What is a Costume Designer Job Description, Duties & Salary
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After working on commercials and a small feature film, she got a costume designer job on a big-budget film that allowed her to travel to Russia, Romania and Greece. And while that was a glamorous job, when she came back, she didn’t have another gig lined up. But overall, costume designers usually get paid less than other heads of departments, and the guild is advocating for equal pay. On the surface, Adams’ story of how she became a costume designer sounds like a fairy tale.
Character Concept Artist (Senior/Principal/Lead)
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In the beginning, this may be for university, community, or other smaller productions. In the show Euphoria, designer Heidi Bivens uses specific colors for each character to give them a unique identity. Carothers was 21 when she took a job she wasn’t quite qualified for, and she said she kept getting fired but kept coming back. In hindsight, she thinks the only reason she got away with it was because the person who hired her was also inexperienced — and eventually got fired. Her boss was replaced by designer Karen Perry, who took Carothers under her wing.
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Arts Production Specialist
A fashion designer typically will be designing a wardrobe or outfit for a specific event such as a gala. Costume designers are creative, resourceful, observant, and analytical. They have a deep knowledge of and curiosity about fashion and costuming history, and are experts in using clothing and accessories to enhance character and story.
CORPORATE PRODUCTION STAGE DESIGNER
Many costume designers start out as production assistants in the costume department. Designing costumes and wardrobe is essentially a part of world building. What a character wears can tell you both where and when the story is taking place. Period pieces often entail research of what the fashion was during the time period the film takes place. Costume designers, who tend to have at least a bachelor's degree and at most a master's in costuming, usually get their start as costume makers.
Times your questions about breaking into and working in the entertainment industry. While it’s good to be proactive, Bronfman thinks one of the biggest mistakes she sees young people make is jumping into a job they aren’t ready for. Costume designer Paul Tazewell chose distinct color palettes to help audiences track the opposing groups whether they were dancing in the school gym or fighting in the street.
They must understand the story’s tone, themes, character arcs, setting, and plot. Often, costume designers will break down a script for these wardrobe clues. A costume designer, on the other hand, must design clothing for a character in a story.
Experts in fashion history, practical clothes making, and theatrical design, costume designers plan and supervise the creation of the costumes and outfits worn by characters in a play or opera. Costumes help form the audience’s first impression of a character, even before any dialogue is spoken. This involves taking into consideration the time period, location, personalities, mood and more.
Wardrobe Logistics Coordinator
For “Never Have I Ever,” Perez hired a young graduate of L.A.’s Fashion Institute of Design and Manufacturing, Ammaarah Jalal, as a costumes production assistant. Even though he has been shopping in Artesia for decades, browsing through the boutiques with an Indian American designer was an entirely different experience, he said. As a production assistant, you’re likely making minimum wage on a 10- to 12-hour day with no benefits, he said. (Production assistants are not part of the union.) An entry level costumer in the union, however, will make between $30 and $45 an hour. And costumers often work 60 to 70 hours a week, so there’s a lot of overtime.
What is a Costume Designer in Filmmaking?
Because scenes are often shot out of order, designers need to plan accordingly. If a scene takes several days to film, the outfit has to be managed so it can appear the same way for continuity. Costume designers also need to remember whether an actor likes a particular undergarment or pantyhose, and if any prefers armpit shields. After getting a thorough understanding of a script and having creative discussions with the director, a film costume designer will enter the research phase of their job.
Costume design is an important aspect of filmmaking because it contributes to a film’s mise en scene. Mise en scene might sound like a completely foreign term, but luckily if you want to learn more about it, we break it down thoroughly in our next article and how it plays an important role in a film. Costume designers understand that filmmaking is a collaborative effort. In this phase of understanding the script and the story, designers will collaborate with the director. Take a look at this video below that analyzes how designers must really be storytellers to create iconic looks in film.
And they must understand their character arcs, their internal and external conflicts, and how they fall into the world of a film. Here is Game of Thrones designer Michele Clapton breaking down she designed the iconic costumes of one HBO’s best television series. “We didn’t want any costume to say a particular time or place or moment, because all the Diana fans would know its historical place card,” says costume designer Jacqueline Durran. There were design programs for fashion 20 years ago, May said, but fewer of them catered specifically to costume design for film and television.
As with many jobs in performing arts, work days tend to grow longer and less predictable the closer it gets to showtime. At times, costume designers may work only a couple of hours per day; at other times, they could work ten-hour days or even all-nighters in the costume shop. Whether purchasing, creating, or tailoring costume pieces, the costume designer is in charge of the costume team, budget, and time frame for the project.
They might begin by working on college or community productions or interning for university costume departments. As you can see, costume designers are incredibly important to the filmmaking process, but they can often be unsung heroes. From fantasy films, to period pieces, to contemporary television shows, there is a lot of thought and effort put into the wardrobe of a story. Costume designers typically begin researching and creating designs for a production months before it's staged, although production cycles can vary greatly.
Typically once the research and story come together, sketches are made and look boards are made to present to the director a vision of the film’s final costume design. Once the director and/or producers sign off on the ideas, the movie costume designer gets their team to work. Take a look at costume designers Sandy Powell and Christopher Peterson breakdown how they designed the costumes of The Irishman in this video by Vanity Fair. Costume designers are often confused with the job of a fashion designer and rightfully so. And, obviously, both must understand the craft of creating clothing.
Additionally, they must have the attention to detail, leadership, and time management skills to get projects done on time. As for most in the theater business, networking and self-promotion are vital skills for finding work. “Don’t let your ego get in the way of a job that you could get,” said Song.
The office route refers to the folks who are in charge of operations, which includes buying or building the costumes. Duties vary, but in general, the costume supervisor handles a lot of the logistics, including hiring the crew and managing the budget. Costume coordinators are the planners who handle the receipts and work with the shoppers, who go out to purchase the clothing or fabrics needed after the designer comes up with the plan.
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