“ONE OF THE YEAR’S BEST FILMS. ‘A Complete Unknown’ channels the secret of Bob Dylan. It lights up the holy space that Dylan created, allowing you to see it and hear it and touch it and live inside it, until you realize it’s life that’s electric.”
BEST PICTURE
BEST COSTUME DESIGN LISY CHRISTL
EXCELLENCE IN CONTEMPORARY FILM Lisy Christl “A STUNNING CINEMATIC
ACHIEVEMENT”
Costume Designers Guild Award Nominee
A Complete Unknown
Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan.
Photo: Search
light Pictures. Wicked : Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Ariana Grande as Galinda.
Photo: NBC Universal. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga : Anya Taylor-Joy as Imper
ator Furiosa, Tom Burk as Praetorian Jack.
Photo: Warner Bros.
COMMUNICATIONS & CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Anna Wyckoff awyckoff@cdgia.com
CREATIVE DIRECTORS
Allana Johnson allana@yokcreative.com
Turner Johnson turner@yokcreative.com
MANAGING EDITOR
Gary V. Foss garyvictorfoss@gmail.com
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Bonnie Nipar bnipar@cdgia.com
PRESIDENT
Terry Gordon tgordon@cdgia.com
VICE PRESIDENT
Ivy Thaide Ithaide@cdgia.com
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Brigitta Romanov bromanov@cdgia.com
ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Doug Boney dboney@cdgia.com
MEMBER SERVICES DIRECTOR
Suzanne Huntington shuntington@cdgia.com
SECRETARY
Michelle Liu mliu@cdgia.com
TREASURER
Nanrose Buchman nbuchman@cdgia.com
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Catherine Adair cadair@cdgia.com
Phillip Boutté pboutte@cdgia.com
Salvador Pérez sperez@cdgia.com
Nancy Steiner nsteiner@cdgia.com
ACD REPRESENTATIVE
David Matwijkow dmatwijkow@cdgia.com
COSTUME ILLUSTRATOR REPRESENTATIVE
Oksana Nedavniaya onedavniay@cdgia.com
LABOR REPRESENTATIVE
Dana Woods dwoods@cdgia.com
BOARD ALTERNATES
Michelle R. Cole mcole@cdgia.com
Julie Weiss jweiss@cdgia.com
Daniel Selon dselon@cdgia.com
Ami Goodheart agoodheart@cdgia.com
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Cliff Chally cchally@cdgia.com
Jacqueline SaintAnne jsaintanne@cdgia.com
Barbara Inglehart binglehart@cdgia.com
Mikael Sharafyan msharafyan@cdgia.com
CDGA EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Kristin Ingram kingram@cdgia.com
BOOKKEEPER
Aja Davis adavis@cdgia.com
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Natalie Gallegos ngallegos@cdgia.com
PUBLISHER
Moontide www.moontide.agency
ADVERTISING
Ken Rose 818.312.6880 kenrose@mac.com
COVER ILLUSTRATION
Costume designer Jeanny Beavan Cruella, Furiosa:AMadMaxSaga, and ARoomwithaView
Illustrated by Eduardo Lucero eduardolucero@aol.com
Communications & Creative Director
Anna Wyckoff Gary Victor Foss Managing Editor Associate Editor
Bonnie Nipar Allana Johnson Creative Director Turner Johnson Creative Director
Eduardo Lucero Illustrator
David Landau Contributor
Salvador Pérez Contributor
Once again, our industry is forced to face harsh new realities. With the stress and success of contract negotiations behind us, we looked forward to business ramping up in 2025. The recent fires have been the most devastating in our history. The entire Los Angeles community suffered unfathomable losses. Many of our colleagues lost everything. Even if your home was spared, the fires have touched everyone emotionally and mentally.
Through this disaster we’ve once again proven our mettle. As we came together, united and supporting each other during the strikes and negotiations, we have risen again to answer the needs of our brothers, sisters, and kin. Our community leaped into action, creating donation centers, distributing gift cards, offering clothes, home goods, services, and sometimes just lending an ear or offering hugs and consolation.
We are resilient. We are production! We know how to “make it work,” fix it, turn on a dime, and move forward. Our IATSE leadership has been a force of nature providing members with resources, information, guidance, and counsel. Everyone has access to these offerings. If you think you’ve missed something or feel lost, reach out! Come into the office or call us. Your Guild is here for you. The CDG is one of several locals serving as a donation center for members. 892 is focused primarily on a wide range of clothing as well as toiletries. Local 80 is featuring home goods.
On January 10, the CDG emailed updated information regarding support services and the IATSE Emergency Relief Fund information with a link to resources. Please access these offerings. They were created to serve your needs.
It’s hard to turn our focus to other issues, but I do want to address our CDG Awards. Proceeding as scheduled on February 6 at the Wilshire Ebell to celebrate the excellent work this year, the event has shifted to also support our members and community with an auction in collaboration with Propstore and a fundraiser for the IATSE Emergency Relief Fund. As with all our fellow industry awards, care and consideration for those affected by the fires is paramount. This evening serves as a respite and offers an opportunity to come together as a community, celebrating and recognizing each other’s talent and hard work. We are grateful for our CDGA27 premier sponsor, Western Costume, for their ongoing partnership.
In solidarity,
Terry Ann Gordon
Terry Ann Gordon tgordon@cdgia.com
Photo: Kelly Serfoss
As we head into 2025, I find myself reflecting on the incredible journey we’ve shared as members of the Costume Designers Guild. This past year has been one of trials, growth, resilience, and creativity, and it’s a testament to the talent and dedication of our membership that we continue to adapt in an ever-changing industry.
2024 brought challenges that tested our resolve, but it also reinforced the strength of our community. From standing together in solidarity during negotiations to celebrating the artistry that defines our craft at the CDGAs, we’ve proven once again that collaboration and unity are the foundation of our Guild.
Looking ahead, the opportunities before us are as exciting as they are transformative. Technology is reshaping how stories are told, and the role of costume designers, assistant costume designers, and costume illustrators has never been more vital. Our ability to craft character and narrative through design remains at the heart of the storytelling process, and our voice as a Guild will continue to advocate for the recognition and respect our work deserves.
In 2025, we remain committed to fostering an environment where creativity thrives, and every member feels supported. From expanding professional development and education to ensuring fair and equitable workplace practices, we are focused on initiatives that empower you—the artists and visionaries who bring stories to life.
As we continue this journey together, let us not forget to celebrate our shared achievements. Whether it’s the stunning costumes gracing screens big and small, the mentorships that uplift the next generation, or the community that sustains us, these moments remind us why we do what we do.
The recent wildfires have been a devastating blow to our community, but we as a union responded by coming together to help those affected. I’m deeply proud of our efforts, our members, and the IATSE for initiating the Emergency Relief Fund.
We are always stronger together.
Brigitta Romanov
Brigitta Romanov bromanav@cdgia.com
Photo: Stephanie Romanov
IATSE EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND
The 27th Costume Designers Guild Awards has incorporated a meaningful new effort, dedicated to supporting those affected by the recent devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. The entire IATSE has launched a significant fundraising initiative to aid those communities affected by these unprecedented events, and the Costume Designers Guild Awards is committed to contributing to this effort.
In support of the IATSE Emergency Relief Fund, the CDGA has added an online auction element, partnering with Propstore (propstore.com), an auction house that specializes in rare pop culture and entertainment collectibles, featuring extraordinary items provided by members of the costume community. Planning to raise awareness across multiple channels, the CDGA included donation links on the ticketing sales site, in press materials and the awards magazine, and during the event itself. By aligning with this initiative, the Costume Designers Guild is encouraging the community to come together and generously support this important cause. The proceeds from this auction, which launched at the awards on Thursday, February 6, will run through February 15. All proceeds will go directly to the IATSE Emergency Relief Fund.
https://propstoreauction.com/auctions/info/id/468
“Our community has been through so much and we believe in using our platforms to benefit those affected,” said Brigitta Romanov, CDG Executive Director. “We also are convinced of their ultimate strength and resilience over adversity.”
The only singer-songwriter to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature, Bob Dylan has long been a guiding voice in American culture. Now his legendary music narrates the story of his most turbulent years in AComplete Unknown . Costume designer Arianne Phillips is exceptionally diverse in what she chooses to design. Film, television, Broadway, music videos, and tours—she’s done it all. Working closely with production designer François Audouy, the results are so authentic you can almost smell the gritty streets of New York City.
BN
How did you begin to cover these four transformative years of Bob Dylan’s life?
AP
I aspire to underscore what’s emotionally happening, to be sensitive to the way director James Mangold frames his scenes, and how I can support that with costumes. Jim first asked me to design this film in 2019. Then we shut down for COVID and didn’t start filming until late May 2023. That afforded me time to leisurely research, aggregate images, and read
ACompleteUnknown: Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan. Photos: Searchlight Pictures.
ACompleteUnknown: Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan. Photos: Searchlight Pictures.
biographies. Once back, Jim and I, along with hair and makeup— Jaime Leigh McIntosh and Stacey Panepinto—decided we should approach the project as a three-part arc: 1961–62, 1963–64, and 1965.
BN
How did you transform Timothée Chalamet to become Dylan so organically?
AP
This film is about Dylan finding his way as an artist, and that is best expressed through his denim, his boots, and his hair. Nineteen-yearold Dylan came from Minneapolis to New York looking for his folk hero Woody Guthrie. He dressed in a quintessentially American style in Pendleton shirts, dungaree painter pants, and tan work boots. We custommade his corduroy car coat based on one from the late ’50s, adding trim at collar and cuffs, a hand-knit wool scarf, and a proletariat cap. The second beat would be 1963–64. His hair is a bit longer and his silhouette less baggy, as encapsulated best on The Freewheelin’’ album cover. Bob wore denim consistently, something we take for granted now. Noticing his 501s, I immediately reached out to Paul O’Neill, the head designer at Levi’s vintage department. They recreated the 1963 version from their archives. Dylan’s girlfriend made denim inserts on the inside of his bootlegs to fit over his cowboy and roughout boots. Once I read that, I couldn’t un-see it. It was really thrilling to be able to recreate that in the jeans.
ACompleteUnknown: Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan. Photos: Searchlight Pictures.
Illustration: Eduardo Lucero
BN
When Dylan transitions to electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, there’s a big shift for the third arc. How did you implement that?
AP
I had already researched this era 20 years ago when I designed Walk the Line for Jim. I was intrigued by the unexpected friendship between Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. Johnny served as a beacon for Bob in terms of a singular artist who didn’t kowtow to what executives told him to do. He inspired Bob’s evolution into his own style. The band had made a recent tour in London where he was influenced by the Mod look. His hair is even longer, and his wardrobe now included a military style peacoat with epaulets, a black leather jacket, black Chelsea boots, and the skinny Mod jean that Levi’s only made for two years and recreated for us. As an artist, Dylan has always demanded the freedom to be diverse in his music, and that’s reflected in his style.
ACompleteUnknown: Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan. Photos: Searchlight Pictures. Illustration: Eduardo Lucero.
BN
The festival scenes alone must have been challenging.
AP
It was a big picture to paint. Timmy had 67 changes. We had 120 speaking parts; the first 20 on the call sheet had a minimum of 10 changes, and some had up to 20. The amount of stock we needed to costume 5,000 background actors, half with two changes, was daunting. Altogether, we had about 7,500 costumes on extras. Huge thanks to my ACDs Felicia Jarvis, Katie Hartsoe, and Amanda Seymour, and my illustrator, Eduardo Lucero. They were invaluable.
ACompleteUnknown : Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo.
Photo: Searchlight Pictures. Illustration: Eduardo Lucero.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN PAUL TAZEWELL
MAKES
BN
How did you keep it all straight?
AP
The schedule was short and ambitious. In one day we could bounce from ’61 to ’62 to ’65, and then back to ’63. I created a big costume bible with the trajectory of our story and visual research, then mini digital bibles for each principal actor alongside the fitting photo, which we replaced with continuity photos from the set. I also talked to my actors the night before shooting so they knew what they would be wearing. There are euphoric moments in costume design where the character comes together from the costumes. That’s what keeps me coming back.
ACompleteUnknown : Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan Photos: Searchlight Pictures. Illustration: Eduardo Lucero.
Cruella : Emma Stone as Cruella de Vil.
Photo: Disney Pictures. Furiosa:
Anya Taylor-Joy as Imperator Furiosa. Photo: Warner Bros.
A CONVERSATION WITH JENNY BEAVAN & SALVADOR PÉREZ
Many of Jenny Beavan’s films register on the Richter scale of costume design. While Beavan has designed thousands of characters, it is the women who have seized the collective imagination. Think of pensive Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) in broderie anglaise blouses and wide skirts; the brutal and willful warrior Furiosa (Charlize Theron, Anya Taylor Joy) in a girdle of leather belts, armature, buzz cut, and a streak of black grease; and the singular Cruella (Emma Stone), whose showstopping looks range from the trash can dress with a 20-foot train to the red petal look topped by military regalia.
Beavan knows the power of wearing your heart on your sleeve, literally. When the CDG rallied to demand pay equity for costume designers, Beavan used her extraordinary position to advocate. She had the words “Naked Without Us” written on one sleeve when she accepted the 2021 Oscar for Cruella.
Beaven sits down with CDG president emeritus Salvador Pérez to talk Merchant Ivory, working in the desert, and how she came to be one of the most accomplished costume designers of our time.
Anna and the King : Chow Yun-Fat as King Mongkut.
Photo: 20th Century Fox. A Room With A View : Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy Honeychurch, Julian Sands as George Emerson.
Photo: Merchant Ivory Productions. Illustrations: Thom Botwood.
SP: With 73 award nominations and 42 awards: 12 Oscar nominations, three wins, 13 BAFTAs nominations, four wins, nine CDGA nominations, three wins, and an OBE, we use the word “legendary” a lot, but truly your career is legendary. Watching your films taught me so much. Did you always set out to be a costume designer?
JB: I fell in love with the theater when I was 10 years old because my grandfather, a Shakespeare aficionado, took me to see Dorothy Tutin in TwelfthNightat the Aldwych Theatre. I thought the whole thing was magical and knew I wanted to be part of it. I ended up at Central School of Art and Design, now Central St. Martin’s. I didn’t get a BA because I was busy actually working in theaters. There were top working designers, and they all needed help. I was right there, top of the queue, ready to be up all night painting scenery or sewing costumes.
SP: Let’s talk Merchant Ivory.
JB: My friend Richard Macrory’s father, Sir Patrick Macrory, wrote a book, SignalCatastrophe,that he wanted made into a film. He introduced us to Merchant Ivory. Melvyn Bragg commissioned a film from them for TheSouthBankShowcalled HullabalooOver GeorgieandBonnie’sPictures with Dane Peggy Ashcroft, who at age 70 was supposed to travel to India. Dame Peggy said, “My dear, we are getting on quite well. I’m a little concerned about going to India on my own. They gave me a first-class ticket. If I change it for two economies, will you come with me?” So I end up in Jodhpur in Rajasthan, India. I did any costumes needed. I acted in it because the actress couldn’t get up from Bombay. After that, whatever they were doing, I was asked to be part of it. After Jane Austen in ManhattanI did TheBostonians, and I was simply part
Photo: Merchant Ivory Productions.
Furiosa:AMadMaxSaga: Chris Hemsworth as Dementus. Photo: Warner Bros.
of the Merchant Ivory family, and I still am. I am an accidental costume designer.
SP: Your career has been so diverse. We think of Jenny Beavan as synonymous with ARoomwithaView, Howard’sEnd, and Sense andSensibility, but Mad Max and Furiosa are part of your recent work—how have you not been pigeonholed?
JB: I think I was for quite a long time. I did Alexander for Oliver Stone with a producer called Ian Smith who was doing Mad Max: Fury Road in Australia, and the designer didn’t want to spend a year of her life in Namibia. Ian thought, “Well, Jenny is good, she’s good at being away for a long time,
Mad Max: Fury Road
: Tom Hardy as Max Rockatansky.
Photo: Disney Pictures. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
: Chris Hemsworth as Dementus.
Photo: Warner Bros.
Illustrations: Thom Botwood.
I think she’d like George, and George would like her.” So I was bundled on a plane and sent out to Sydney. After that, no one could pigeonhole me.
SP: I look back at the costumes from EverAfter.They’re still some of the most beautiful on camera, and it’s all about the detail work. Then you watch Mad Max and see that the detail work in those costumes is the same but different. What inspires you? What is the daily life that Jenny Beavan has?
JB: I’m a people watcher. I really like going around on public transport. I love research, so I plow through the internet now as well. It used to be just the V&A and those places. I’m very instinctive. I’m not very academic. I make sort of mood boards. The best ideas come when you’re either lying in the bath thinking, or you’re at the supermarket and not thinking. That’s when your mind is free.
SP: When you’re in a fitting, is there a moment of realization when you and the actor know it is just right?
JB: That’s the whole reason I do the job. I love it when actors have an opinion. I mean, Emma Stone is extraordinary about that. Geoffrey Rush was brilliant to work with. Robert Downey Jr. is one of my favorite actors to work with. These actors are very collaborative. You get someone like Judi Dench who comes in and says, “Now I know who I am.” That’s what it’s all about—helping them know who they are.
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SP: Do you revisit costumes? Is there a signature that goes through your work?
JB: Very rarely, because I do different periods. I know very clearly when it doesn’t work, and the great thing John (Bright) taught me is to look at it and learn. You’ll learn more from what doesn’t work than what does. You should never give other than your best work to any project. In fact, as a costume designer, you should not be concerned with putting any personal stamp onto your work. You should only do whatever is right for the particular project.
SP: What was it like recreating Dior dresses for Mrs.HarrisGoestoParis?
JB: They were all made to measure. We couldn’t get anyone for a fitting due to COVID. Then there was the budget. Modest is a polite way of putting it.
SP: What do you do when you’re not costume designing? What is a day in the life of Jenny B.?
JB: Jenny B. tends to be a bit of an early bird, makes tea, goes down the garden to her new favorite place in the world, which is the greenhouse, putters a bit in the garden, often in pajamas for possibly up to two hours, then goes and has a shower. There’s so much I must catch up on because I do work an awful lot of the time. Often there’s a project
Sherlock Holmes : Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes, Jude Law as Dr. John Watson, Kelly Reilly as Mary Morston. Photos: Warner Bros. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris : Lesley Manville as Ada Harris, Alba Baptista as Natasha. Photos: Universal Pictures. Illustrations: Elena Pavinato and Christian Dior.
that needs doing. I try and see friends and cook here at home. I go to the theater if I can. My daughter is brilliant at organizing theater trips, and I see my grandchildren—I’ve got eight.
SP: What’s next for Jenny? What’s the next project?
JB: The book I mentioned, Signal Catastrophe , which got me into Merchant Ivory because Richard Macrory’s father, Patrick Macrory, wrote it and wanted to make a film of it back in 1970-something. Richard became a top environmental lawyer, but he decided to try and resurrect it as a film. I took it to four producers I know, and they all said they would read it. So it was just politeness to me I thought, but apparently, I’m going to be called an executive producer.
From its conception by Frank L. Baum in 1900, the Oz universe has been a surreptitious commentary on American culture, politics, and social causes. The book was already a popular musical on Broadway by 1902, and Baum himself staged theatrical, radio, and film adaptations in subsequent decades. In April 2000, the Library of Congress declared TheWonderful WizardofOzto be “America’s greatest and best-loved
BY GARY V. FOSS
homegrown fairy tale.” Now costume designer Paul Tazewell puts his own stamp on the ever evolving world of Oz.
Oz has been a lifelong passion of Paul Tazewell’s, both personally and professionally. “The story has been a part of my life since I was 4. The 1939 movie and then The Wiz Live!, which I designed. It’s important
to find myself in the character that I’m designing and to understand their intentions. Wicked is about a woman who is different and excluded. When Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) takes hold of that broom, she’s taking hold of her power. She becomes like a superhero because she’s on a mission to save the animals of Oz.”
For Tazewell, Elphaba’s signature black isn’t just a nod to the stereotype of witches or villains, but a character-driven choice. “Her mother passed away when she was a very little girl and she went into mourning, but then she held onto it as a protection.” Limiting the color palette of the character did create a design challenge, but Tazewell squared the circle with fabric. “I love different kinds of textiles and what they give you. Within all that black, There are all kinds of techniques, different types of pleating, versions of silk, silk gauze and silk toile ... any black fabric that
Wicked : Ariana Grande as Glinda, Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible. Photos: NBC Universal.
Illustrations: Robin Soutar.
we could get our hands on. I looked at mushrooms and fungus to get that organic quality into her world, so we considered different fabrics to emulate that kind of surface.”
Elphaba’s hat gets its own song in the musical. Made of wire buckram, the hat is micropleated and collapsible, so it makes an appearance when it springs into shape in the film. “The story is that this is a hat that was made by Galinda’s grandmother. She never wears it, so she’s giving it to Elphaba as a joke, but indeed it tops off this very beautiful silhouette.”
The treatment of sentient animals within the Oz universe becomes a driving force for the character and
Wicked : Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Jonathan Bailey as Prince Foyer.
Photos: NBC Universal.
Illustrations: Robin Soutar.
the story, and Tazewell sewed it right into Elphaba’s costumes. “Her look has to feel both whimsical and have a connection to nature. So as a young girl, she’s in a pinafore, but it’s covered in trails or vines of leaves that are black. The silhouette of the sleeves is a miniature version of the Wicked Witch of the West dress. As she develops as a woman who has dignity and great style, she dresses herself in a very mindful way, even within her confined color palette, knowing that her nemesis, Galinda/Glinda (Ariana Grande), has that same intention, just from a different point of view.”
Galinda is a bouquet of pinks in bubbles and ruffles, always ready and expecting to be the center of
attention. “The pink is directly related to the 1939 film,” Tazewell explains. “The Billy Burke look of Glinda. But there was something that felt very literal and solid about the Broadway silhouette that I wanted to pull into 2024 and also make it feel more natural. It was almost like these shapes just magically hold to Galinda’s body.” As a representation of the mainstream in the Oziverse, Galinda both embraces the look of Shiz University’s student body and happily pushes the boundaries—with the restraint of a social climber already near the top of the ladder.
“I was thinking about the formula of the Fibonacci spiral and how that dictates natural design. So I started to incorporate it into the pattern that we use on the surface of the bubble dress. You also see it on
Madame Morrible, and you see it in the architecture as well. I held onto that as an idea that defines what whimsy is for this world.”
Over the course of the film, the characters influence each other, and that is reflected in their costumes. At the climax, Elphaba and Galinda meet the Wizard, and their looks, though still different in palette and accessories, begin to converge. “I wanted to get them to be in the same silhouette, for Glinda to simplify so we see how Elphaba has changed her and how she’s really traded artifice for the depth of a friendship. We have Elphaba in that turn-of-the-century trumpeted skirt, and then Glinda in a similar shape, but hers is slightly shorter. It’s still reflective of who they essentially are, but it shows how they’ve evolved. I was very pleased with the balance between the two of them.”
Equal parts showman, magician, and ringmaster, designing the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) was an exercise in references and Easter eggs. “Jeff Goldblum loves clothing, and he has a physique that is perfect for a turn-
of-the-century silhouette. Going back to the original Wizard of Oz, he’s from the American Midwest. So the frock coat and trousers have that P. T. Barnum quality, but then redefined by the world that he created in Emerald City. There’s a swirling pattern on the wool, and his trousers are actually a custom woven pattern that has a W worked into the weave. If you look closely at his ascot, it’s a spiral as well, pulling on imagery from all over Oz.”
For the designer, the size and scope of the build was its own version of Oz. The workspaces were a riot of color and creative energy. “You’d go through
a door and it would open up into this explosion of pink and sparkles, with a little bit of lavender and yellow, but all very see-through and gossamer. In the big studio area, where all the fittings for Emerald City were happening, it was a sea of greens. With access to weavers, machine knitters, hand knitters, and embroiderers, with everyone working to realize this idea, I was in heaven. There was a wonderful collaboration with those artists. There’s an energy and joy that’s created when you get people together who are excellent makers and all focused on realizing a story.”
Fiyero, Jeff Goldblum
BY ANNA WYCKOFF
When you turn a garment inside out, you see so much more— the architecture, the lining, the strength, and the wear. Michael Selditch’s documentary Happy Clothes, spotlighting Patricia Field, shows the costume designer, fashion icon, style savant, and quintessential downtown girl with fealty, pathos, and most of all, joy.
A New York Lower Eastside fixture, Pat Field shrugs off the accolades and focuses on her work. The audience sees her through Selditch’s perceptive eyes: the strength, the intuition, the genius, and the vulnerability. Starting in the ’60s and following her calling, Field opened her store—part fashion, part gallery—as a gay, female, first-generation American. It was a hub, drawing in everyone from JeanMichel Basquiat to Keith Haring, to every New York club kid who wanted to stand against the ordinary. She sold her shop and launched a new concept, ArtFashion, in 2016.
Photos: Courtesy of Patricia Field
Success against the odds is Field’s destiny. Forget the tidal wave of awards and shows that have altered the course of fashion and influenced generations, from Sex and the City, Emily in Paris, to the Devil Wears Prada—Field answers only to the moment, the character, and herself.
Field inspires because she is completely authentic, as glimpsed in the quiet moments: a reflection smoking in her car’s side-view mirror or looking at her book for the first time with reserve when she has forgotten the camera’s eye. Happy Clothes celebrates the contagious ebullience captured in the white tutu and satin waistband insouciantly paired with a pink tank and strappy heels featured on Sarah Jessica Parker, a collaborator and muse, in the opening credits of Sex and the City . Found in the $5 bin at a store in Manhattan’s garment district, the piece recently was auctioned by Julien’s and sold for over $50,000. The garment captures the Field mystique, the pairing of high and low fashion, and the relentless search for the extraordinary—the ability to turn flax into gold.
“Pat was so much more than a designer, She created the scene where we all belonged. She put her stamp on New York–the clothes were costumes and the costumes were clothes.”
Ami
Goodheart
“I always loved the costume fitting. I want to be a paper doll to some degree.
So when I first met Pat, I was in love. What became our routine was that I would put anything on for Pat. I didn’t care. If it was ridiculous and it didn’t have a shot, if it brought amusement to our fittings at 2 in the morning or it made her happy or it surprised us, I would put it on. And over time, your eye can see if you’re willing to see what Pat sees—the absurd, the ridiculous, the greatest risk you've ever taken. Maybe someone might not understand it, but that’s just an opportunity to understand it, accept it, and maybe accept somebody else they see walking down the street that they don’t understand.”
— Sarah Jessica Parker
Photos: Courtesy of Patricia Field
HOLY GOBSMACKED, BATMAN! I’ve just come from the Warner Bros. Corporate Archives—a truly amazing place housing some of the most iconic artifacts in film and television history, all under one roof. Little did I know when I plugged the coordinates into my car’s navigation system and began driving to some nondescript warehouse hidden in a far corner of Los Angeles that I’d be following a treasure map.
And what a trove of memorabilia. From big screen to little, from the Golden Age of Hollywood to modern times, from Batman (of course!) to TheMalteseFalcon,Casablanca,TheJazzSinger, and Superman ... from TheGreatGatsby,TheMatrix, and TheRightStuff to MyFairLady and everything in between, there are props and sets galore. Think Duesenbergs featured in Baz Luhrmann’s TheGreatGatsby(2013), starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Photos: Courtesy of The Warner Archive Collection
There was the strange and beautiful stop-motion puppetry from Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (2005), sealed under lock and key in a special environmentally controlled room, or the iconic Sopranos restaurant booth. Remember the red leather seats? That blond tabletop? The tiny jukebox next to the ketchup and sugar jar? Then there’s that final scene ... cut to black. Some loved it. Some hated it. But we all remember it. There is a prescience to these assembled items—that someone would recognize their cultural significance and save them. It seems nothing short of a miracle.
Senior archivist Mark Greenhalgh was my guide. He says, “Working in the archive daily, it’s easy to forget all the history and artistry that surrounds us. The magical part is when we get to open those boxes and crates and exhibit something that hasn’t been seen in years—and to watch the reactions of people who have memories attached to the actor, movie, or television show in which it played a part.” I couldn’t agree more, especially about the magic and memories.
Especially, of course— (drumroll, please) ... all the costume designers, many of whose creations have risen to legendary status, seared into our collective memory and hearts. I saw, no, I experienced, the wedding dress John Truscott created and Vanessa Redgrave wore in Camelot (1967)—a masterpiece replete with a cape falling off the shoulders into an impossibly long train, embellished in dried pumpkin seeds, no less. Each one hand-tied and hanging to create the effect of thousands of teardrop earrings catching the candlelight, shimmering in the darkness.
I stood inches from the actual jeans James Dean wore in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), a look costume designer Moss Mabry epitomized for generations of teenagers to emulate. Garments made even more legendary, considering a life cut so short. It was as if Dean’s youth—my youth, really—was in front of me, frozen in time.
RebelWithoutaCauseQ&A Panel: Anna Wyckoff, moderator, Kimberly Truhler, Jeffrey Kurland, and WB Senior Archivist Jeff Briggs
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There was the cat suit Michelle Pfeiffer wore in Batman Returns (1992), by costume designers Bob Ringwood and Mary Vogt. Peering behind its protective glass case is like watching something elegant and beautiful decaying right before your eyes in real time. Sadly, time is getting the best of this magnificent creation made of latex and foam rubber. It is being cast over into the realm of the ephemeral. But Greenhalgh explains how the suit is slated to be returned to its original maker to be lovingly reconstructed. Lucky for us, the original piece lives indelibly etched into celluloid. Actually, that is what distinguishes the archives: Garments are restored with historical accuracy by the Warner Bros. costume team—fabric dyed, lace sourced, and sequins 3D printed.
Then there’s all the Superman costumes to behold. Bounties of Bette Davis (my Edith head is spinning). The black coat Carrie-Anne Moss wore as Trinity, fighting her way through the lobby to save Morpheus in The Matrix (1999), designed by Kym Barrett. I can go on and on....
Greenhalgh continues, “The archive’s mission is to preserve, protect, and promote the history of the studio through physical assets.” But he’s being humble. The archives do so much more than this. And these “physical assets” go far beyond so modest a description— having since crossed over into the realm of true artifacts, defining and defined by who we are. Objects that are now bigger than themselves, rising to national treasures in our collective psyche. And if they’re ever lost, something about us, something inus, is lost too.
But thanks to the good work of the archives, they’re ours now and for all time.
“The archive’s mission is to preserve, protect, and promote the history of the studio through physical assets.“
BYANNAWYCKOFF
Born on July 4, 1937, Haleen Holt studied costume design at LA Trade Tech and excelled, but career counselors guided her into illustration. She worked in fashion and advertising. Inspired by an evening watching the Academy Awards, she became fascinated by costume illustration. An artist friend had her contact costume designer Marjorie Best, who put her in touch with Costume Designers Guild President Al Nichol. Nichol connected Holt with costume designer John Truscott, who was interviewing for the film Camelot starring Vannessa Redgrave and Richard Harris. The legendary film was her first job. Holt said, “I realized this was going to be my career immediately because I could do characters and period costumes, and I could contribute to the designs.” In 1988 the Los Angeles County Museum of Art displayed her illustrations in a show titled “Hollywood and History.”
Holt also had a long collaboration with Jean-Pierre Dorléac, working with him on BattlestarGalactica, BuckRogers, and SomewhereinTime. “In film,” she said, “I not only get to illustrate the costumes, but I also get to contribute to the characters. I enjoy that.” Upon seeing one of Holt’s illustrations for her Vegas show, Raquel Welch said, “I want to look exactly like that.” Holt also collaborated with Aggie Guerard Rodgers on the original TheColorPurpleand many of her other films.
Though primarily an illustrator, Holt was also a costume designer for amusement/ entertainment theme parks, working for the Universal Studios theme park in Osaka, Japan, which opened in 2001. She completed costume designs for the Yamay Resort Theme Park in Taiwan, which also opened in 2001.
After 40 years in costume design, Holt retired from the business but continued her creative work, writing and illustrating a children’s book.
She is survived by her husband, Craig, and son, Christopher.
