Fashion Design Review

By Channaly Oum

Epoch Times Philadelphia Staff

WINTERTHUR, Del.—The route to costume design does not necessarily have to pass through fashion design, as one might assume.

Nancy Steiner, whose costume designer credits include “Little Miss Sunshine,” and “Lost in Translation,” said, “Fashion is a whole different thing; it’s keeping ahead of the times, being on the edge.” Many costume designers, such as herself, did not study fashion design in school. Teresa Binder-Westby (”Sixth Sense” and “Shadowboxer”) says she was simply “a vintage hound.”

John Bright, founder of English costume house Cosprop, and costume designer (”A Room With a View,” “Sense and Sensibility”), followed a four-year fashion course, but said, “[I] listened to what they had to say during the day, and at night I’d look at books.”

The costume designers spoke about their craft at a recent panel discussion, which took place earlier this month at the Winterthur Museum and was presented jointly with the Greater Philadelphia Film Office.

Most costume designers shop for the wardrobe they need. When they cannot find what they need, they find it more efficient to make it.

Often, multiples of outfits will be needed, for example a clean shirt, a shirt that’s somewhat dirty, and a really dirty shirt. Juliet Polcsa, costume designer for “The Sopranos” said she sometimes needed three or five multiples: “People get dirty, get blood on them … It depends on the action.”

The designers spoke about the roles of directors and actors in their work.

Juliet Polcsa explained that directors vary in their understanding of their craft. Some are very hands-off regarding costume design, to the point of being uninformed, while others are quite collaborative.

Steiner described director Sofia Coppola, “She knows exactly what she wants, which makes it easier and harder. She’s very specific.”

Sophie de Rakoff, an English costume designer based in Los Angeles who was the costume designer for “In Her Shoes,” said director Curtis Hanson “knew the characters inside out—not about what they look like, but who they are.”

Actors also often bring their own ideas and their own feelings about the clothes they are asked to wear.

For the entire article, please click here.