WELCOME TO THE COSTUME DESIGNERS GUILD

Costume Design for "Avatar" by
Mayes C. Rubeo and Deborah L. Scott
photo courtesy 20th Century Fox Corp.

Costume Design in a Digital Age

By Anna Wyckoff, Feb. 3, 2010

Over a century ago, the history of film began as a wavering black and white image that played in silence. The picture was intercut with text, which in time was supplanted by sound. The action became smoother and moved more naturally, and then was completely transformed by color. Televisions brought the image home, and iPods made it even more ubiquitous.

In an effort to astonish audiences anew, digital effects have expanded the scope of cinema, most recently through the creation of convincing three-dimensional space. Like the reinvention of painting by Renaissance perspective, the medium of film has been dynamically changed by computer-generated imagery, or CGI.

In order to explore the role of the Costume Designer in this new world of filmmaking, we interviewed several members of the Costume Designers Guild working at its frontier. Read the whole story »

Photos by Anna Wyckoff.

Design Details: Focus On Millinery

Harry Rotz, Deborah Ambrosino
and Irene Arroyo

By Anna Wyckoff, Feb. 1, 2010

Like no other article of clothing, the hat is an embodiment of its wearer. It has functioned historically as a social signifier, revealing characteristics as diverse as class, occupation, and personal style. Only during the last half of the last century did habitual hat wearing finally slip out of favor, due to a number of circumstances–not the least of which was the rise of casual attire and the inconvenience of wearing a hat in an automobile.

Millinery, or the art of making hats, is now practiced by a select few. This month we are featuring two milliners: Harry Rotz and Deborah Ambrosino. We also spoke with the proprietor of California Millinery Supply Company, Irene Arroyo. In the world of film and television, a costume designer can be asked to evoke any year in the past, present, and even the future. Here are some of the resources that make this enterprise possible. Click here to read the whole story »

Costume Designer Sandy Powell.
Photograph by Mitsuaki Murata.

Spotlight On Sandy Powell

By Anna Wyckoff, Feb. 1, 2010

To date, Sandy Powell has costume designed thirty-eight films and won three Oscars, including the 2010 Academy Award for Costume Design of "The Young Victoria." Moving easily through dramatically different genres of costume design, Powell brings her trademark flair and attention to detail to projects as diverse as "Shakespeare in Love," "Velvet Goldmine," "Gangs of New York," and "The Wings of the Dove." To honor her oeuvre, the Costume Designers Guild presented Powell with the Lacoste Career Achievement in Film Award during its February, 2010 awards gala.

We revisited some past projects with Powell, and she reflected on her process. Read the whole story »