Tales From A Costume Designer

This week's episode features the iconic costume designer and artist Debra McGuire! We chat about her book that just came out last week called Dressing the Story: The Art of Costume Design and tales from her initials beginnings in the world and stories from incredible career thus far. Make sure you order the book from the links below!   --- If you want to support me and this podcast, please subscri...

Today's episode features NYC Costume Shopper, Costume Designer, and author Sara Hinkley! We get deep into the details of what it's like working as an Costume Shopper in New York City, her previous work as a Costume Department Coordinator and her upcoming novel The Red Sacrament which you should all pre-order at the link below! --- If you want to support me and this podcast, please subscribe to the...

This week's episode features my very talented and amazing friend and collaborator Elizabeth Lail! We met when we got to work together on Five Nights at Freddy's 2 and had an absolute blast. Come listen to us chat about all the things: Vanessa's sequel looks, likening an audition to the "first pancake" of the batch, being her own costume designer for her self-tapes, the vital necessity of self-care...

This week's episode features the wonderful costume designer Bernadette Croft! We first met 15 years ago while working on The Great Gatsby together in Australia and it has been so amazing to follow her career since then. Come listen to us chat about her work and her process as a costume designer.   --- *A note that my intro for her in the episode is now *wrong* as she won two more CAFTAD Awards in...

This week's guest is Intimacy Coordinator & Costumer Annie Spong! We had a fantastic discussion all about Intimacy Coordination: the origins, the nuance of the job, the process, the intersection with costumes, intimacy riders, different types of modesty garments, and so much more! Annie also co-hosts a fantastic Intimacy Coordination podcast called Romancing the Screen - check it out through the l...

This week episode is a special Book Club episode digging into the brand new book The Costumes of Hollywood with co-authors Coleen Scott & Larry McQueen! We cover Larry's extensive collection, the creation of the book, the importance of preserving Hollywood history and maintaing the legacy of Costume Designers and their teams, advice for Costume Designers on archiving their own pieces and so much m...

This week's episode features the fantastic costume designer Kathleen Felix-Hager. We dig into her start in the world of costumes on the epic film Waterworld, the love for our costume teams, using her grandmother as one of her inspirations for Jean Smart's Deborah Vance in Hacks, the unexpected logistical issues that come with cross-boarding, the joy of contemporary research, what we look for when...

This week episode is a special Book Club episode digging into the brand new book Breaking Into New Hollywood: A Career Guide to a Changing Industry with Co-Author Ada Tseng. Come listen as we highlight the special features in this book and what went into bringing it to life. I'm honored to be featured in the Costume Design section of this book (along with this very podcast!) and it was a blast to...

This week's episode features the incredible designer Tony Gardner! I was lucky enough to work with Tony on Freaky and we overlapped on the Happy Death Day series. We dig into his illustrious career from his professional start on Michael Jackson's Thriller music video through his most recent projects like Heart Eyes . We talk about collaborating with costume designers on Hocus Pocus, designing the...

Hello everyone! It's hard to fathom how quickly time has passed and now how long it's been since my last episode. This quick little episode talks about what's been going on in my life and the industry in the time since. I hope you all do the homework I assign to you! Sending much love to all of you out there.   --- If you want to support the work that I do or you want to be a part of my little com...

This week's episode features my talented friend and colleague, Costume Designer Katie Irish.   We dig into her roots in theatre (she also started off college pre-med just like myself!) and her transition into film and tv which included taking over designing The Americans. We talk about our union work in United Scenic Artists Local 829 - especially as she and I have been two of the co-chairs of the...

This week's episode features the incredible Director, Writer, Producer Tina Mabry, who I was lucky enough to work with on our film The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat from Searchlight Pictures which just premiered on Hulu in August. Not only do we dig into our work together on The Supremes, we also cover a wide array of topics from cultivating a kindness and respect on set, jumping into directi...

Today's episode features Production Designer Kara Lindstrom, who I was lucky enough to work with on our film The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat from Searchlight Pictures which just premiered on Hulu in August. Her impressive and varied career has seen her work as a Set Decorator, Art Director, Screenwriter & Novelist in addition to Production Design. Not only do we dig into our work together o...

Today's episode features Costume Designer and Fashion Stylist Lisa Smedley-Calderon. We talk about her start in the entertainment industry as a fashion stylist for many musical artists including Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, and Boyz II Men. We dig into how styling and costume design are two very different jobs that sometimes intersect. Lisa shares what it was like when she had to leave the indust...

Today's episode features the Costume Designer Michelle A. Green. We first met through our advocacy work as members of Costume Designers Guild Pay Equity Committee. We cover many topics including the joy of finding the character in the fitting room, the importance of safety, staying true to yourself, as well as making sure our actors in period projects have those trousers pulled up fully to their a...

Hello everyone! Today's episode features the Visual Effects Supervisor and Visual Effects Producer Robert Stadd. I was fortunate enough to collaborate with Robert on our Netflix film We Have A Ghost. We get into some fascinating discussions about his work in VFX including the intersection of VFX and Costumes (especially on We Have A Ghost!) as well as covering his extensive film career, and the re...

We are BACK!   --- Hello everyone, hope you are all having a wonderful summer so far. It has been such busy and overwhelming year for me, so I unfortunately haven't been able to get a new episode out til now despite my best efforts. Still a one-woman operation over here! Thrilled to be releasing this fantastic conversation with my dear friend and colleague, the phenomenal Costume Designer Daniel S...

This week's episode features the imaginative and talented Costume Designer Vera Chow! We had so much fun talking about how we first met, the difference between working in NYC and then working outside of NYC, AAPI representation in filmed media, dealing with tough situations on set, and so much more! I really hope you enjoy this one.   --- Costume Designer Vera Chow Credits include: The Brothers Su...

I am so excited to welcome wonderful Production Designer Cheyenne Ford to the show today. We've worked together on multiple projects including Story Ave, The Caretaker, and The Eyes of My Mother. Cheyenne is also the founder and program director of Art Craft NYC, a program that provides knowledge and training to those interested in becoming entry level in the art department. Applications for the i...

Today's episode features a fantastic Costumer, Alesha D. Mitchell! Alesha and I met when she was my key/truck costumer on our film The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat. We had a great conversation of wide ranging topics from physically demanding days on set, taking care of ourselves in this industry, money smarts, the difference between and Costumer and a Costume Designer and so much more. We al...

Today's episode features the brilliant and talented Costume Designer Trayce Gigi Field! We talk about so many wonderful things from her roots at Western Costume to the difference in process between television and film. Other great topics include the value of costume design, the #creditcostumedesigners campaign, working with and highlighting diverse brands, the importance of the collaborations with...

I am so thrilled to have my friend, the fantastic Cinematographer Zachary Galler, on the show this week! Zack and I worked together on our film Piercing! We talk about the working relationship of a DP and a Costume Designer, his process on set with his team, working digitally vs working with film, post-production, our work in Piercing, his work on Lessons in Chemistry, the state of artistry in the...

This week, Whitney is so excited to be hosting one of her previous collaborators on the show, the talented Makeup Department Head Jenny Lin! We talk about transforming Jennifer Coolidge into the "West Bay Medium" for We Have A Ghost, her amazing times she's spent working with Robert Rodriguez, creating a safe space in her trailer, working with the costume department, staying organized during filmi...

This week, TFACD is excited to be hosting the lovely and talented costume designer Joseph La Corte to the show! We talk about starting in theatre and his first jobs in New York (working nearly 24 hours a day on two projects at once!), his family history of sewing and tailoring, the love for The Wizard of Oz, his homemade Grease 2 costume made out of unusual materials, and much more. We do a deep d...

I am thrilled to welcome the brilliant and wonderful costume designer Malgosia Turzanska to the show this week! We talk through her process of sketching for every project, her start in student films, working with vegan materials on The Green Knight as well as our work together in the realm of costume pay equity. --- Costume Designer Malgosia Turzanska CD credits include: Expats | The Green Knight...