Washington Square News: Though her daunting sleep paralysis once dissuaded her from watching many horror films, Mica Kayde has now headed the costume departments for some of the most anticipated horrors of the past two years — especially “Longlegs.”
While growing up, Kayde was inundated by the clothes that her mother had made as a seamstress and the cultivated films that her homeschooled older sister took the time to acquaint her with.
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In the interview, Mica Kayde talks about her experience designing costumes for horror movies. I love when she speaks on having to produce so many identical costumes so that scenes with blood could be shot over multiple takes. I can’t imagine how much of the budget goes to alternate costumes that are never even seen on camera—some of which are never used to begin with! Kayde has a great quote about this: “There’s never enough money, though, and there’s never enough labor, so you really do have to see the fun in the process because it’s challenging”. I love this. I think there’s a misconception that movies have an endless supply of funds to pull from, but not every costume team has the same budget as Wicked. Having the craftiness and adaptability to work with time/budget/labor constraints is a great skill to have as a costume designer and Mica Kayde’s success is proof of how far it can take you.
The idea of being scared away from horror as a child, only to embrace it as a young adult, is so near and dear to my heart. I used to suffer from night terrors and a very overactive imagination, seeing things in the mirrors and around corners and fully convincing myself that they were really there. Even this year, when I started wanting to watch more classic scary movies, my mother would send me worried messages because she didn’t want me to struggle after watching them. However, for some reason self-sheltering in my childhood has led me to have a sort of loving respect for horror and to want to costume for it in the future. Horror movies often have a specific feel to their costumes with muted colors and unsettling cuts/patterns, and I would love to explore it one day for the stage or television. After writing this, I’m definitely going to go look at some photos of the costumes from The Monkey.
I feel like I got a jumpscare from my computer by just opening the link, it was quite startling. I have never been someone able to enjoy watching horror movies prior to either reading the book for it, or knowing the plot beforehand as I just can’t enjoy it otherwise. Though I think designing someone horror related would be so fun as I’ve always really enjoyed creating something horror related. I love the craftyness that comes out of a lack of budget, I’ve experienced that firsthand trying to create art for my classes and honestly the most unique solutions come up from a lack of budget. The same comes from indie films in my mind too, just some rag tag people doing their best to create art on a budget and such amazing work normally comes from it. Now, in the same sense some rough work can often come from a lack of a budget too, but I think the best artist don’t need a massive budget to create beautiful art.
Longlegs was a visually beautiful and chilling movie. I haven’t seen the Monkey, but I think I will now knowing it at least partially came from the same minds. Costume design for horror has always fascinated me because, aside from the challenges of creating time period and setting accurate attire, as well as dressing fantastical monsters with somewhat human forms, you also frequently have the challenge of having to have just the outfits of mostly humanoid villains be unsettling enough that it puts the audience on edge, but not so much that it feels campy. Designing for characters like Longlegs, shows like the Hill House serieses, and the like are a fascinating mix of actual clothes and the nightmares of children. It is also interesting to think about how often costumes have to be replicated to accommodate for multiple takes during gory scenes. I’ve never thought about it before, but I guess most deeply intricate costumes can’t just be laundered, and if you do the takes back to back there has to be at least a half dozen copies of the same costume just in case. Overall, this was an interesting insight into the world of horror fashion, and I look forward to watching the Monkey.
This was such an interesting article to read. I always love hearing more about the different aspects of theatre, especially the ones that I have less experience in. Because I have less experience there is so much more for me to learn about. Costumes is a perfect example of this. Reading this article about the costuming for “The Monkey” allowed me to see a different side of then design process and how the genre of a piece can influence the work that you are doing. I have recently be getting more into horror as a genre. I like how despite it’s scary front, the movies can be just a beautiful and artistic as other great films. One that immediately comes to mind is Nosferatu and its incredible gothic/old look in the set, lighting, and most importantly, costumes. I would love to see more of this process and how the genre that you are designing for drastically changes how costuming functions and looks.
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