Author Archives: Natalie Leavenworth

‘I couldn’t be less interested in fashion’: the designer who dressed Mad Max and Cruella – and changed the world | Jenny Beavan | The Guardian

Up for a fourth Oscar thanks to Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, Jenny Beavan talks about her bohemian childhood, her early work with Merchant Ivory and how she deals with difficult actors — Read on amp.theguardian.com/film/costume-and-culture/2023/feb/28/i-couldnt-be-less-interested-in-fashion-the-designer-who-dressed-mad-max-and-cruella-and-changed-the-world

‘Wakanda Forever’: Ruth E. Carter on Dressing for an Underwater Wonderland | Vanity Fair

For the Black Panther sequel, the Oscar-winning costume designer had to not only elevate characters’ looks, but also make everything functional while wet. — Read on http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/11/black-panther-wakanda-forever-costumes-ruth-carter-awards-insider/amp

How ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ Costumes Tease Film’s Secrets – Variety

Costume designer Arianne Phillips and makeup head Heba Thorisdottir reveal how they tease ‘Don’t Worry Darling’s’ secrets. — Read on variety.com/2022/film/news/dont-worry-darling-arianne-phillips-costume-design-makeup-florence-pugh-1235363164/

Better Call Saul: how fashion plays a key part in the Netflix show’s success as costume designer Jennifer Bryan explains her style choices

As Season 6 ends, we look at how Better Call Saul uses costumes to create a strong visual vocabulary and ultimately contributes to the show’s popularity — Read on amp.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3188695/better-call-saul-how-fashion-plays-key-part-netflix-shows

Jenny Beavan Wins Best Costume Design for ‘Cruella’ at 2022 Oscars – The Hollywood Reporter

Jenny Beavan Wins Best Costume Design for ‘Cruella’ at 2022 Oscars – The Hollywood Reporter — Read on http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/jenny-beavan-oscar-best-costume-design-cruella-1235119671/amp/

How Dune’s Costume Designers Created the Definitive Sci-Fi Fashion Fantasy | Vogue

Star Rebecca Ferguson and costume designers Jacqueline West and Bob Morgan on bringing the seminal novel and its ornate style to the big screen. — Read on http://www.vogue.com/slideshow/dune-costume-designers-interview-definitive-science-fiction-fantasy

Oscars 2021: Ann Roth makes history as oldest woman to win – Los Angeles Times

Oscars 2021: Ann Roth makes history as oldest woman to win – Los Angeles Times Costume designer Ann Roth works with Taylour Paige on the set of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” — Read on https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-04-25/oscars-2021-ann-roth-oldest-winner-ma-raineys-black-bottom?_amp=true

A Dress of One’s Own: Women in the German Dress Reform Movement. – The Costume Society

A Dress of One’s Own: Women in the German Dress Reform Movement. – The Costume Society — Read on costumesociety.org.uk/blog/post/a-dress-of-ones-own-women-in-the-german-dress-reform-movement To close in the spirit of Maria van der Velde: “But I am convinced that all these difficulties will someday be overcome, that a good spirit will emerge, and that women will stir themselves toContinue reading “A Dress of One’s Own: Women in the German Dress Reform Movement. – The Costume Society”

Bridgerton Raises Consumer Interest in Regency Fashion, Costume Design – WWD

Thanks to Netflix shows like ‘Bridgerton,’ consumers are showing rising demand for Regency fashion and pieces inspired by costume design. — Read on wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/costume-design-fashion-reality-ready-to-wear-bridgerton-inspired-regency-1234755133/

‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ Costume Designer Ann Roth on Her Method – Variety

For ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ costume designer Ann Roth, the secret to success is in helping actors find characters through their looks. — Read on variety.com/2020/artisans/production/ma-raineys-black-bottom-costume-designer-ann-roth-1234823273/

Exploring the Deeper Meaning Behind Grace Fraser’s Lavish Coats on The Undoing

We talked to The Undoing’s costume designer, Signe Sejlund, about Grace Fraser’s famous coats on the HBO miniseries. Get all the wardrobe details here. — Read on http://www.popsugar.com/fashion/grace-fraser-coats-the-undoing-47970756/amp

Disney’s Mulan: The costumes are bright, dramatic, and (mostly) historically accurate – Vox

Liu Yifei as Mulan https://www.vox.com/the-goods/21409124/mulan-costume-designer-chinese-fashion-expert Designer Bina Daigeler and a Chinese fashion expert explain the historical inspiration behind the film’s outfits.

Paul Tazewell on designing the costumes for ‘Hamilton’

Paul Tazewell on designing the costumes for ‘Hamilton’ – Business Insider — Read on http://www.google.com/amp/s/www.businessinsider.com/paul-tazewell-costume-designer-hamilton-2016-4?amp Throughout the whole design process, the smartest thing for Tazewell to do was simply to “get out of the way,” stripping things down so that his work could “breathe more.”    “Ultimately, I can only finally judge by how I feelContinue reading “Paul Tazewell on designing the costumes for ‘Hamilton’”

How The ‘Maggie’s Plan’ Costume Designer, Malgosia Turzanska, Interpreted Greta Gerwig, Julianne Moore and Ethan Hawke’s Characters

http://www.indiewire.com/2016/05/how-the-maggies-plan-costume-designer-interpreted-greta-gerwig-julianne-moore-and-ethan-hawkes-characters-289102/

‘Little Women’ costumes get modern spin in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation – CNN

‘Little Women’ costumes get modern spin in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation – CNN — Read on http://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnn.com/style/amp/little-women-costumes-jacqueline-durran/index.html Also a savage take down of Jacqueline Durran’s costumes, https://youtu.be/5uNZpoBoKFM Notice the Ugg’s!

Why did the costume designer of “Shrill” have to make most of the costumes?

https://www.buzzfeed.com/patricepeck/shrill-aidy-bryant-plus-size-fashion-hulu?utm_source=dynamic&utm_campaign=bfsharecopy Why aren’t there cool and interesting clothes for fat women? That is something that the costume designer for the new show “Shrill” ran into when she was shopping for the show. She ended up having to sew many of the dresses and outfits that Aidy Bryant wore as well as others in the show.Continue reading “Why did the costume designer of “Shrill” have to make most of the costumes?”

How Do You Dress a Russian Doll?

How Do You Dress a Russian Doll? — Read on http://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/02/14/style/russian-doll-style-netflix.amp.html “It’s important to me that these people don’t read as caricatures, that their clothes aren’t costumes,” Ms. Rogien said. Paraphrasing Diane Arbus, she stated her credo: “The more specific you can be in telling the story, the more realistic it is, and the moreContinue reading “How Do You Dress a Russian Doll?”

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style – The New York Times

Whether he’s capturing David Lee Roth or Bed-Stuy street style, Montana Levi Blanco’s secret: an anthropological attention to detail and “amazing aggressive shopping.” — Read on http://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/07/theater/costume-designer-montana-levi-blanco.html

Costume Design as Collage part 2

http://www.montanaleviblanco.com/the-death-of-the-last-black-man-in-the-whole-entire-world/ Montana Levi Blanco “The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World” by Suzan–Lori Parks To outfit the characters in Suzan-Lori Parks’s play, which Ben Brantley called, “a fever dream from which there is truly no waking,” Mr. Blanco explored African-American archetypes and caricatures, creating haunting collages that he made into sketches. From thoseContinue reading “Costume Design as Collage part 2”

Costume Design as Collage

Kaye Voyce (costume designer for True West) describes the art of costume design, in collaboration with the director, actors and other designers, as a kind of “active collage process.” “With more contemporary clothes, it’s all about hunting down the right pieces, being open to surprise and how things are put together,” she says. https://www.forbes.com/sites/darrynking/2019/01/26/what-does-a-broadway-costume-designer-actually-do/ I loveContinue reading “Costume Design as Collage”

#MeToo, Sexual Harassment in the Costume Shop

Sexual harassment is all too prevalent in theatres and college theater departments. It’s a common theme of the casting couch and predatory directors. It’s worth considering how to make sure that costume shops are free from that type of abuse and are safe for performers and costumers. When I was starting out as a collegeContinue reading “#MeToo, Sexual Harassment in the Costume Shop”

Working with Costume Props

Laurie Metcalf in The Doll’s House Part 2 “I like being trusted that I’ll be able to figure out the technical stuff,” she said. “It sounds boring, but in the opening few minutes of our play there are a lot of decisions that had to be worked out. Where does the hat go? When doContinue reading “Working with Costume Props”

Elizabethan Costume From Two Used Wedding Dresses

Recently I made a costume for someone, a big drag version of Queen Elizabeth. He really liked the look of Cate Blanchet in a pale blue gown with delicate beaded trim. Because it was a costume that had a limited budget I wanted it to be highly decorated but I couldn’t afford to buy aContinue reading “Elizabethan Costume From Two Used Wedding Dresses”

Green Isn’t Always Bad Luck in the Theatre

Sustainable Costuming It is a sad truth but making theatre is one of the least sustainable thing you can do. We waste so much stuff! It makes me sick to think about whole sets being thrown out and how much I’ve spent on costumes that were used for just a few hours. So what toContinue reading “Green Isn’t Always Bad Luck in the Theatre”

Fitting Period Clothes; it’s all about the underware…

One of the interesting things about fitting period garments is using corsets. Let me tell you right now that you are not going to pull your actors waists in to 19” like in Gone With The Wind. What a corset will do is change the shape of the waist from an oval into a circle.Continue reading “Fitting Period Clothes; it’s all about the underware…”

Fitting, It Just Taint Fitting!

A large part of your time as a designer will be taken up with fittings. It’s heaven to have a separate fitting room but it isn’t common. Usually I have done fittings in the dressing room or the laundry room. What is really key is to get out of the shop, what you don’t wantContinue reading “Fitting, It Just Taint Fitting!”

Putting the Pieces Together

I have heard actors say that creating a character consists of putting the pieces together. They might start by finding the voice, or by finding the posture. Every actor has their own method of finding their way into the characterization of the part. Very often the actor starts with the physicality and the look ofContinue reading “Putting the Pieces Together”

Working With Directors

Working with a director is infinitely more varied and in many ways more difficult than working with actors. All actors are interested in what they will be wearing and almost all will talk about their characters for as long as anyone can stand it. Directors come in many more varieties. Some good directors will beContinue reading “Working With Directors”

blink, The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

The book blink, the Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell provides an interesting window into what we are doing as costume designers. The thesis of the book is that we all make split second decisions about other people based on what we see and how we interpret it. It is something that isContinue reading “blink, The Power of Thinking Without Thinking”