Latest news with #costumedesign
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Paul Tazewell makes awards history again, becomes only 2nd costume designer to win Oscar and Tony in same year
Three months after making history as the first Black man to win the Oscar for Best Costume Design for his work on Wicked, Paul Tazewell scored the Tony Award on Sunday for Best Costume Design of a Musical for Death Becomes Her. That makes him just the second person in history to win an Oscar and Tony for costume design in the same calendar year. "Having been a part of Death Becomes Her and creating a piece of theater where people can be laughing and joyful, I think that that makes a huge difference in people's lives," Tazewell told Gold Derby a week ago. "That's why I do what I do. More from GoldDerby 2025 Tony Awards (updating live): Sarah Snook wins Best Actress in a Play for 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' 'We need to be gayer than ever before': 'RuPaul's Drag Race' queens and producers get political at FYC pool party 'Ran' turns 40: How a clerical error and bad blood cost Akira Kurosawa an Oscar READ: 'Death Becomes Her' costume designer Paul Tazewell on creating show's spectacular outfits: 'Theater-making is about the impossible' (exclusive images) Tazewell previously won the Tony for Hamilton in 2016, joining the following list of individuals who won both Tonys and Oscars for costume design: Irene Sharaff — won her first Oscar in 1952 for An American in Paris; won the Tony in 1952 for The King & I; won four more Oscars in 1956 for that musical's subsequent film version, 1962 for West Side Story, 1964 for Cleopatra, and 1967 for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Cecil Beaton — won his first two Tonys in 1955 for Quadrille and 1957 for My Fair Lady; won his first Oscar in 1959 for Gigi; won his third Tony in 1960 for Saratoga; won another Oscar in 1965 for the film version of My Fair Lady; won his fourth and final Tony in 1970 for Coco. Anthony Powell — won the Tony in 1963 for The School for Scandal; won three Oscars in 1973 for Travels with My Aunt, 1979 for Death on the Nile, and 1981 for Tess. Theoni V. Aldredge — won the Oscar in 1975 for The Great Gatsby; won three Tonys in 1977 for Annie, 1980 for Barnum, and 1984 for La Cage aux Folles. Tim Chappel & Lizzy Gardiner — won the Oscar in 1995 for The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert; won the Tony in 2011 for its subsequent stage musical adaptation. Ann Roth — won her first Oscar in 1997 for The English Patient; won the Tony in 2013 for The Nance; won her second Oscar in 2021 for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Until Sunday, Sharaff was the only one who managed to win both in the same calendar year, which in her case, was in 1952. Tazewell also has an Emmy for The Wiz Live! (2016), so he's three-quarters to an EGOT, only missing a Grammy. Best of GoldDerby 'Maybe Happy Ending' star Darren Criss on his Tony nomination for playing a robot: 'Getting to do this is the true win' Who Needs a Tony to Reach EGOT? Sadie Sink on her character's 'emotional rage' in 'John Proctor Is the Villain' and her reaction to 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' Click here to read the full article.
Forbes
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Cordelia Cupp: Creating An Iconic Detective For The 21st Century
Larry Dokes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), Colin Trask (Dan Perrault), Wally Glick (Spencer Garrett), Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba), Edwin Park (Randall Park), Irv Samuelson (Andrew Friedman), Harry Hollinger (Ken Marino), Lilly Schumacher (Molly Griggs) in episode 'The Residence.' Cr. Erin Simkin/Netflix © 2024 ERIN SIMKIN/NETFLIX For 'The Residence,' a recent Netflix series created by Paul William Davies and produced by Shondaland, costume designer Lyn Paolo costumed an ensemble cast of excellent performers. Detective Cordelia Cupp, in all her bird-watching, type-A, detail-obsessed glory, is the sort of character who redefines an archetype for an era. 'This show was a real jigsaw puzzle,' Lyn Paolo told me. We'd met on Zoom to talk about her work on The Residence, a Shondaland murder mystery you can stream in its entirety on Netflix right now. The eight-episode limited series is a variation on more than a few classic tropes from the detective genre, but I cannot quite figure out how to explain exactly how stylish the whole thing is. Every frame is impeccable, especially when the show aims for high camp. 'I keep rewatching it, I don't often do that, rewatch and rewatch, because I'm so disparaging of my own work,' the designer explained. 'But this show, because I love the actors so much, and because the whole team, from production design to props, hair, makeup, all did such an unbelievable job. You know, sometimes you work on a show and things aren't quite getting right. Everyone's not on the same page. But Paul Davies, who created the series, was there every day and spoke to all of us. I think it built a bigger, stronger community. So the work is better and that's what you want on a production.' Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) testifies at a closed-door senate hearing with Larry Dokes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) and Edwin Park (Randall Park) sitting behind her. JESSICA BROOKS/NETFLIX This Netflix series (PLEASE give us a second season) is a bit meta, it is about archetypes, a story about storytelling told by an expert cruciverbalist. And even though this is a murder mystery, one which takes place in the living quarters of the White House during a fictional American president's term, it is delightful at every opportunity. Whenever a series or film feels effortless, it reminds me of the naked makeup look; the simplicity is deceptive and actually achieving it requires an insane amount of work. The puzzle Paolo was talking about, it was creating a detective who could hold her ground against the greats, the names that we already know and love. A private eye whose costumes might nod to or reference literary conventions, but who remained entirely herself, a complete and flushed-out individual. 'The goal was to create what we hope will become an iconic image of a detective,' the designer told me, 'like Matlock, Columbo, Sherlock Holmes. It was a fun challenge.' The result was Cordelia Cupp, portrayed by the brilliant Uzo Aduba, an actor who can say more with her eyes than many of her contemporaries can with the totality of their professional tools. Wally Glick (Spencer Garrett), Harry Hollinger (Ken Marino), Didier Gotthard (Bronson Pinchot), Sheila Cannon (Edwina Findley), Jasmine Haney (Susan Kelechi Watson), Bruce Geller (Mel Rodriguez), Tripp Morgan (Jason Lee), Marvella (Mary Wiseman), Lilly Schumacher (Molly Griggs), Elliot Morgan (Barrett Foa), President Perry Morgan (Paul Fitzgerald), and Patrick Doumbe (Timothy Hornor) in episode 108 of The Residence. Cr. Jessica Brooks/Netflix © 2024 JESSICA BROOKS/NETFLIX The first thing you need to understand about Lyn Paolo is that she loves her work a lot, that it feeds her mind and probably her soul. While this series was in production, she was simultaneously designing the costumes for The Pitt (HBO Max.) The designer enjoyed the contrast and the challenge, the way it forced her brain to stretch in new ways to accommodate the needs of both productions. (A quick aside: If you think costumes for medical shows are easy because they are mostly scrubs and white jackets, please know that a great deal of work goes into them.) 'As a costume designer,' Paolo told me, I've always enjoyed making my brain jump from one world to another at the same time, because I think that makes me stronger. In costume design, you end up doing the same thing over and over again, I mean, the process is the process. I like to have a range. I want to be challenged. When you've done this job as long as I have, when something like The Residence comes along, which is so different from Queen Charlotte, which was the last show I did, you have to take your brain and compartmentalize everything that you did and rethink everything.' The Residence is dedicated to Andre Braugher on a press tour for "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" — August 2018 (Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images) NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Andre Braugher, an extraordinary actor you will undoubtedly remember for his roles in productions like Glory (1989), Primal Fear (1989), The Tuskegee Airmen (1995), or Salt (2010). This writer's favorite was his brilliant portrayal of Captain Raymond Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Braugher was originally tapped to play White House Chief Usher, A. B. Wynter on The Residence. Filming had begun, at least four of Braugher's key scenes had been completed, when the actor unexpectedly and tragically died of cancer in December of 2023. Production was faced with a dilemma about how to proceed, eventually replacing him with Giancarlo Esposito. 'In my world, I seem to work with the same people constantly,' Paolo told me. 'Even Andre I had worked with before. I was so happy to be back with him and so sad to lose him halfway through the project. But Giancarlo, wow, what a trooper came in and he is so dapper, so smart. He just delivered A. B. to us, which was for the crew. We were all so sad, I'm going to cry, but he rescued us.' It is unsurprising that Paolo continues to work with the same people, her CV reads like a fantasy of a streaming service queue. In addition to the shows I've mentioned above, she also designed the costumes for Inventing Anna, Shameless, Little Fires Everywhere. She's worked with Paul Davies before too, on both Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder. But before this show, Paolo had never designed and made the costumes for a traditional, classic murder mystery à la BritBox or Masterpiece Theater. Mystery is her favorite genre. If we're talking about personal consumption of stories, Lyn Paolo has read or watched all of them. Presidential advisor Harry Hollinger (Ken Marino) and White House usher Sheila Cannon (Edwina Findley) in episode 108 of The Residence. Cr. Jessica Brooks/Netflix © 2024 JESSICA BROOKS/NETFLIX 'This was like coming home for me,' the designer said to me with a grin. 'I love a murder mystery. I'm a Midsomer Murders fan, anything from PBS, I'm there. I'm just a huge fan of anything related to murder mysteries. I've read all of Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell… I mean, I've read them all.' As someone currently working my way through P.D. James blacklist (and who is currently waiting for physical DVDs of The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries to arrive since it cannot be streamed), talking with Paolo about our mutual appreciation of the genre, I felt like I'd met a kindred spirit. And learning about the show, the way things worked behind the scenes, it was quickly clear that those in the cast and crew had similar feelings about this project, and working together to bring the story to life. 'Paul Davies really understands my crazy brain and the process I go through,' Paolo told me. But she's not crazy; it's self-deprecation honestly acquired. After all, costume designers are artists and craftspeople, and they do not always clearly see the magnitude of what they have accomplished. But let us start with Cordelia Cupp, before I get carried away with one fantastic detail or another, there are so many hidden in this story that are worth getting lost in. 'On many modern, contemporary shows, you don't get to build the costumes,' Paolo explained. 'I'm really proud of the show and it's very rare for me to say that. You'll see other interviews where I say I only see the things that I wish I had done differently. But on this show, I think because Paul Davies and I worked so well together, he made me a better costume designer because we put so much thought into every tiny little detail. And he gave me the time, he helped me to be able to do it. Sometimes with the schedule, you're rushing. Paul was like, no, no, let's sit and talk about this. He would come up to my office and sit on the couch. We spent many, many hours together looking at fabrics, looking at swatches, looking at sketches. Many, many hours.' Cordelia Cupp in episode 101 of The Residence. Cr. Jessica Brooks/Netflix © 2024 JESSICA BROOKS/NETFLIX As for our leading lady, 'Uzo completely got it,' Paolo told me. 'She was onboard and really a team player. We spent so much time, as we should, trying to reflect who Cordelia was through her costume. There were tiny little details, which I don't think the camera picks up, like on some of her shirting, which we made with tiny little birds on it. Her shoes had the little tassels, very 1930s tassels. And we like a brogue, that was harkening back to 1930s Basil Rathbone. We couldn't do the deerstalker hat, that would never have worked for Cordelia. And we talked about capes, we talked about capes a lot for a long time. But we decided that her jacket would become her cape.' To do all of this takes time, probably more time than the average viewer might suspect. A job takes as long as it takes to do it correctly and in The Residence, there is neither a scene nor a garment that was thrown together at the last minute. The audience feels this, even if it is not so overt as to be obviously and consciously noticeable. To dress Cordelia Cupp the way a real person would dress herself, Paolo spent a lot of time on birding research; the clothes, the gear, what birders actually need to be able to do, the ways specific to the hobby that require participants to move. 'Me being a Brit, I showed Paul all these images of the royal family from the 1930s,' the designer told me about starting the process.. 'You know, near Balmoral trumping around, going deer stalking. They all had these amazing tweed belted jackets, they were very sort-of military feeling, which we didn't want. So we came up with this idea of crossing the 1930s vibe, what would you wear if you went out looking for birds. Then we just kept recreating that look in different tweeds.' Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) inspects the body of A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito) with Edwin Park (Randall Park), Wally Glick (Spencer Garrett), Jasmine Haney (Susan Kelechi Watson), Harry Hollinger (Ken Marino), Colin Trask (Dan Perrault), Larry Dokes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), behind her in episode 101 of The Residence. Cr. Jessica Brooks/Netflix © 2024 JESSICA BROOKS/NETFLIX 'Uzo even went birding,' she laughed, 'which I absolutely love. It was a melding of all these elements, who Cordelia was, that she was very precise. She had to be very dynamic in her movements, bending down, crawling on the floor, looking at A. B.'s shirt, going outside a lot. She had to be able to move and do and be. You can't really do that in a cape, so the cape idea went away.' Instead, the silhouette became more modern, or at least felt rooted in the literary figures who appeared later in the 20th century. 'Poor Uzo tried on a plethora of looks,' Paolo told me. 'We sketched and sketched and made jackets and jackets and I'm really happy with where we ended up. I like that sort of British hunting jacket, tweed 1930s, Katherine-Hepburn-pant element that we got for Uzo. It worked on her, it worked for the story, and she was able to move and be dynamic. I think it stands out alone for her character, for Cordelia. I love it.' 'I am an avid reader,' Paolo said. 'My kids make so much fun of me because I keep building bookshelves in my house. I have them everywhere in every room. They're in bed, they're everywhere. Paul is also an avid reader, and that's how we approached this. I went back and reread Sherlock Holmes, Hound of the Baskervilles. I went back and read a whole slew of Agatha Christie. I went back to Ruth Rendell, Martha Grimes. I went back swirling through all the detectives in my head, all the Midsomer Murders. As I said, I'm a huge fan of these shows. I mean, it's been going on for years. I think all that literature, I don't know, it becomes part of your skin. You've absorbed yourself in all these stories for so long. When Paul called me and said, 'I've written a murder mystery,'I sort of heard angels singing above, just the thought that I would get to do a murder mystery. The idea of getting to work on a murder mystery, and one that was so quirky and had so many actual limitations as a costume designer. I mean, there was a whole palette of color that I could not use in my costumes.' The Residence. Kylie Minogue as herself performing at the White House during episode 102 of The Residence. Cr. Erin Simkin/Netflix © 2024 ERIN SIMKIN/NETFLIX The well-known, color-themed White House rooms offered one challenge, the bedrooms, the private spaces, of all the characters who make up our cast of suspects, offered different ones. The physical space an actor is in affects how they look on camera, how what they wear looks on camera, so it was never a question of simply picking or building an outfit that designer and actor both liked. The clothes had to fit into their space, just like in any other production. 'Just take away all the prime colors, why don't you, Paul,' the designer said to me with a laugh. I could easily imagine how much fun she must have had while drowning in work on this particular set. 'François Audouy was amazing,' the costume designer said of the production designer on The Residence. 'I just think those sets were phenomenal. They were beautiful. I'm going to tell you, that prop department, the fact that Uzo had to keep pulling things out of that bag, it's like that rabbit out of a top hat, that Bed Stu bag.' Before we left our Zoom, I asked the designer to tell me a story about Easter Eggs, something I could tell my readers without giving away who the killer was. Nan Cox (Jane Curtin) and Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) in episode 101 of The Residence. Cr. Jessica Brooks/Netflix © 2024 JESSICA BROOKS/NETFLIX 'One of my personal favorites,' Paolo said, 'because I've worked with Jane Curtin before, but in her bedroom, she's so truculent and amazing in this and so open to not being glamorous in any way. I mean, she was watching a show about birds and there were birds in the wallpaper in her bedroom. Then we had slippers that had little birds on the toe and bird socks underneath her pajamas. Throughout the whole show, if you can really look at it, there's a layering in of birds everywhere, there'll be a statue on a mantelpiece that has a bird.' These little details are not always noticed by viewers, but when they are? They are so gratifying to find, like you are being winked at from behind the camera. We all enjoy watching a clever story unspool on screen, knowing the makers were fixated on the details only makes the experience more enjoyable. Do we deserve Cordelia Cup? The answer is unclear, but it is a fact that we are very, very lucky to have her here with us in 2025. Hopefully the Gods of Netflix will give us a second season, this writer very much needs to know what happens next. All episodes from season one of The Residence are currently available to stream on Netflix.
New York Times
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
She Designed Jewelry for Lois Lane
Most viewers shied away from the scary parts in 'Dark Shadows,' a gothic TV soap opera in the late 1960s, but Dana Schneider, then 7, was transfixed by the black onyx ring that the vampire character Barnabas Collins wore. 'It caught my eye because it was so dramatic and prominent. You saw it every time he put his hand on his cane,' said Ms. Schneider, now 66. 'It was a family crest ring, which I'd never seen before.' In 1999, Ms. Schneider, by then a self-taught jewelry maker, moved to Los Angeles with the hope of getting costume designers to use her jewelry — or to commission new pieces for films and TV shows. Since then, more than 1,000 of her creations have appeared in about 80 productions, including movies such as 'The Matrix Reloaded' and 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' and TV series such as 'Game of Thrones' and 'Californication.' Ms. Schneider said she always tries to make her designs reflect the characters who wear them — and that standouts have included the Mockingjay pin worn by Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in some of the 'Hunger Games' films; the locket worn by Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) in 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' (2013); and a charm bracelet for Viola Fields (Jane Fonda) in 'Monster-in-Law' (2005). 'My intention is to help the actor get into character,' said Ms. Schneider, an Ohio native. 'Jewelry conveys who someone is or who they want to be.' An example might be the Sunbird necklace worn by Natascha McElhone's character during all seven seasons of the Showtime series 'Californication.' 'It was a wonderful, potent image I responded to,' Ms. McElhone said during a telephone interview from her London home. 'When the show ended, I bought one from her. It's become more synonymous with me now than my character.' Contracts with studios and production companies bar Ms. Schneider from producing some of her designs, but she sells others on her website, and her Etsy page, which lists the 18-karat gold Sunbird at $5,100. Coming up? Look for a necklace in a 18-karat gold and sterling silver mix that Ms. Schneider made for Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) in 'Superman: Legacy,' scheduled to debut in July. In a recent phone interview from her home in the northeastern Ohio city of Hudson, Ms. Schneider talked about making faux gems from beer bottles, the challenges of designing pieces when you don't know who will wear them and her love of heavy metal music. The discussion was condensed and edited for clarity. How did you break into the business? When I moved to Los Angeles, I knew which costume designers were working on the projects I wanted to work on but didn't know how to find them. There was networking, recommendations and knocking on doors with my huge portfolio of 60 pieces — or 18 pounds of silver — that I dragged around. I saw Kym Barrett, who did the 'Matrix' movies, and Colleen Atwood, who does Tim Burton's films. Tim Burton's 'Planet of the Apes' (2001) was your first film? Yes. I had created large skeletal bronze arm pieces. Colleen showed Tim, who liked it. They asked for other pieces. I made several things for Tim Roth's character, Thade; most were sewn onto his costume and are seen throughout the movie. What is the production process? It's a true collaboration with the costume designer, who might select pieces from existing jewelry I show them, or we talk about what she would like and what I'm able to make for her in a certain time frame and cost. Sometimes that's only two weeks. The Mockingjay pin took three months because there were many technical details. Sometimes I'm given free rein; other times they give me a script and directions. I rarely know what size fingers anyone has, or who I'm designing for, or who will end up wearing something. And materials? Sterling silver and 18-karat gold; sometimes it's with diamonds and gemstones. I don't make costume jewelry, which is junk metal, sequins and glue. I make jewelry for costumes. My workroom is jammed with hundreds of designs and over 2,000 molds for casting. I have a ton of weird materials: beetle shells to add an iridescent look, feathers, butterfly wings, eggshells, seashells, gemstones, beads and turquoise. I've been collecting vintage Bakelite on eBay for years and plexiglass pieces from the 80s. Do you have special jewelry making skills? I have hand casting, carving wood and wax model skills. I cast all my prototypes in silver. I can incorporate leather, stones, pearls or beads into my work. I've developed an interesting way of creating what look like real gemstones, which involves shattered Heineken bottles and different colored glasses. How do you prepare or research a specific character? I've been told a lot of the story lines, outlining the character, by the costume designer. They will email me photos of fabrics or drawings of a costume. If I'm doing a historical piece, like 'From Hell' — a 2001 Jack the Ripper film starring Johnny Depp — I'd do a lot of research, like learning about mourning jewelry or how to incorporate real hair into rings and pendants. I'm constantly listening to audiobooks about history and geography, and reading science fiction or comic books. For the character Nightcrawler that Alan Cumming played in 'X-Men 2' (2003), my instructions were, 'existential rosary' for the main character, so I researched early German art imagery. For that project, I created 53 hand-carved ebony wooden beads. Jobs like that are my favorite because I'm creating something that doesn't exist and comes from me and has my handprint on it. How have you adapted designs for filming action shots? For drop earrings I switched from French ear wires, the open-end hooks that thread through a piercing, to what's called lever backs, which actually snap close, because costume designers felt the stunt person would be less likely to lose an earring. Rings need to be molded and replicated easily, usually because you're making multiple pieces for the actors and stunt doubles, using rubber or latex, and everyone has different size fingers. You don't want anything too heavy, sharp or jagged. What was your inspiration for the Russo brothers' new movie, 'The Electric State,' with Chris Pratt? I love making men's jewelry because they're heavier, bigger, more sculptural pieces. I was told his character was edgy, a transient roamer in an apocalyptic world. I showed the costume designer premade jewelry; one piece, a cat skull pendant, was 20 years old. Two other rings, one called Roadkill and another, Snake Belly, which had been made six months earlier. All three were bought for the film. They're deliberately beat up looking, which came out of my love of industrial and heavy metal music. What do you love most about creating jewelry for this medium? I've tried all these different worlds — fashion jewelry, fine jewelry, craft — and I didn't fit in anywhere. I did with movies. Magazines are great, but one month later they're off the shelves. Jewelry is forever. It's going to last after I'm gone.
BBC News
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'I went from uni to designing Harry Potter outfits'
A costume designer from North Yorkshire has said she would be "forever grateful" to the Harry Potter franchise for helping launch her career in the film and TV out of Teesside University and the Northern School of Art, Anna Tennant, from Whitby, spent eight starstruck years in film and TV costume departments in years saw her making Mandrakes and Hippogriff feathers for the Harry Potter movies, among many other fantastical went on to work on other productions, including tying corsets on the set of Downton Abbey and weathering caps for Peaky Ms Tennant, who is now 45, said there was a point when she realised she was a "true northerner at heart" and decided to move back to Yorkshire, where she has since worked on top TV shows such as Vera and Toxic Town. Ms Tennant said: "I'll be forever grateful about my first job, as who comes straight out of university and straight into the Harry Potter franchise?"I studied costume and prop making, and then when I finished I was really lucky as I kept in touch with Nick Dudman, one of my absolute heroes who had done a lecture at my university."He helped with creating make-up effects and animatronic creatures, and he offered me the opportunity to work in the creature effects department on Harry Potter."So I helped make the Mandrakes and Hippogriff feathers for the films. I was really lucky and was able to work my way up for a few years in that department." However, Ms Tennant said the gravitational pull of her home in the North eventually proved too much."Being a Yorkshire person, the thought of home kind of tugged on my heartstrings a little bit."After seven or eight years in London, I decided I wanted to move back up North."Having once again lived in Whitby for some years, Ms Tennant said being based back in Yorkshire had proved no hindrance to continuing in her chosen profession."Since coming back, I've done a lot of northern detective dramas such as Vera or A Gentleman in Moscow," she said."My role in costume breakdown can be anything from making a believable pregnancy bump out of padding, or looking at the character's story and then seeing how the clothing would look to go with that." 'Enjoy challenges' Ms Tennant said one of her latest favourite projects was working on the Netflix show Toxic Town, which told the true story of babies born with disabilities due to breathing in toxic dust."The show is all about this toxic red dust and I was behind the scenes making this dust, but obviously I had to make sure it was completely safe for the actors and for me to be around as well."But I enjoy all those challenges. Some days the dust needed to look really dry or it needed to look really wet, and then I had to figure out how to layer it on a costume, as just throwing it would mean it ended up with there being fingermarks."People don't realise there's always more to designing costumes than meets the eye."I've never done a job that's the same yet, but that's nice in a way." Ms Tennant said she was now working on a new TV show called The House of Guinness with actor James Norton and the writers of Peaky she said she had also found the time to create an exhibition showing her skills at North Yorkshire Open Studios' Spring Exhibition at Craven Arts House in Skipton."With the exhibition, I looked back on my career with pride," she said."I got to the point where I wanted to do something really indulgent for myself, and take the skills I've learned along the way and kind of do a bit more of what I want to do."Ms Tennant said she "wanted to make more creatures and write more poetry", and these were all featured in her exhibition which runs until June."It's why we watch all those programmes and dramas in the first place - for escapism," she explained."So designing them is my version of escapism, creating something for me that will make someone else feel good." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Forbes
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The Hidden Messages in Hulu's Paradise Costume Design
Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) and Samantha "Sinatra" Redmond (Julianne Nicholson) face off in Hulu's 'Paradise.' Courtesy of Hulu/Disney Paradise has a deceptively simple premise. Deep within Cheyenne Mountain, a la Stargate , a much more old fashioned version of science fiction, construction has been secretly going on. Underground a cabal of uber wealthy CEOs has created a version of Eden, or More's Utopia , just in case the world falls apart. Of course the world then falls apart. It's a well written, rather timely series, and the excellent costumes add depth and dimension to the series which could not be achieved any other way. I met with the costume designer for the series' first season, Sarah Evelyn, to talk to her about the incredibly nuanced series, about deciding how to dress the inhabitants of this Brave New World, especially since it is riddled with literary and cinematic Easter Eggs, tiny references woven into the narrative in a seemingly endless series of winks and nods from show creator Dan Fogelman. 'It was interesting to think about how you would plan for that many people to move somewhere,' Evelyn told me, 'where there wouldn't be clothing readily available and how you would start those kinds of really important systems because we need to be dressed. I really thought a lot about how the clothing and the visuals would really do a lot of supporting. Like the social stability of these people who had just gone through a humongous trauma, must be on the edge, don't know what's going to happen, completely insecure. I thought that so much of the plan would have been how to keep the social fabric intertwined enough so that no one would want to take it down.' President Cal Bradford (James Marsden) before his cabinet. Courtesy of Hulu/Disney Ira Levin, the 20th century master of horror, is an immediately obvious reference. The saccharine, saturated palette evokes a novel that became a film twice, disturbing generations of readers and audiences alike. 'I think that there definitely was a Stepford vibe,' Evelyn said, 'because that reflected what was happening in the dome. But we thought to ourselves, you know, okay, if this was going to happen, there would be someone who was in charge of production design, basically. And that person would have a creative designer working under them. And they would have a head of textiles working under them, because you would have to procure all this stuff to be ready to receive all sorts of people underground in a world that you want to make feel very normal. Because I felt like that would be really important for social stability. And the clothing would be super important for social stability. Not only would it be things that you would want to biodegrade naturally, or things that you could reuse again, you'd want to have nice, peaceful colors. You'd want to have simple silhouettes. You'd want to have things that almost referred back to a more nostalgic time, like the 1950s and 60s. And then, as time went on, I felt like it would be the kids that started to kind of put these things together in new ways, you know, and that would start style and fashion trend in the dome. And so we did a lot of that.' Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) and Presley (Aliyah Mastin) in "Paradise." Courtesy of Hulu/Disney Watching the series, Evelyn's diligent efforts shine through in the tiny details, like the hairstyle on our main character's daughter, Presley (Aliyah Mastin). Her hair is beautiful, it obviously took effort and skill. It is hair that evokes memories of staying up too late with one's teenage girlfriends, doing each other's hair and nails. She feels like a real person, and Mastin's excellent acting benefits from Evelyn's thoughtful character design. I was very curious about the youngest generation in this mountain bunker. Why there were uniforms at their school, how the kids would adjust after one reality ends and another begins. How that would come across in the clothes. 'I felt like there would definitely be uniforms,' Evelyn said, 'because you're trying to make everyone feel very normal. You're trying to make everyone feel very much on the same level. A couple of years ago, I worked in Australia and my kids came with me. In Australia, everybody wears uniforms and you have one uniform and you wash it once a week. I also felt like that would be necessary. Had I been in charge of a world like this, I would have made the same decision. I would have felt like everything that had to do with clothing would be both creating a sense of comfort, but giving people enough leeway, the kids enough leeway, the creative people enough leeway, to feel like they could do something with it. That they could have some freedoms. I thought there would be a lot of cotton T-shirts and sweatpants and things with plastic that you could grow into and grow out of and give to someone else. Or cut up or whatever.' President Cal Bradford (James Marsden) and Agent Collins (Sterling K. Brown) walk past a Marine in the White House. Courtesy of Disney/Hulu Since many of the characters in this show are Secret Service, including our wonderful protagonist Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown), and those they protect, there are obviously a lot of suits. Speaking very generally, men's clothing hasn't been very decorative for the last hundred and fifty years. The Business Man in his Suit is very much a thing, we can all imagine him easily, and in great numbers it would be easy for characters to seem to blur, or for details intended to lead to inference to be mixed. 'Those things are so nuanced,' Evelyn told me about the spectrum of beautiful bespoke menswear. 'A lot of the time I think it is about the tailoring. It's about the collar. It's about the shoes. It's about the tie. You know, you can't costume amazing acting. That's one thing that I feel like Sterling really has, just so much depth and so many layers. I felt like one thing I could really do for him and do for the character, I feel like whenever there's a character like this, I definitely like to think about kind of like the lexicon of cinema and who these men have traditionally been in cinema. So like always going back to thinking about important heroes in cinema. And thinking about that kind of tailoring. And then also thinking about the person that I'm working with and what's happening in the story. Good tailoring, choice of lapel, choice of whether it's single-breasted or double-breasted, choice on collar and choice on tie does a lot. I definitely did not put him in a spread collar. I definitely put him in a point collar. And kept the tailoring really simple, kept the suits really simple. I kept the ties pretty simple. I felt like he was understated and under the radar and wasn't interested in getting the attention and was really interested in being like a man who lived by these morals and beliefs that he really prescribed. And then just letting him do the rest.' Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) and Samantha "Sinatra" Redmond (Julianne Nicholson). Courtesy of Hulu/Disney 'I really love suiting, but suiting is really, really hard,' Evelyn told me when I asked her about the challenge of keeping all these characters distinct. 'I'm obsessed with watching videos about Savile Row tailors. In my next life, I want to be a Savile Row tailor. I feel like suiting is the most interesting, like, three-dimensional engineering. Many, many suits, most suits that come off the rack, do not fit American men especially well. It was really important to me to have really well tailored suiting, which means we did a lot of custom made and we did a lot of really particular alterations, which I think makes the difference on TV. ' I asked her why that was, why the tailoring and cut of the suits added so much, because they make an undeniable difference. A crisp professional air is implied by the presence of anyone wearing clothing made to fit their specific body. 'I think we actually aren't that used to looking at well-tailored clothes,' the designer said thoughtfully. 'I don't mean that in a pretentious way at all. I say that in a craftsperson way, because so much is fast fashion now and because things that are bespoke are so expensive, unfortunately, and that these are really actually very, very beautiful crafts that we're losing. I mean, talk about the importance of the crafts. Talk about the importance of tradesmen. So getting to really work on that, and having the production really support that idea was just really meaningful, and who doesn't feel amazing in a well-tailored suit?' Nicole Robinson (Krys Marshall) in "Paradise" Courtesy of Hulu/Disney Of course, it is not only men who wear suits. There are many things this show does exceptionally well, but my favorite part is the character development we are treated to throughout, and how tightly those transitions are connected to wardrobe. In the real world, and in the world of Paradise , it is not always a simple thing, to know who is good or bad, or what those words even mean. Samantha Redmond (Julianne Nicholson), AKA 'Sinatra' to the Secret Service, is a perfect example. We learn early on about the horrific trauma that created a woman capable of literally building a new world. 'With Sinatra,' Evelyn explained, 'it was really important to do really good tailoring; she was dressing to portray a message. And the message was kind of like, I'm soft and I'm really strong. You don't need to worry. I got this. Sometimes she would have strong shoulders, but she would also have maybe a little bit of a drapier blouse. One idea that I thought was interesting about the character that we tried to show in the costumes was that people are capable of both being monsters and not being monsters. As much as that's a really uncomfortable thought, I would really prefer to think that people were absolutely a good person or a bad person. I don't like the idea that those two things can reside together. But I think in her they did. I think she was very damaged by her life experience, got very rigid. She had come up, she became a founder. I feel like once you're a founder, you learn how to sell. And in a lot of ways, she was a saleswoman. And she dressed the part.' Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) and her son at the grocery store. Courtesy of Disney/Hulu Cognitive dissonance is something hard to sit with. Perhaps that's why it feels so important, so vital, maybe especially given the current state of the world. Living in the future is a very weird experience, and we see a pretty clear reflection of how that could go with Paradise . How do you dress an antagonist, a probable villain, a self-described monster, without resorting to cliche, without making the character into a parody or caricature? 'I think it's like the little things,' Evelyn told me. 'For example, when she was at the fair, you know, we saw her in jeans and T-shirt. And it's like, you know, when you see her it is something very, very relatable. And then later we see her in a Saint Laurent suit. That's got a little bit of a gangster vibe because it's houndstooth. Agent Robinson (Krys Marshall) in "Paradise." Courtesy of Hulu/Disney I asked Evelyn if this show was science fiction and it was obvious how much she enjoyed thinking about that question. Apparently the show was originally pitched in a way that was much more genre, but evolved over the time production takes. After all, the real world is feeling more and more dystopian every day, and art does its work best in contrast to reality. 'I used to really like to read science fiction, actually, like, as an escape. And I have to say, I am feeling different because I feel like science fiction is not an escape right now. I feel like an escape is things like Fast and the Furious . Stories that were clear about good and bad. And you knew the good guy was going to win, even though it was going to be a little hard, you know?' I understood exactly what she meant and I am sure you will too. After all, it was not that long ago that fascists wore uniforms or arm bands, or at least understood the power of a well tailored suit. Poster art for Hulu's "Paradise." Courtesy of Disney/Hulu The full first season of Paradise is available now on Hulu. A second season was greenlit earlier this month. MORE FROM FORBES Forbes Thousands Of Costumes Were Handmade For Amazon Prime's 'House Of David' By Rachel Elspeth Gross Forbes Janie Bryant Recreates The End Of The Wild West For Paramount's '1923' By Rachel Elspeth Gross Forbes In 'Watson' The Costumes Help Make A Medical Mystery Unlike Any Other By Rachel Elspeth Gross
