Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Every project starts with a story.
I like the architecture of lingerie.
I've always loved movies, art and clothes.
The costumes had to serve the choreography.
It's true that I'm not cozy. I'm more reserved.
Be really good with budgets because they keep getting smaller.
I don't design my own clothes. It's so not what I think about.
My own style is pretty classic; I much prefer to design for others.
In Chicago, I walked in knowing what the dancers were going to need.
I choose colors I like and will photograph well. I don't do color theory!
Sleepy Hollow had a lot of action in it, even though it was a fairy-tale movie.
I get more distracted by hair or a really bad wig than I do costumes any day of the week.
I always loved clothes, just not clothes that were appropriate to the place I grew up in.
In real life, a lot of people at that level will have their kimonos made especially for them.
The right costume determines the character, helps the actor feel who he is, and serves the story.
Some of the kimonos took as long as four to five months to make, with all the layers that go into it.
Inspiration comes from everywhere: books, art, people on the street. It is an interior process for me.
It actually is as fun to make men's costumes, especially if they are as good-looking as Chris Hemsworth.
I had to work out that it was something that could move, without having everybody in spray painted leotards.
I love designing costumes that I can actually construct, working to create an environment that people want to be in.
I have always loved beautiful leather objects, especially the detail that goes into designing them both inside and out.
I love Johnny (Depp). A lot of the stuff I've done for him stands out for me just because of the relationship and who he is.
Chicago is partly a fairy tale because it's inside one person's head, so that part of it's made up and the rest of it is reality.
In designing Supergirl, I wanted to embrace the past but more importantly, thrust her into the street-style action hero of today.
I am always looking for ideas, whether it is in art on the street or in my world travels. It comes to me randomly and unexpectedly.
Costumes are the first impression that you have of the character before they open their mouth-it really does establish who they are.
I think a lot of young girls go through that period in their life of finding who they are, and at that point, looking good matters the most.
The thing that's great about being a costume designer is you never know what's going to be next; you never what world you are going to enter.
Every story is different, so what is a detail in one might not be in something else. Diversity is something I embrace and love about my work.
It's often said that costume designers are a faceless group of people. But we can contribute to fashion in a way that might be new and different.
Costume design allows you to do a different type of research and create characters, whereas in fashion, you create an image and clothing for the masses.
I'd seen the current stage production and the 1975 production of Chicago. I liked them both very much, but I didn't use them necessarily as inspiration.
Knowing who the actors were as you were designing them helped, with Catherine's beauty and Renee's frailty, they directed me visually just by who they were.
One thing about costume design - and I think design in general - but especially costume design, is people have a misconception that it's very glamorous work.
I wanted to be a painter when I was a kid. And then, I had to make a living. I had a child when I was in high school, so I kind of had that work phase in my life.
Each simian had a much different body suit, so besides trying to define class across species, there was a definite attempt to dress each group in different styles.
I think what's fun about the fairytales is just seeing what everybody interprets them as, which comes from the different directors and what they want to do with them.
As a designer, you have to solve a lot of problems. Even though people are wearing clothes that are supposed to look beautiful, they'll have to do all kinds of things.
Planet of the Apes was a gigantic challenge, making the clothes work so people could do stunts and action in the clothes. I really learned a lot about that in that movie.
I have watched 'Project Runway,' but I'm not a devout watcher of it. But I think it's a great show, what I've seen of it, and I think Tim Gunn is a very positive, amazing guy.
The reward is that you can actually create a world separate from reality with a story, actors, music, and camera design. When it works it can entertain, move people and teach us all.
My work space is so visually crammed. It's like an insane candy store. The number of textiles I'm surrounded with is mind boggling. It's a treat to come home to a nice negative space.
The designs were based on quite a lot of research of what a movie musical is, filtered through the eyes of today. If we'd gone strictly with the '20s, the movement would have been impaired.
If you want someone to feel warm, you dress them in a warm color and put a warm light on them and you get the picture. Sometimes, all that needs pushing a little bit to help tell the story.
As for futuristic costumes, I loved doing 'Gattaca' because I'm a minimalist at heart, and it's a very minimal film. Plus, with Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke and Jude Law, how could you go wrong?
One of the challenges with period costumes is, on a technical level, making the scale of different periods work on contemporary bodies. We're much bigger than what people were in older times.
I have assistants that use the internet a lot more than I do. I use the internet for photo research, but for me personally, probably just because of my age, I'm not that mechanically inclined.
I'd say probably the most expensive costumes I've ever made were the costumes in 'The Planet of the Apes,' because of the research and development that went into them and the amount of layers.
On Planet of the Apes, I had a very knowledgeable team who knew good materials, but I had one main source person who worked online and on the street continually looking for the proper materials.
I always carry pictures of my children and grandchildren, which is what makes it all worthwhile. It's great fun that my grandkids get to see the costumes in Alice in Wonderland or a doll with grandma's dress.