BERNARD AND DORIS
UGLY BETTY
Costume Designer: JOSEPH AULISI Assistant Designer: AUTUMN SAVILLE
Costume Designer: EDUARDO CASTRO Costume Supervisor: MICHAEL CHAPMAN
(Joseph Aulisi was not available at press time)
Where do you get your inspiration? From everything around me. Given more time or money, what would you do differently? I would shop more often in NYC and Europe, which our producers encouraged! What costumes from another show impress you and why? Pushing Daisies for its inventiveness, creativity and whimsy. Mad Men for its sharp, on-target vision of the advertising world. Entourage for the way characters are boldly defined with interesting choices. Best piece of advice? Always trust your gut instinct.
COMANCHE MOON Costume Designer: VAN BROUGHTON RAMSEY Costume Supervisor: BETSEY POTTER Where do you get your inspiration? Fabric is one of the greatest inspirations, as well as a fantastic script with well-defined characters and casting. Fear also plays a role in the beginning! What would you do differently? Hire more crew and demand a longer prep. What TV costumes impress you? Ugly Betty! Each character is wonderfully visual, with incredible style and humor, week after week. Your best advice? Design every project as well as you can, knowing that some of your best work might go unnoticed except by a handful of appreciative peers.
CRANFORD Costume Designer: JENNY BEAVAN Costume Supervisor: MARK FERGUSON *Assistant Designer: CHARLOTTE LAW Where do you get inspiration? The script, characters, actors’ body language, and, of course, research. Given more time or money, what would do differently? Sleep better at night! And, also try to design the costumes under less pressure for the benefit of my crew and myself. What is your best piece of advice? Approach the design in bite-sized chunks!
JOHN ADAMS Costume Designer: DONNA ZAKOWSKA Costume Supervisors: AMY ANDREWS HARRELL & CLARE SPRAGGE *Assistant Designer: MICHAEL SHARPE Where do you get your inspiration? From paintings, actual garments, and occasionally texts; and in this case, from interpreting the personalities of historical figures. Given more time or money, what would you do differently? Further explore the nature of 18th-century costume construction and crafts. What is your best piece of advice? Every designer follows his or her own path, evaluating research with a fresh eye and passion for detail. The journey is a puzzle, and the answer is never evident.
TIN MAN Costume Designer: ANGUS STRATHIE Costume Supervisor: SANDI BLACKIE *Assistant Designer: DEVON RENEE SPENCER Your inspiration? Contemporary popular culture and fashion help keep me grounded, especially when designing period costumes. Given more time or money, what would you do differently? People, time and money dictate a project’s design; more time and money would simply mean a different design. On Tin Man, I would have refined the finishing. What other costumes impress? Pushing Daisies. Mary Vogt and Robert Blackman’s beautiful designs walk the line between theatrical costumes and clothing, creating a style not seen in television drama before. Your advice? Costume Design is first and foremost about servicing character.
Ugly Betty/ABC/Ron Tom, Mad Men/AMC, Pushing Daisies/ABC/Bob D’Amico, The Tudors/Showtime/Jonathan Hession, Desperate Housewives/ABC/Ron Tom
Emmy Nominees: Outstanding Costumes for a Series
Bernard and Doris/HBO/Brigette Lacombe, Comanche Moon/CBS, Cranford/Masterpiece/BBC/Nick Briggs, John Adams/HBO/Kent Eanes, Tin Man/Sci Fi Channel/Art Streiber
Emmy Nominees: Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries or Movie
MAD MEN (pilot) Costume Designer: JOHN DUNN Assistant Designer: LISA PADOVANI Your inspiration? A well-written, thoughtfully crafted script feeds, frightens and fascinates me. Given more time or money, what would you do differently? I’d take the audience further into each character’s complexity: the fine-tuning should never end. What TV costumes impress you? I live and die by Project Runway. Any working Costume Designer can relate to the time pressure, budgetary restrictions and insane hurdles placed before those Designers. Your best advice? Working with good writing and talented collaborators, Costume Designers can create costumes that will resonate.
PUSHING DAISIES (pie-lette) Costume Designer: MARY VOGT Costume Supervisor: STEPHANIE FOX KRAMER *Assistant Designer: DEVON RENEE SPENCER Where do you get your inspiration? From the tone of the project, which develops from conversations with the director, actors, art director and cinematographer. What TV costumes impress you and why? Mad Men’s costumes are very sharp and make the show work. Ugly Betty is fabulously creative with clearly defined characters. Heroes and Lost have great atmosphere. Other favorites are The Tudors, Desperate Housewives, Weeds and Battlestar Galactica. What is your best piece of advice? Try to relax and enjoy the process. Inspiration comes when you are open to it.
THE TUDORS Costume Designer: JOAN BERGIN Costume Supervisor: SUSAN O’CONNOR CAVE *Assistant Designer: GABRIEL O’BRIEN *Illustrators: KELVIN FEENEY & NATALIE CONATY Where do you get your inspiration? Everywhere: Paintings. Fashion advertising. Balenciaga! But above all, from the social history surrounding the period that I’m designing. Given more time or money, what would you do differently? Miraculously for once I was given enough time and money for The Tudors. Almost! What costumes from another show impress you and why? Mad Men. I love how the show evokes the period in every detail. I want the whole look to come racing back into our lives! Best piece of advice? Fortune favors the brave.
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Costume Designer: CATE ADAIR Costume Supervisors: JOYCE UNRUH GOODWIN & KARO VARTANIAN *Assistant Designer & Illustrator: JACQUELINE WAZIR Where do you get your inspiration? Fabrics, vintage clothing, jewelry, books, magazines, and scripts, as well as sketching and observing people … all are wonderful springboards. Anything you would do differently? Sketch and build even more clothes than I do now! What TV costumes impress you? There is so much talent and wonderful work out there, and so much of it impresses me! What is your best advice? Pace yourself! Designing is like running a marathon: sustain your vision by putting one foot in front of the other. *The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences does not include Assistant Designers (Los Angeles) or Illustrators in the Costume Design category.