s wearing when her character is introduced in the film. I found the dress at the Santa Monica Vintage Expo and bought it with hopes of using it someday. That dress was my talisman, my good luck charm. I retooled it quite a bit for Reese’s character.

For Johnny Cash’s character, we made all of his shirts and suits using gabardine wool and silk fabrics. I made four black suits for Joaquin. My favorite was a three-piece suit with brocade vest and vintage silk jacket, with qualities not unlike upholstery fabric, with Western-style embroidery detail. How did you re-create the Man in Black from a performance standpoint?

The movie is about the journey of a man creating his own identity and then becoming the Man in Black. I know from being a stylist for musicians that clothes move differently when you’re playing instruments and performing onstage. I took into consideration that I was working with actors [Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon] who were learning to sing and play instruments for the first time. I wanted to create costumes that gave them a sense of sure footing and confidence.

I also have knowledge of how different fabrics look under lighting. I like to work with fabrics that have some kind of texture sheen to the fabric so it doesn’t appear too matte under the light. I like fabrics that drape or have movement. Strong silhouettes are important for stage performers. I tried to create bold, graphic looks that could be seen from far distances so it is equally as powerful for someone sitting in the back row as it is for someone who is seeing the performer up close. This technique also translates well on camera. Sandy Powell“Mrs. Henderson Presents”

With a handful of Academy Award nominations to her credit, Sandy Powell honed her craft in films such as “Orlando” (1992), “The Wings of the Dove” (1997), “Velvet Goldmine” (1998) and “Gangs of New York” (2002) before bringing home the Oscar for “Shakespeare in Love” (1999) and “The Aviator” (2004). The two-time Academy Award winner just completed her third film collaboration with director Martin Scorsese for “The Departed.” “Mrs. Henderson Presents” is the story of a well-to-do widow, Laura Henderson, who buys a run-down theater in prewar London and reopens it as the Windmill, known for its all-nude revues. What kind of design direction did you and director Stephen Frears have in mind?

To make the costumes look as great and to also be historically accurate.The style of theater, although obviously inspired by burlesque and even films from the U.S., was unique in its flavor of “Englishness.” I think there is something a little naive about it in comparison to the slickness of American productions. For family entertainment value, it has a certain innocence and simplicity about it. The main influences were the people themselves who were the original performers. How did you set out to re-create the glamorous and revealing outfits for the Millerettes and the Tableaux girls?

Preparation took about 10 weeks. I didn’t create design boards, but I did sketches for designs based on the reference materials I accumulated. My research consisted of old wartime photographs and documentary film footage taken in London. I studied theatrical costume design from that era. I also had access to many original photos and programs from the Windmill. I was also fortunate to meet with a few of the Windmill girls who performed at the theater from 1935 to 1945. They gave me invaluable information about their experiences and their recollections of Mrs. Henderson. What types of fabrics did you use for the costumes?

When possible I used vintage fabrics that I found at flea markets and specialty shops in Paris and London. Some of the fabrics I used had been purchased in the U.S. when I did costume design for “The Aviator.” These fabrics consisted of silks and satins (for eveningwear and underwear), velvets and wool crepe. There were some instances where I used vintage undergarments. I also used vintage wool gabardine for men’s suiting. It had to be the correct weight for the period, which was heavier than today’s men’s suiting. The more I realized I was using original fabrics, the more inspirational the design experience was for me.

All of the stage costumes and most of the principal actors’ costumes were made from scratch. For Bob Hoskins, we made a rust-colored, wide-striped three-piece suit of heavy vintage wool. It was his favorite suit. He called it his “tiger-stripe-suit.”My favorite costume for Judi Dench was a chocolate-brown crepe day dress worn under a brown- and turquoise-printed coat/shawl made from vintage velvet. She also wears a brown, fan-shaped hat and amber and turquoise jewelry. There were a lot of Asian accents for Mrs. Henderson’s costumes.

The reason I used Asian influences for Mrs. Henderson is because there are several photos of her wearing “chinoiserie,” which was a fashionable, bohemian thing to do. It also mentions in the script that she lived in India for years, so I just imagined that she was well-traveled.Colleen Atwood“Memoirs of a Geisha”

Three years ago, Colleen Atwood received an Oscar nod for her 1930s-era costume designs in the film adaptation of “Chicago.” Both “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events” and her longtime design collaboration with director Tim Burton have earned her a solid reputation in the fantasy genre. She’s currently working on “Ripley’s Believe It or Not,” directed by Tim Burton. Arthur Golden’s novel, “Memoirs of a Geisha,” is very descriptive of the clothing worn by geishas in privileged households in Japan. Was that helpful in your research and design?

Yes, Golden’s novel is very descriptive of the clothing and romanticizes it. The geisha’s world was “unseen” and “unspoken.”The kimono is an art form in Japanese society. It’s not just something you wear. The quality of the kimono that the geisha wore was of the highest level. It was quality. The fabric was custom-woven. The painting and final finishing touches of embroidery were performed by artisans of the day. Our kimonos are a poor man’s work of art compared to what’s out there in Japan. The level of artistry there is fantastic.

“Memoirs of a Geisha” is a period film, and the film’s director, Rob Marshall, wanted the impression of the beauty and what it meant in society. He wanted to romanticize it and make it something that was beautiful and more accessible to people who don’t know the history of the geisha in Japan.

What was the design process for the film’s wardrobe?

I had a workroom here in Los Angeles where we made the costumes ourselves. We didn’t consult experts on kimonos because there are so many opinions about the way a kimono should be made. Beforehand, we talked to several experts and took what information we could from them, but we did things differently. For the silhouette, we designed kimonos with exaggerated sleeves and dipped the collar on the back.Our intent was to create an impression of the time, not duplicate the time. It was from a non-Japanese point of view, as was Golden’s novel. There were many improvisations on the theme.

Rob is one of the most helpful directors I’ve ever worked with. He allowed me the time to work on the costumes. We balanced the scenes and the costumes based on the costumes that were already completed. It took some of the costumes six months to create. We paced the film’s production with the costumes that were being created for the film. There is a big dance number [with all of the principal actors in the film] that we prepped for first because we knew it was going to be shot first. We knew which scenes were behind so we could schedule our production according to that time frame. The film was shot entirely in Los Angeles. How much time did you spend in Japan?

I was in Japan for a week for a cultural tour and then I went back shopping at two different intervals to organize fabrics and kimonos. The film was shot on a set that was built outside Westlake Village. It was a created world. I coordinated a lot with the set designer and the set decorator, who were wonderful collaborators. How many people made up the costume department?

There was a team of about 15 set people and then in the workroom about 20 people. We made everything for the film—shoes, hair ornaments, kimonos, obis, purses, all of those wonderful things that were part of that era in Japan. I think we built between 300 and 400 costumes and had a rental stock of about 1,000 for peasants, fishing village people, prewar and postwar costumes. There were lots of different periods in the film. We categorized all of the costumes by the era. Your kimonos are pretty amazing, but not in a traditional way.

The life journey of the main character, Sayuri, was likened to the flow of a river and her affinity for water was a constant visual motif in the film. There’s a scene where Sayuri, as a young geisha, is surrounded by sky and pink cherry blossoms. We wanted her kimono to be reflective of her surroundings. We created a kimono from Japanese fabric that was embroidered by a woman on the East Coast who studied embroidery in Japan. It took her six months to make it because of the intricacy of the embroidery. We knew it was going to be a showpiece. It has red embroidery. The inside of the kimono is beautifully hand-finished. The gold lameacute; obi that she wears was woven and embroidered here in Los Angeles, and the base is vintage brocade from Japan.

Hatsumomo wore much stronger colors and patterns than what a real geisha wore. One costume was made with red silk fabric woven with a small amount of gold. It was embroidered with chromium yellow and black wisteria blossoms caught in a spider web of gold couching. For this scene the kimono had to be soaking wet. We needed a color that would show up as colorful when wet and decided on red. With films like “Edward Scissorhands” and “Chicago” under your belt you seem to have mastered costume designs for both period films and fantasy.

I enjoy dabbling in both genres, whether it’s drawing from different periods of time to create fantasy costumes or adding elements of fantasy to period films. Sometimes these touches are very slight but can suddenly free a design and a character from the mundane.