Tune in as I chat with Costume Designer and Writer Marjorie McCown!
Marjorie began her career in theatre in New York City before moving to LA to work in film and landing a job as Ruth Myers Assistant Costume Designer on "The Addams Family." She also worked on other A-list features including "Forrest Gump."
If that doesn't make her cool enough, she pivoted into her passion for murder mysteries writing two of her own - "Final Cut" and "Star Struck," which are loosely based on Hollywood film sets.
Her reverence for the craft shines through the way she writes and speaks as she shared so much knowledge + this quote that I'd love to call out:
"The more generous you are, the more generosity you get."
In true fashion, Marjorie is sharing that generosity with Costumes & Coffee listeners by giving the first person to answer this question a copy of her first book:
Who would Marjorie choose to design costumes if her novels were developed into films?
Enjoy this convo! I know I did! And don't forget to share your answers by DM-ing the podcast on Instagram @costumesandcoffee.
Tune in as I chat with the legendary Rhonney Greene. Rhonney is the first Black man to design shows for BET, MTV and OWN networks.
He is also the costume designer so many other projects including the first season of "Harlem," Tyler Perry's "The Have and Have Nots," "Single Black Female," the second season of "The Ms. Pat Show" and now the upcoming holiday movie "A Very Merry Beauty Salon" on Lifetime.
We get into his love for glamour, fashion and draping. He shares why travel is key to gaining a different perspective and how important research and collaboration are to his job.
Pour up a cup and tune in!
Tune in as I chat with Costume Designer Cris Araujo.
We get into her love for creating costumes for futuristic worlds, her unique path from Key Costumer to Designer, her rich heritage and her love for top fashion designers like Rick Owens.
Her latest film Uglies is based on the dystopian novel by Scott Westerfeld. It is set in a future post-scarcity world in which everyone is considered an "Ugly" until they are then turned "Pretty" by extreme cosmetic surgery when they reach the age of 16.
What Cris and her team brought to the screen is visually stunning and it was a pleasure to get insight into her creative process and more.
Thank you so much Cris for having coffee with me.
Pour up a cup!
Tune in to my conversation with Costume Designer Laura Smith. Laura is behind all of the costumes in season 3 of the hit series "Industry".
We get into the symbolism behind the looks plus the accessories. She shares where she was able to source such eye-catching pieces. If you're a fan of the show, you know there's a lot of nudity. So we talk about her experience working with the Intimacy Coordinator and why she believes every IC should have their own kit and more.
Pour up a cup!
Tune in as I chat with Costume Designer Kairo Courts about her upcoming films “Ruth & Boaz” executive produced by Devon Franklin and the soon to be titled film starring KeKe Palmer and SZA. And of course we dish on the details of her other credits, which include “The Other Black Girl”, “Turtles All The Way Down”, “Naomi”, “Raising Dion”, “Really Love” and “ATLANTA”.
Kairo also speaks about the themed playlists she creates for each of her projects to inspire actors to get into character and how she manifested her recent move to Costa Rica. Kairo is such a vibe!
Pour up a cup and listen!
Tune in as I chat with Costume Designer Charlese Antoinette Jones.
Charlese's latest work can be seen in the action-packed movie "The Instigators" on AppleTV, which we dive into the details of how she paid homage to the city of Boston.
She is also the renowned designer behind the looks in "Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and "Air," the incredibly popular story behind Michael Jordan's first-ever shoe contract with NIKE.
Charlese is a disruptor who creates in every facet of her life and really evokes positive change. From her on screen designs and her storytelling Red Carpet looks to creating the Black Designer Database, Charlese connects so many dots within our industry.
Pour up a cup!
Tune in as I chat with Emmy-nominated Costume Designer Courtney Wheeler about her recent nomination for her work on "The Bear" for FX.
Courtney explored the great taste of culinary professionals and how aspects of their artistry often spilled over into the wardrobe - something she was able to showcase beautifully on screen.
She also shares the challenge of having such a big cast and playing Tetris on who’s wearing what colors, how they compliment each other and play in a scene together. Oh, and - Did you know that Syd's Thom Browne chefs coat is beaded?!
Such a great conversation! Pour up a cup.
Tune in as I talk to Carol Case, the Emmy-nominated Costume Designer for "Fargo" on FX.
We discuss Carol’s brilliant designs and how she manages to create costumes for entirely new characters each episode. Carol also shares the experience of designing costumes to withstand the frigid temperatures in North Dakota and Canada - the two places where shooting took place. She also shares great advice for anyone who’s looking to join or matriculate within the Costume department.
Pour up a cup and tune in!
Tune in as I talk to Karen Serreau, the Emmy-nominated Costume Designer for "The New Look" on AppleTV.
We discuss Karen's trips through the Dior archives, what she learned from working so closely with Mr. Dior's dresses and how the design house praised her team for re-creating such iconic dresses.
We also discuss the challenges she faced while designing for two opposite worlds - one of luxurious lifestyles and high fashion runways and another of concentration camps during WWII.
Pour up a cup!
Today, I'm talking to Costume Designer Christina Flannery, who is nominated for an Emmy for her contemporary designs in "The Righteous Gemstones" for HBO.
We talk about how she and her team went all out this season, dressing characters in extravagant custom costumes, such as Aimee-Leigh’s watermelon pantsuit and Judy’s electric blue opera gown, as well as designer pieces including Jesse’s gold trimmed Dolce & Gabbana suit.
We also discuss the transition of coming on as the new costume designer for Season 3, and how she used the already established storylines and character arcs to build a fresh new wardrobe that amplifies each siblings’ growth throughout the season.
The Emmy series continues...Pour up a cup!
Today, I’m talking with Costume Designer Safowa Bright Bitzelberger, who is nominated for Outstanding Period Costumes For A Limited Or Anthology Series for her work on Netflix’s hit miniseries Griselda. Safowa is also the only black woman nominated this year as costume designer across all costumes categories.
During our conversation, she details her journey to this very special nomination and what it means to her.
For the show, Safowa discusses how she pulled (from the estate sales of wealthy women) hundreds of looks incorporating pieces from Escada, Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, Ralph Lauren and Dolce & Gabbana. Safowa shares that she opted for flashy designer pieces for background actors during party scenes to show the new wealthy environment Griselda was in while using simpler 80s silhouettes to emphasize Griselda’s personality and lack of interest in fashion. Safowa also shares how she was able to avoid projecting Griselda’s power through pantsuits and opting for structured dresses instead to highlight her femininity in the men’s world.
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We’re kicking off a series of conversations with this year’s Primetime Emmy nominees. Up first is Costume Designer Annie Symons who is nominated for Outstanding Costume Design for her work in Mary & George for STARZ.
Ahead of the awards ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 15, I spoke with Annie about what it means to be nominated amongst her peers, and what she’s most looking forward to at this year’s red carpet.
She shares how she started officially designing costumes for local theatre at age 14. We discuss how she brings to life the opulent aesthetics of the Jacobean era, featuring grandiose hats, ruffles, jewels, and the iconic Jacobean Ruffs often worn by Julianne Moore's character, Mary. We also chat about how this Emmy nomination highlights her exceptional attention to detail!
Ahead of the wide release of the moving drama Sing, Sing, I spoke to Costume Designer Desira Pesta about the ways that costumes help bring this story to life on screen.
We talk about how she and her ACD searched 10,000 square feet of SUNY Purchase College storage to find props and costumes from the original play that the film is based on. How the uniforms were aged to match the time each character spent in prison to personalize to their status/stories and so much more.
Pour up a cup!
Pour up a cup!
The Costume Designers Guild, IATSE Local 892, has launched its Pay Equity Now campaign, which focuses on achieving parity with their male-dominated creative department head counterparts.
To give a brief background, the Costume Designers Guild consists of professional costume designers, assistant costume designers and costume illustrators working in film, TV, commercials and other media. Its membership is 87% female, and the guild says that they are 65% lower on the IATSE pay scale than male-dominated creative department heads, according to Pay Equity Now.
Seeking to expand upon the #NakedWithoutUs campaign that the Costume Designers Guild has used for the past several years, Pay Equity Now is about education that will hopefully lead to industry-shifting change and a better quality of life for Costume Designers. Tune in as Terry A. Gordon, President of the Costume Design Guild (Local 892), discusses all of the details of the campaign and our goals going forward. Pour up a cup!
From quick changes and incredibly tight deadlines to recreating the most popular moments in news and culture, Costume Designer Tom Broecker has been doing his thing behind the scenes at SNL since 1994. His work has earned him 17 Emmy nominations and six wins, a Peabody, five PGA nominations and 10 CDGA nominations and two wins. This year, he’s up for another CDGA for his brilliant work in season 48, episode 10 of SNL featuring Aubrey Plaza as guest host.
Pour up a cup and tune in as he shares how the universe lead him to Costume Design, his fascinating design process and more.
With two big films to hit theaters over the weekend - "The Book of Clarence" and "Lift," I had to sit down for coffee with Costume Designer Antoinette Messam.
Pour up a cup and tune in as she shares her thoughts on the importance of research in costume design, relationship building with costume rental shops around the world, building a global costumes crew, her love for textiles, color theory and so much more.
Join me for coffee with Costume Designer Jen Caprio. You can currently see Jen's designs on Broadway in the hilariously funny musical "SPAMalot" and on the legendary children's show "Sesame Street".
Tune in to the latest episode of Costumes & Coffee with Costume Designer Dominique Dawson, who showcased her talent and artistry in Donald Glover's highly anticipated psychological thriller series, "Swarm."
Dominique has had an expansive career bringing her talent to projects ranging from Roberto Patino's "DMZ" to Ava Duvernay and Colin Kaepernick’s "Colin In Black & White."
During our chat, Dominique shared everything from her start at NYU, why she chose costume design over directing, and how she's inspiring the next generation of designers. She also gets into her research of stan culture (which included lots of Beyonce references) and the inspiration behind looks for Dre, Marissa and Ni'Jah. Plus, she shares what it was like working with a star-studded cast including Chloe Bailey, Billie Eilish, and Nirine S. Brown.
Fans are raving over Costume Designer Helen Huang's work in Netflix's new hit series "BEEF." Join us for coffee as she breaks down the inspiration behind each character's costumes, the importance of highlighting diversity within the Asian community and the personal experiences that prepared her to successfully take on this role.
Pour up a cup!
Today, we're having coffee with "The Last of Us" Costume Designer Cynthia Summers. She shares what it's like to design a video game turned TV series, develop a post-apocalyptic world, and the collaborative process with Special FX Make Up for creating the Clickers - those infected by the zombie-ant fungus. Cynthia’s credits include designing “The L Word,” “Swan Song,” “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” “The Babysitter's Club” and more. She even dishes on “Goosebumps,” an upcoming series she’s designing for Disney.
Cynthia’s experience and ability to teach the techniques of design are top notch. Grab a cup and tune in!