Variety Artisans Exchange: ‘Yellowjackets,’ ‘Day of the Jackal,’ ‘Last of Us’ and More Break Down the Importance of the Fine Details Behind Sets and Costumes

by

Costume designers don’t simply focus on the clothes they dress actors in, but also pay attention to the subtle elements like accessories that contribute to making a character feel authentic and convincing.

1920s costume designer Janie Bryant expresses her fondness for jewelry, saying she accumulates quite a bit and enjoys incorporating it into her designs to highlight the personalities of the characters.

In much the same way, “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” costume designer Tsigie White Robinson confides that she, just like many others, has a passion for jewelry and often purchases pieces of jewelry before considering any other purchase.

Robinson and Bryant, along with costume designers Renée Ehrlich Kalfus (“Another Simple Favor”) and Natalie Humphries (“The Day of the Jacket”), participated in a discussion at EbMaster’s Artisans Exchange. This panel, led by senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay, offered insights into the nuances of storytelling through their creative work. In another event, titled Creative Collaborators, production designer Kave Quinn (“Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy”), cinematographer Ksenia Sereda (“The Last of Us”), and “Yellowjackets” production designer Margot Ready shared their experiences on collaboration and delved into aspects such as world-building and camera movement.

Artisans Exchange: Costume Design

When crafting his adaptation of “The Day of the Jackal” by Peacock, Humphries aimed to echo the 1973 film directed by Fred Zinnemann. During discussions with lead actor Eddie Redmayne, they both admired the meticulously dressed, suave assassin portrayed by Edward Fox in the original. Humphries wanted to incorporate this element into the modern-day character. As he put it, “We embraced British tailoring.” However, as the character journeyed across Europe, Humphries also incorporated European fashion brands to reflect the character’s acquisition of clothes during his travels.

To avoid being noticed, the Jackal preferred a muted color scheme – tans, browns, navy blues, and grays – reminiscent of an undercover agent’s wardrobe.

For the first time, Kalfus wasn’t involved in a sequel, but with “Another Simple Favor,” featuring Blake Lively reprising her role as Emily and Anna Kendrick taking on the part of Stephanie. This time around, Stephanie consents to serve as maid of honor at Emily’s wedding.

Kalfus took advantage of the situation to make Emily appear more imposing by using larger shadowy figures. “Her arrival dressed like a convict from the last seven years of her life was a tribute to her past. She was adorned in a suit with horizontal stripes, chained up. This was one method of emphasizing her ambiguity and creating tension with Stephanie.

Speaking from my perspective as a movie critic, allow me to share some insights about the captivating wedding dress featured in the film. The designer, Kalfus, meticulously crafted this stunning piece using a bespoke white latex bustier. In Rome, she collaborated with local artisans to create the elegant silver satin skirt that gracefully complements it. Kalfus herself mentioned that the 40-foot veil was an impressive sight, taking up an entire city block. It was then dyed a deep blood red and adorned with crystal embellishments, hinting at potential dramatic events to unfold in the storyline.

Over the years on “Power Book III: Raising Kanan,” Robinson has developed styles deeply rooted in ’90s hip-hop nostalgia yet with a contemporary twist. She explains, “I source materials from everywhere around the globe.” At other times, she’s procuring fabrics and collaborating with her tailoring team to recreate the genuine urban fashion showcased on the series.

The costume designers further emphasized the significance of adding accessories. Interestingly, Bryant incorporates a fascination with watch fobs into Taylor Sheridan’s series, considering them essential for male characters. On the other hand, Cara Dutton, portrayed by Helen Mirren as the family matriarch, is depicted as traditional. As a result, Bryant chooses to adorn her with jewelry from a bygone era. Bryant elaborates, “She wears earrings from a past age, and the brooches she dons are reminiscent of an earlier time.” This, he explains, effectively places her in the appropriate time period and distinguishes her from other female characters in the show.

Robinson observed the significant role jewelry played in both cultural and urban contexts. He found creative ways to integrate name plates, three-finger rings, or nugget rings without making it seem like a stereotype. Instead, he drew inspiration from how his grandfather and his peers dressed and accessorized their outfits.

Regarding “The Day of the Jackal,” one distinctive piece of clothing he dons is a suede jacket. After scouring numerous types of suede jackets in both the U.K. and the United States, as well as examining European options, Humphries eventually found the ideal outfit on London’s Saville Row. The jacket comes from Drake’s.

This past year, following years of struggle, the team responsible for costumes also tackled the issue of fair wages. Thanks to their efforts, the guild successfully achieved pay equity, leading to a significant salary boost of more than 40%. Now, their earnings match those of other creative professionals in similar roles.

I wholeheartedly endorse the crucial significance of the costume designer’s role as department head, a position that often puts us among the first to greet an actor. The limited time we have can make those initial encounters with actors particularly intense, as they might arrive a day before shooting begins, making the situation highly pressured yet exciting.

Kalfus remarks, “It’s a massive task, involving directors, producers, and everyone has their own expectations. As the first point of contact with an actor, you’re guiding them into character, saying ‘This is what your role is. Look here.’ You play a crucial role in getting them on set.

Artisans Exchange: Creative Collaborators

At the Artisans Exchange: Creative Collaborators discussion, Quinn, Sereda, and Ready talked about the significance of collaboration in their work and its connection to showrunners. Ready pointed out that “showrunners are in charge of guiding the series throughout the season.

In the latest season of “The Last of Us,” Sereda was involved, collaborating closely with showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann to bring the visual narrative to life. Sereda notes that while there were many fresh colors, storylines, and characters, it all begins with a creative partnership with the showrunners. Given that both are also directors, this collaboration gives a direct connection to the game’s origin.

In my critique, I appreciated how the cinematographer maintained the raw, handheld aesthetic from Season 1 to Season 2. However, what stood out was the newfound stability in the camera work, giving the scenes a more grounded feel. Despite delving into a post-apocalyptic world filled with infection and chaos, the focus remained squarely on the characters, keeping us intimately connected to them.

Quinn aimed to illustrate the transformation of Renee Zellweger’s character, Bridget Jones. To do this, he had to locate Bridget’s residence and weave in aspects of Mark. “She’s been residing here for quite a while on her own with her kids,” Quinn notes. He describes the kitchen, which echoes Bridget, as a lively yellow space, adding, “It was enjoyable, it was full of life.

She drew upon her own life experiences when it came to arranging the collection. “I have three adult children, and there were subtle references to them. Some items my children created for me were included in the collection, like Mother’s Day cards and similar keepsakes. I have boxes filled with art that my children have made over the years, so I incorporated a lot of that.

Speaking about kitchen designs, one of the latest collections features the kitchen seen in Hilary Swank’s character, Melissa, during the third season of “Yellowjackets.

Ready’s method stood in stark contrast, mirroring the mental state of the characters. In the series, Melissa is depicted as one of the plane crash survivors living in the wilderness. As an adult, she has assumed a fabricated identity and staged her own demise. Ready describes her home as deliberately being both sparse and excessively adorned.

Ready maintains a calm demeanor and comments, ‘Everything here has been meticulously arranged to be spotlessly clean.’ This means that drawings are precisely hung on walls, and jars neatly arranged in the pantry. We believe this is Melissa’s way of coping with her past traumas.

The sign that read “Kitchen Is the Heart of the Family” was something Ready found online, but it held great meaning. It could symbolize the lack of genuine connection within this family because she is living a false life. Yet, it could also serve as a subtle reminder of how they feed off each other emotionally and metaphorically consume one another’s emotional well-being.

Read More

2025-06-02 16:47