www.afr.com: There's a scene in Barbie when the titular character, played by Margot Robbie, approaches an elderly woman at a bus stop and coos, “You’re so beautiful”. The woman replies, matter-of-fact, “I know it”. That woman wasn’t an actor; it was costume designer Ann Roth, whose bona fides include Working Girl, The English Patient and The Talented Mr Ripley.
6 comments:
This is an awesome article! Costume design is such a massive part of any production, and I am so glad that people are paying more attention to it! While it is an extension of the character, costumes are an art in itself with a whole artistic team behind them too. I feel like recently I have been really inspired by costume design, and more excited to look at it in productions than I ever have before. This is definitely in part because of the incredible Susan Tsu. She has really inspired and excited me with the art form. I think that this article points out one of the biggest issues with the design job, attributing credit. It said that after they put something on screen/stage, the garments tend to blow up, making so much profit for clothing companies. It was also awesome to hear about CMU alum Ann Roth, and her role in the Barbie movie!
I had noticed this idea of costume designers for film/tv being fashion influencers becoming more and more true over recent years. What we watch has so much effect on what we wear. We see characters on screen and we see how the work of the designer has made it so that their character is reflected in their costume, and we latch on to certain parts of characters that we want to take and so sometimes we latch on to their clothes too. I think this adds a new level of importance to costume designers, especially in the eyes of producers. However, I do think that this makes the art of costume design for film/tv a little more consumerist than it needs to be. That said, film/tv is already consumerist and focused on creating and responding to trends, and fashion is even more that way. So really, I’m just glad costume designers are getting recognized for their immense importance to audience engagement.
I very much agree with so many things this article said, and it is so important to me as a costume designer that other people are also thinking about this. I love how you can tell a story through the clothes that people wear, and how characters can be shown through their clothes. One thing that really stuck out to me in this article was the part where they discussed costume design not just being about period pieces and old clothes, but also more about modern stories and characterization. I feel like as a costume designer, this is really where my own interests lie. I love all the really cool period costumes, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like there are so many fun things that you can do with modern costumes, and I love to explore that. Overall, a really cool article and it was cool that they used Anne Roth as an example.
Costume designers are one of the most front facing designers of the entertainment industry as they can truly influence the greater population. Scenic designers might influence someone to renovate their home and lighting designers might influence someone to buy a specific lamp but costume designers create pieces that we as people are continuously buying and changing. Someone's style is greatly influenced by current styles and the greater media allowing costume designers to be some of the most front-facing people from the design world. Halloween is a great definition for how much influence the clothing characters wear can affect people as they wear the outfit of iconic individuals from the media. Costume designers are already a major influence on the audience and I believe that the designers themselves should also be allowed to present themselves to the audience and make a connection with the people who are affected by their work.
I really loved this article. It’s exciting to see designers finally getting more recognition, because costumes play such a huge role in how we understand characters and stories. I also thought the example from Barbie was really interesting, because it shows how even a small moment involving a costume designer can have a big impact. What I found especially cool is how costume design is no longer just about supporting a story in the background, but actually shaping trends and influencing what people wear in real life. It makes the role feel so much more powerful and visible. At the same time, it’s frustrating that designers still don’t receive the same financial recognition, even when their work directly drives sales and popularity for brands. It really highlights how creative work can be undervalued. Overall, this article made me appreciate even more how important costume designers are, not just in film, but in shaping culture as a whole.
I am so happy that costume design has become something more people can appreciate. I have been interested in costume design since starting theater, and it's always one of the first things I notice when watching a new performance or movie or show. It has always been kinda surprising to me that trending pieces of media and performance, don’t also influence popular fashion in the time. When I see a character I really love dress in a super interesting way I have always wanted to start dressing like them or inspired by them. I don’t really have the resources to just change my whole wardrobe to match a character but I wish sometimes I could copy people in media style. Now a great example of this would be when Stranger Things was trending, I could really imagine a world where people bring back the 80’s style that the costumes so greatly represented.
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