Costume Design

Shirley Kurata is one of the most impactful Costume Designers of today. Known for her eclectic and vibrant aesthetic, Kurata has worked with numerous high-profile clients, featured in various fashion publications, and has been responsible for the wardrobe of several movies, including Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Grease is Randal Kleiser’s feature directorial debut that became the highest-grossing movie of 1978. It received five Golden Globe nominations, including the first nomination for its star, the late Olivia Newton-John, and the second one for her onscreen partner John Travolta who was nominated for another dance drama Saturday Night Fever just a year before.

Almost thirty years after Clueless, Mona May is still one of the most revered and impactful Costume Designers in Hollywood. The name Mona May doesn’t go unnoticed in the Costume Design world.

The 2023 black comedy drama series Beef streamed by Netflix has instantaneously become a sort of a cultural phenomenon. Created for A24 by Korean filmmaker Lee Sung known for his scriptwriting of Golden Globe nominated Silicon Valley series.

Amidst their long-running battle for pay equity, the Costume Designers Guild, together with the UCLA Anderson School of Management organized an event that aimed to explore the value and economic impact of costume design in the film industries. Several professionals gathered and shared insights regarding the costume design and identified opportunities to make it more equitable.

The Diplomat is a political thriller on Netflix created by Deborah Cahn who was behind such Golden Globe-winning TV shows as Homeland and Fosse/Verdon.  The 8-episode series stars Golden Globe-winning Keri Russell as Kate Wyler, the new United States ambassador to the United Kingdom who is faced with the challenge of defusing international crises, forging strategic alliances in London, and adjusting to her new place in the spotlight while also trying to keep her marriage together to fellow career diplomat Hal Wyler, played by Rufus Sewell.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story - a prequel to the wildfire success of Netflix’s Bridgerton S1 & 2, allows new energy to enter the Bridgerton Universe, tweaking romance and obstacles in an unpredictable manner, and pumping fresh blood into the royal saga. What remains the same: excellent attention to costume design.

Magic, lighting, cinematography, dermatology, cosmetology, hairdressing, dentistry, painting, engineering, chemistry, alchemy, aesthetics, and prosthetics: these crafts all combine and melt into a parallel universe of illusion that help actors disappear into their roles. These techniques and artifices create illusions that work for drama, horror, comedy, musicals, science fiction, and period films.

In an unusual act of homage, Babylon’s Director Damien Chazelle conducted a Q&A session with his own crew members – Costume Designer Mary Zophres, Music Composer Justin Hurwitz, Production Designer Florencia Martin and Art Director Anthony Parrillo – at American Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre on Saturday, March 4, 2023. The reality of filmmaking is full of “hard choices and compromises,” said Chazelle addressing his team.

The Law According to Lidia Poët is a sumptuous who-done-it with feminist overtones. It stars Italian actress and singer Matilda De Angelis (The Undoing) as the real-life heroine Lidia Poët.