Latest / The Art of Costume Podcast / Blonde with Costume Designer, Jennifer Johnson

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Blonde with Costume Designer, Jennifer Johnson · The Art of Costume Podcast

0:12
And when it came out of the dive at it, look like a remnant of a
0:17
walk about like a pink mascot or some kind of puppet vomit.
0:23
Like it was it was so it was like okay that was fifteen
0:27
hundred dollars down the drain plus like the cost of having a
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professional Dire work on it. Hello.
0:43
Welcome to the art accosting podcast.
0:45
I am Spencer Williams, and thank you so much for joining me for
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another extra special bonus episode.
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I am beyond excited to introduce you all to today's guest.
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You would know her for her. Work on Charlie.
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Countryman, hard candy. And she designed the costumes
1:01
for I Tanya? For which she won a costume
1:03
designers, Guild award. And was nominated for a bafta.
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Today, we're talking about the costumes for the new Netflix
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film directed by Andrew dominik, and start a non Ade armas as
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Marilyn Monroe. We are talking about blond.
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I'm so excited to introduce you all to costume designer,
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Jennifer Johnson, Jennifer welcome to the podcast.
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Thank you so much course. I'm so honored to have you.
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So first, let's get into it. Your design costumes for Marilyn
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Monroe at that pressure. I mean, what is that even like,
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how do you even has a costume? Designer, when you're
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approaching that, that must be like, one of the ultimate
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daunting task. It is a terrifying and task,
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it's so terrifying. And, and namely because you're,
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you know, you're following in this incredible Hollywood,
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history of the most amazing costume designers who created
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incredible looks for her. And knowing that you are having
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You know, take the Baton and then do the honor of giving
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those designs. The ultimate respect that they
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deserve and not just kind of absent, mindedly going through
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the motions, making a copy because it is so different just
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copying something than actually, right sort of like kind trying
2:28
to get into the mind of that designer, and how they
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approached the the construction of it.
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And you know, how they purchased the materials.
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And You know, and how they approach the tailoring and all
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of that was really interesting to me.
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And then how do I also make it my own in a way where I'm now
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I'm working in the 21st century and I'm working on a de armas so
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what is that kind of balance searching for you know
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simulation and a copy versus also like yes copying and
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simulation but also in being a spirit into the cost, Students
3:08
that they so deserve to honor, you know, for instance, William
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trivia, you know like he right right.
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Also I feel lucky just to get into his mind a little bit.
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Yeah it's an interesting line between like honoring.
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Some of these incredible costume designers, like William trivia,
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which I'm actually going to talked about soon and then like
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making your own Mark, which I really feel like you did with
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this film. It's an interesting line though.
3:36
Definitely very challenging. Aging.
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Yeah, so this film moves through the life of Marilyn Monroe,
3:44
Norma Jean. But first, I'd really love to
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talk about your research process.
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Obviously, there's a plethora of resources for you, but I mean,
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is there too much research? How did you get into this?
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There is so much research that on my Instagram.
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For instance, it knows that I like Marilyn Monroe's.
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Part of that. Marilyn were algorithm once.
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Start at doesn't end. And to this day, there are
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occasionally photos. I've never seen before and we
4:12
did them in 2019. The director, Andrew dominik
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came to the project after I had working on it for 10 years.
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He had eight hundred page document with his own
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references. So there was that, there are so
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many books about her. She had such an amazing
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relationship and friendships with various photographers.
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There is a lot on her. Which is very interesting you
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know imagine if she was alive today and the day of Instagram
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and stuff, then she would have been the ultimate you know,
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influencer. So back to the to the kind of
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research process. Definitely Andrews document
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which became known as the Bible affectionately.
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Did it make sense? Sometimes not affectionally
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depended on what was going on that day and you know, I we
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print It out. It was in the production office.
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It took up. I should have.
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I mean, it was like many, many, many yards or feet of of the
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Bible and we had a our offices at Western costume for the
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costume department and we put it up like wallpaper in our office
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and then on top of that I had to do a lot of my own research
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because there was there were Bridges to Gap.
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You know like with in there was his research but then there was
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also research that was important too.
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Answer unanswered questions. There's a particular book that I
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want to say. I may be ordered it on eBay but
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I'm I can't remember where I got it but there's a Christian
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Auction House book that's incredible.
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And if there's any super fans out there, it is her estate.
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And the way it's photographed is very clinical, you know, the
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pieces are laid out in an archival manner, on a white
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background, you know, taken very kind of We and they're great
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photos because you see them as objects and they're not on the
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body and it's kind of fascinating to see underwear and
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her different effects and like her lipstick case and things.
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Maybe you don't see in the movie, but helped me kind of get
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into her inner interior, which is what the book is about the
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Joyce, Carol, Oates wrote, which is what our movies based on and,
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and Andrew script. And it really is an interior
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Courier life of Marilyn and so so much of that interior is in
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on has incredible performance and I feel like it was really my
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job is to not only take care of these Recreations that are so
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important that they be so beautiful and and as rich as we
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remember, you know, like the in Technicolor like it was very
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important that all the costumes really felt right.
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And then if somebody like William trivia And I would so
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hope that he would approve with a my mind like he was on my mind
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a lot. So there's not only that like
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there's things that you in the movie you have to take care of.
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You know there's beats that you have to meet right?
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Like she has to have Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Diamonds Are a
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Girl's Best Friend. Number have the pink dress like
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there's things in the movie that have to happen and then outside
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of that there's her off-duty life as Norma Jean and Then, you
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know, that was conversations that Andrew and Anna.
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And I had about, you know, what was that?
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And how do we create a uniform and from her personal life in
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history? Like maybe, what was that?
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And so some of the research really was sometimes just to
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like, like I said, this sort of Christie's Auction House book
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was just sort of like to start living with her and trying to
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kind of conjure up her spirit which we all did and Andrew
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definitely. Feel like there's probably some
8:08
seances going on but you know, I feel like all the there was so
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much love for her. There is so much love for her
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and our crew and my costume team and every Department loved her
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so much that I think part of that became sort of like a
8:30
spirit transfer. Like we put so much love into
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each one of her pieces. Pieces of clothing.
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You know, whether that was a Hollywood Costume that she's
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wearing in a recreation or it's her, you know, capri pants and
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her black sweater, all of that had to have kind of an energy in
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it, that felt really exceptionally personal because
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it then back to the script and the book it is her psychological
9:00
Interior, right? So, ultimately, even though you
9:04
could say, oh, that's all about the, you know, like that.
9:06
Pink dress. Is all about the costume.
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It is, it's so much also about her and Anna like, getting into
9:14
that interior in a way that the costume could never be the
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elephant in the room. So it was almost like nothing
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could be a distraction. Yeah, for instance like
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historically cracked, she would have much more pointed bra,
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right? Should have bullet prop tips and
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then he also would so marbles or she would have marbles sewn into
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her, you know dress. So it gave like a very extended
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nipple and I love that felt really for today, you know, at
9:51
the time it was 2019 but he first century, it felt really
9:56
fetishistic and it felt very costumey and it felt like if we
10:02
were really going to get caught up in that kind of minutiae of
10:06
like Like her, you know, her breast has to be this shape to
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be exactly like Maryland's and her hips have to be this width.
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Exactly. If we got caught up in that kind
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of detail, I think that you would start feeling like the
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dress is wearing her wearing Anna.
10:27
Wright was never, you know, it was extremely important.
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That honest quite free and all the clothing, you know?
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So there was a, there was some deliberate Intentional tweaks
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that are. They're not big but they're,
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they're right. It's all about like, supporting
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that characterization to and helping on a feel like she's
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becoming the character at the same time.
10:48
Yeah. And not taking over the room as
10:51
you said yeah, that pink dress, that bow on that pink dress
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could easily become the elephant in the room.
10:58
Right? Well, I mean actually let's talk
11:00
about the pink dress because it's on the list because it is
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one of my favorite costumes from the film mostly because I Being
11:07
a costume designer did William to Villa obviously, doing many,
11:12
many costumes for Marilyn Monroe back in the day.
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So I want to just dive into that though.
11:17
Like how do you approach a garment as famous as The
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Gentlemen Prefer Blondes look and kind of respecting as we
11:25
kind of talked about this a little bit but like respecting
11:27
the previous work done by other costume designers can making
11:30
your own but also still reminiscent of what we're
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familiar with. Because when you look at it like
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wow like that could be. The the dress but it's still
11:38
slightly different ways. That feel current and true to
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the story that you're trying to tell ya that dress is really
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that is his dresses are fun to talk about and I think they're
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all fun to talk about but there's this great book, I don't
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know the title but it's this little slim volume.
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And if you love if you're a costume nerd, you have to have
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this book because it's so fun to read because it goes into the
12:02
construction. Anecdotes very anecdotal like
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fun stories. And one of the things about that
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dress is that when they were making the movie and they're in
12:12
pre-production. And I believe it's that fox and
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her famous photo when she was Norma Jean when she was doing
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modeling work of her laying on the red velvet and she's nude
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was leaked and not came out like it was already out in the world.
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Sort of, I think it was a calendar but it had taken to the
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main Mainstream and that image got out there while they were in
12:40
pre-production. So he had to redesign her
12:43
dresses because they were too sexy the studio.
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So they wanted to tone it down and he had very, very little
12:52
time to react to it. So he didn't have time to order
12:56
the correct Fabric and you know, and maybe it wasn't the right
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way and he was just kind of improvising as he went along.
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And so he realized that the Satin Wasn't heavy enough and he
13:08
didn't have the right materials on hand in his workshop at the
13:13
studio. So he walked next door to the
13:15
art department and there was pool table fabric is on pool
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tables, right? And he used that to back that
13:27
dress. That's insane.
13:30
I did not know that not about doing that because really when
13:34
you watch the you're looking at a still Well, but you're also
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watching the movies and see how Maryland moved in them.
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That was extremely important because I think you can
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successfully copy a garment but if the pattern is off a bit and
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if the constructions off a bit, it starts adding up.
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And then as she's descending, the stairs that might really not
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like just a tube a pink tampon, like walking, I don't know, you
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know, like it just it's easy to sort of like Go wrong with that
14:08
dress because it is like very seemingly.
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Very simple. You know with this insane
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origami like present go on the back and the bow is actually
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causes problems. The boat kind of absurd shooting
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its kind of deflated a little bit.
14:30
It needed like its own compressor to pump it up but
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that is so so Oh, interesting. Like he had those same thoughts
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about the dress and, you know, and and the weight of it because
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we actually have some of the same issues.
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So, number one outside of construction, was the color of
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the dress. And so you're looking at Stills
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and you're trying to find behind the scenes, you know, or you
14:57
know, not behind the scenes but often Studio photographers would
14:59
take, you know, the screen test, but photographs, where you see
15:05
it change number next to it. Written in chalk are distinct
15:08
pink. It's a very distinct pink and so
15:14
we had a sample and we have, we were lucky because a lot of the
15:17
movie we didn't have time for such things but we were lucky to
15:21
get with Chase serving the cinematographer and do a test on
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us watch. And he was like, kind of like
15:27
wow, this is crazy in person. Like this looks like a match,
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but when we got on a camera, it was no match for Technicolor,
15:36
right? It was totally wrong and it was
15:39
pale and it because they were doing, you know, like I'm not I
15:43
can't speak his technical language but sort of, you know,
15:46
they're probably doing some kind of post thing but on set where
15:50
they were looking at, what? Like when they grade it, what
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would a Technicolor? How do you give a technicolour?
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Feel with the punching the color up, right?
16:01
And so our fabric, you know my fabric that I had the Swatch
16:05
like was so limp and Hail and Anna.
16:10
And we realized that we're like, we have to go a hot pink like
16:14
garish shinobu. Yeah.
16:16
Arrested most, like a piece of candy, you know, like something
16:21
really uncomfortably sugary and bright and something you maybe
16:25
wouldn't use on camera because it could vibrate, even a goes
16:28
really bright. Well, so we ordered from New
16:34
York, this exceptionally Expensive fabric, satin that
16:40
originated in Paris or in France.
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And I want to say it was like $100 a yard and we needed
16:47
because of the bow and etc, etc. We needed I don't know like 12
16:51
yards or some amazing expensive amount.
16:54
I did it and we're shirred by everyone like, okay, yes, this
16:58
can be dyed, it'll be fine. And when it came out of the dive
17:02
at it looked like the Pink Panther, like it look like a
17:04
stuffed. It looked like Cherry behind
17:06
you. It's Somehow felt it.
17:08
So and it turned into like will most likely the pool table felt,
17:12
you know, it was like it look like a remnant of a walkabout,
17:18
you know, like a pink mascot or some kind of puppet vomit.
17:23
Like if it was it was so it was like okay that was fifteen
17:27
hundred dollars down the drain plus like the cost of having a
17:31
professional Dire work on it and we really run over.
17:37
You're running out of time. So amazing.
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Key costumer Allison Wagner. Who's so incredible.
17:43
She had searched everywhere already and she's like, okay,
17:47
can I pick a? Can it not be sad?
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And it was like do whatever you need to do please.
17:52
She comes back with this insanely hot pink role of.
17:57
It's almost like file and it's not great and it would be really
18:02
interesting to see if there's ever like one of those fidm art
18:06
of costumer. Where they have those.
18:09
If it's ever on display, everyone will see him.
18:11
Like, what the hell kind of way. I'm the person who puts those
18:15
costumes on this play to. So the yeah.
18:18
So you would really appreciate like there would probably have a
18:22
note attached to it like everyone, calm down, you know,
18:25
take a step back, click on the back this way, for a reason.
18:29
So one was that the color was that became Paramount to
18:33
everything like and then in a way, the fabric didn't matter,
18:36
do you know what I mean? Like, Long.
18:37
As the, as long as Jose Bella, who was who was built and carry
18:42
at Western costume were so amazing, I could go up, we can
18:46
have a podcast. We should have them on actually,
18:49
as long as, as long as they were both comfortable with the drape
18:54
ability of the fabric. Like they're like, okay, it'll
18:56
work. I get will make it happen for
18:58
you. And they were kind of like oh
18:59
God because it was it was different than what they were
19:01
expecting But ultimately that pink is so spot-on and that's
19:05
what you see in. The there's an amazing poster.
19:10
I don't know if it's out yet, but we saw last night at the
19:12
premiere and she's kind of sitting on the the red steps,
19:17
you know, that and she was little or Lauren.
19:20
And anyway, it's fun because that dress, right, you poster.
19:24
I would love to see it and just like pink because I really like
19:28
it's, you know, the film has definitely it's darker moments.
19:33
And then you see that pink and like just that like 10 15
19:36
seconds of joy. By saying that pink you like a.
19:39
I guess that's a relief, Orton contrast.
19:41
And I think that's an interesting comment about the
19:43
color like, because that's a color, she would never wear in
19:46
her private life and she was actually quite minimal.
19:49
And, and subdued in her palate and quite serious.
19:54
And her palate, there is a sense of this like candy, you know,
19:59
object, like coming down those stairs.
20:01
Like it's so exciting and yummy, and yeah, Totally Theory me.
20:07
I mean that's like almost how you know the world was saying
20:10
her at this point into. So I feel that's why I love
20:13
costume design to storytelling through costume, designing the
20:16
color. What it says about the person.
20:18
Yeah, I'm interested to hear. It's a very personal, emotional
20:23
powerful film. I'm interested to hear about
20:25
your collaboration with on Ade armas.
20:27
Actually, because this is a very that's a personal project that
20:30
you were working on. So what was that collaboration?
20:33
Like absolutely personal and Andrea Liana is like really
20:40
exposing herself as an actor and she is just really committed and
20:48
really going for it and her performance is incredible.
20:52
I've seen the movie twice. It is unreal like you know,
20:56
especially when I first met her and it was the same with Margot
20:59
Robbie and I Tonya, they haven't gone through hair and makeup
21:02
when you meet them and they don't look like those people,
21:05
you know, right. It's you just have to have sort
21:10
of like a leap of faith that it's all going to work out.
21:12
And obviously, you know, Andrews and incredible Image Maker and
21:18
he's been incredible director and he was very really committed
21:22
to hiring Anna on. We had a camera test actually in
21:26
2018 so this one for me goes to that far back and in 28 minutes
21:31
Ernie. It's kind of Journey.
21:34
There's a reason when I first thought maybe I Started crying
21:37
because it was very cathartic. Like, it has been a journey for
21:39
the whole crew and for Andrew and fauna all that was involved.
21:44
But in 2018, we had to do a camera test to, you know, we
21:49
needed a plan B, Brad Pitt, and DD Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner.
21:54
Her incredible producers, they needed to, you know, make sure
21:58
that it was believable that Anna dark hair.
22:02
She's from Cuba. Could she become Marilyn?
22:06
And I think it's There it's fair that that test was required and
22:12
I had a half a day to throw some things together and what's so
22:16
incredible about returning back to that test is some of those
22:19
pieces are in the movie and that's an incredible thing.
22:23
Oh wow, the collaboration. Kind of, you know, that was sort
22:26
of like my Andrew, I had never met Andrew worked with him and I
22:30
was kind of being tested, probably was the little bit of
22:34
try out like speed dating and I think it would work out but, you
22:38
know, throwing together, seven of her looks kind of her
22:42
day-to-day. You know, off-duty looks in like
22:45
half a day and transforming on and getting the financing
22:50
through that one test. I think that that developed a
22:54
trust with Anna and I in that one day or two days that we were
22:59
working together in 2018. So when we started up again in
23:02
2015, I feel like we have had this Unwritten Code that we were
23:08
there for each other and she was so committed to the fittings.
23:14
I mean, they were so many and they were so long because of
23:19
some of it initially was just figuring out.
23:21
Do we build prosthetics for her body?
23:23
Did we have her, do we add weight to, we change the shape
23:26
of her hips? You know, there was a lot of
23:28
exploration that we threw out within that and then the
23:32
fittings and a lot of things that didn't make it and she was
23:36
so, So lovely and her commitment to never rushing those and is
23:42
exhausting, you know, fittings are exhausting, I get exhausted
23:45
trying on clothes. Like, you know, it's right, it's
23:48
hard. Like trying exhausted for you
23:50
just thinking about the process I know.
23:53
And so I think, like, Anna, giving me the space.
23:58
Also to figure things out with her was an enormous gift.
24:03
And we saw each other at the premiere last night, for the
24:05
first time we had Seeing each other, since the movie wrapped
24:09
in October 29th. And we just, oh, he's for so
24:14
long because it was like, we made it, we did it.
24:19
And it was, yeah, it was really hard and that 14-minute Ovation,
24:23
she got in Venice, it's so it's funny.
24:25
I say she the Andrew and her God, the movie got, but in my
24:30
mind because after I saw the film, she's so incredible, it
24:33
was like, that is for on that. She deserves every I mean but
24:40
also for I mean it's for everyone it's for you.
24:43
None of this would be happening without any of you.
24:46
Especially these costumes to meeting an actor and you're so
24:49
right like obviously you know we always told like don't be shy,
24:53
you can talk about yourself, it's okay.
24:56
You can say it was good, it was good, it was good.
25:03
But you know having an actor that and really all Actors in
25:07
the movie were like that, they really were really collaborative
25:12
and they really dedicated a lot of their personal time to being
25:17
with me in the fittings, and really discussing things and
25:21
living in the Garmin walking through it together.
25:24
And I think that's part of, I hope why there's sort of a
25:28
naturalism to it. It's that every fitting that we
25:33
had was extremely Eight personal, you know, like even
25:38
though that there's a million things going on.
25:41
And sometimes you only have time for Anna, there always was time
25:45
given, you know, to all the other things going on.
25:49
And even the background, my, the the team had three people that
25:54
did the background full-time and they think every single person
25:58
and there's probably like 1,900 background that have all been
26:02
fit, you know? I mean that, yeah, I was
26:04
watching it. I was like, oh my gosh, this is
26:06
crazy. I hate the project.
26:08
And then, like another nerd point, I want to bring up to is
26:12
quite a few parts of this film are in black and white and that
26:15
is like its own challenge of costumes own towns, especially
26:18
when Andrews, not sure, when we're going to use it or not.
26:23
No disappointment in because it's a question that everyone
26:28
has asked me today doing this press junket today and there's a
26:33
little wildness working with Andrew like even though he's
26:36
Very, he's extremely organized and very methodical and he came
26:41
to this movie with his Bible. And that really like lead was
26:46
the always the leader in the visuals and the discussions,
26:50
like it was always the jumping off point but there was a bit of
26:54
you know, working on the Fly which I think creates a really
26:59
interesting energy that you can kind of feel in the movie.
27:02
We didn't have much. We didn't have enough time also.
27:06
And we somehow Filmed everything in his script which is
27:08
incredible and much kudos to him for keeping us on track with
27:12
that. But I think originally the
27:16
black-and-white was really mapped out for the re-creations,
27:21
you know? And so, that was right here.
27:24
But as they were shooting and looking at dailies, I think that
27:29
him and Chase serving the cinematographer.
27:31
Like, whoa. And, and for me, I have to say,
27:34
like it the lack of might, some of the stuff is my Everett, you
27:37
know it is yeah there's things that we did that.
27:41
I can't even believe that it's in 2019 like it looks so you
27:48
know when you look at for instance when she's on the
27:51
airplane to go see the president or she's in the actors circle
27:55
circle you know where she's studying acting and you look at
27:59
her sitting there with the the background or Some Like It Hot
28:04
when she's singing the bandwidth.
28:07
Now you know, really satisfying. I think there's like this really
28:11
kind of cinematic quality, visually the Andrew and achieved
28:17
with Chase. Chase has helped.
28:19
That is really cool and I started I think they started
28:22
feeling that when they're watching the dailies and I don't
28:24
think he wanted to be locked in, you know, so though it is shot
28:27
and color the whole film, and it can be changed over to block.
28:32
So I see, but it's in Irving. And there were times when I
28:36
would use My iPhone to look at colors and fabrics and
28:40
especially when I knew for sure it was going to be black and
28:42
white and you had to make up what the color was, right?
28:46
Because the original photograph or movie is you don't know what
28:49
it is. So you were just like, I was
28:50
always a grayscale, like taking a picture of this, you know,
28:53
taking a picture of fabric or a garment and then trying to
28:58
convert that and sometimes Andrew be like, why is she
29:01
wearing blue pants my iPhone and they took.
29:05
Okay, I got it. Regret.
29:10
So that you know, that that is really hard and it is it's hard
29:16
to put your brain and not kind of greyscale and I will say that
29:20
the phone the iPhone is so it's really helpful for that because
29:24
it's such a quick little trick, you know?
29:27
Tony. Yeah.
29:28
I love that trick. Every time someone told me they
29:30
do that, we got so crazy but I mean it just it works.
29:33
So your brain would have to be so Advanced there'd be Such an
29:37
advancement in your brain. You mean, obviously if you were
29:39
doing black-white phones all the time, you would have you would
29:42
even know you know offhand. But we live in such a color
29:46
world that it's a new new thing for our brain.
29:49
To think in that manner. Yeah.
29:52
Also you know some colors you know with part of her closet,
29:57
like sometimes when I knew we were shooting in black and
30:01
white, I might change things something that we had prepped to
30:05
be in color. If I could, I Change it to
30:07
something that looked better because for instance I read if
30:11
it doesn't have enough black and it can go very limp and School
30:16
Flat. Yeah.
30:19
But things you have to think about but I agree with you.
30:22
I mean there was just like so many moments where I was
30:24
watching it specially during a black-and-white.
30:26
Seems, there was just felt very like transformative re like,
30:29
kind of like shake your head like, oh, like this did feel
30:32
like I can't believe this is 2019.
30:34
I totally understand because I have that several All times and
30:38
the Transformations, just so real.
30:40
I only have a little bit more time, so I will fire off this
30:44
fun question for you. Kind of, let's see, was there
30:48
anyone costume? We were excited to create.
30:51
And was there a costume you initially found intimidating?
30:55
The intimidate? I'll answer the intimidating,
30:57
because that one's easy, really intimidating.
31:00
Like, when you're just sort of, theoretically talking about, it
31:03
was The Some Like It Hot when she's singing in the band that
31:11
was that dress is made out of two full chiffon and silk and
31:18
then he's all beaded and those beads are heavy, you know, so
31:21
there's like a lot of the dresses so I can like whole lot
31:26
going on there just with like the the fabric and how naked she
31:30
looks in that dress and also how.
31:33
So to back way up. We chose on and I chose not to
31:38
pad her overall because he was so hot.
31:41
She had a wig on and it was too much and, you know, we were
31:44
shooting in, you know, August September and October and that's
31:48
always hot. And that way, oh yeah, the trick
31:53
was our seamstress Lydia came up with this.
31:56
Brilliant idea in the fitting of just getting a little piece of
31:58
elastic and making it into a belt and she would wear that on
32:01
her bare waste every day and that little bit It just helped
32:06
and that's what she just wore that little little blip of a
32:09
belt. And the little elastic was
32:11
always hanging in her in her trailer.
32:13
And and she would put that on and not just did enough.
32:16
And then we had the bra that built her out a little bit, but
32:20
that dress to go back to this. Some Like It, Hot dress was so
32:24
naked that you then were aware of kind of how tiny on it.
32:30
Now, Marilyn was Tiny also but when she did that movie, which
32:34
was G9. I think she had in some weight
32:37
and she was really like fully in, you know, she wasn't doing
32:42
okay and that movie. But Billy Wilder movie is
32:45
fraught with problems with her drug addiction and different
32:49
problems. So, her shape was like,
32:53
different in that movie for sure.
32:55
She's kind of bloated. And I mean, she looks gorgeous.
32:58
But worse, how do you do that? How do you like, give her a
33:01
little bit more voluptuousness without Having then to add a
33:05
prosthetic to her whole face and arms and because the dress is
33:10
sleeveless. And so that is one garment that
33:13
we decided to try to pad to just add a little bit and Rory at
33:18
Bill. Heart gate did an incredible job
33:21
with his team and there is a pad like sewn in as part of that
33:25
truck, that dress. So that was probably the most.
33:29
Like, how are we going to pull this off kind of thing.
33:32
It's a daunting task. Very daunting and then The
33:35
pleated dress, you know, the one in seven year itch that blows up
33:39
in the subway grate. That was probably the hardest
33:43
dress to make in many ways because it on paper looks really
33:48
easy and you've seen re-creations of it.
33:50
They have it at the costume houses.
33:52
Yeah, you've seen people and drag you've seen them on
33:54
Hollywood Boulevard. Seen it better right?
33:56
Pto's familiar with the dross that you're like oh it's kind of
34:00
like a little sundress and then you start digging into actually
34:04
how Oh, it's constructed. And it's so much work and the
34:08
amount of handwork and hand sewing.
34:11
And and the amount of fabric that is actually in that skirt
34:15
is tremendous. The, it ended up being three
34:19
separate panels and they all had to be pleaded, you know?
34:23
And, and not pleading, there's only like two people that I know
34:26
of in the United States that still do it, where they make
34:29
worm, they make a mold, and they heat the fabric and it's then We
34:35
processed into the Garment and even, you know, that pleading.
34:41
And then his father and him had made the dresses for years for
34:45
Universal Studios and they're not exactly right.
34:48
They're great in their own, right?
34:50
But they're not. What trivia did.
34:53
And so that was really the the, the genius of Jose Bellow at
35:00
Western, like, figuring that out with me and then I decided to I
35:05
add a little bit more even more fabric, so when the dress is
35:10
blowing it would really luxurious 8 and develop her and
35:14
almost like make her disappear. And so that was a little bit of
35:19
a reinterpretation but the a lot of the existing copies of that
35:24
dress, don't even if you look at trivias they don't have enough
35:28
Fabric in the skirt there to write a very tame.
35:33
Ours is like a Max Like a little steroid version of trivia, I was
35:38
going to say, what I thought I was like, this is like, this is
35:41
a real deal type of, like, they've clearly put all their
35:44
thought and attention when creating the stress.
35:46
So I saw that. I saw ya.
35:49
Terrifying thing is we didn't have time to test it, so it
35:53
didn't get tested until the day we shot and great.
35:57
Yeah, that's encouraging. We shop real location.
36:01
So, originally that movie shot in New York and there was such a
36:04
To do about, you know because there were so much crowd around
36:09
Street, you know, people on the Street Watching the film being
36:11
made and now talking about the original movie, that it was too
36:16
crazy. Like you could see much of her
36:18
underwear and the Studio's, like we have to reshoot this and is
36:21
too loud, and there's too much chaos.
36:22
Like, this is too, is too much too much, so that they would be
36:26
shot it Fox back lot. And that's where we shot.
36:30
We used a lot of her actual locations in the movie.
36:33
And I think that, Does when you really know that it really, it's
36:38
just the production value of the list of where, where she was and
36:43
where we shot is amazing. Wow.
36:46
I can't believe you went through all that.
36:48
I mean, it really shows just such incredible attention to
36:51
detail throughout this entire film.
36:54
I just really felt like you brought these iconic costumes to
36:58
life. It was just like, really
36:59
refreshing to me the highlights of the film just seeing these
37:04
costumes. Come to life.
37:06
But with that being said it, you know, as we talked about it was
37:09
a very emotional film. So just as a whole now that
37:12
you've seen it a couple times, what was your key like take away
37:16
from this film? What do you feel like you walked
37:19
away from this film with in terms of just a story and
37:23
costuming? I walked away feeling really
37:27
excited to it, feels like a real piece of Cinema that Andrew is
37:33
created. It feels like a kind of movie
37:37
that's not made very often anymore.
37:40
It takes a lot more time and effort to make this kind of
37:43
film. Yeah, there's many great films
37:46
being made, but my point is, is it is kind of like an art movie,
37:50
you know, it's sort of like, when you think of David Lynch
37:53
blue velvet or it has an edge to it, that a lot of costume,
37:59
dramas, or biopics do not have this.
38:03
This really takes the That to a whole nother level and so I love
38:09
that. It feels had has these moments
38:11
of like classical old Hollywood, beautiful photography, and
38:16
luxurious - of set design and costume design and production
38:21
design lighting, but then that's also like there's this crazy.
38:26
Punk rock, Andrew dominik Spirit.
38:29
Yeah, cave. It's it's very Like definitely
38:35
this cool crazy psychotic energy in the movie that I think lends
38:43
to electrifying this intensity of Maryland's interior and I
38:50
feel really proud to be a part of what Andrew created and I
38:54
also feel immensely cathartic that it's out.
38:57
And people are seeing it, but it's very divisive.
39:00
The movie people hate it. They love it.
39:02
I love that. People are talking about it.
39:05
That's exciting to, you know, right paying attention.
39:09
And regardless if they like it or not I think that it's like
39:14
it's just a gorgeous phone. And I think I think everyone
39:18
involved like really poured their heart into it and we so
39:22
wanted it to be great and the best and as you do on all
39:26
projects, but I think this one was a bit different because we
39:30
are paying tribute to Marilyn Monroe.
39:32
We are paying tribute to the Stand Hollywood of the, of a
39:37
Great era of sins, you know, of Studio Cinema, you know, in the
39:41
50s. And that, that was some big
39:44
shoes to fill, but I feel very proud of that, right?
39:49
It was just a totally here. I say no essential like,
39:53
electrifying, energy and energy. I haven't felt from watching a
39:57
film a long time. It was just so artistic and
39:59
detailed, and it made me sad but also like inspired at the same
40:04
time and And a lot of that comes from your incredible costuming.
40:07
Jennifer, thank you so much for joining the podcast, so for
40:12
graduation and so fun to talk to you, you know, your questions
40:17
are make it easy. People have an interview me
40:19
since 8:30 this morning and I'm cross-eyed, this was so lovely
40:22
and easy, thank you. Of course if you know, just a
40:25
costume designer talking to a costume designer, I could talk
40:29
to you forever but me too. I thank you so much.
40:33
Jennifer, so nice to me. Meet you.
40:35
Thank you. Thank you all so much for
40:37
listening. Blond is available now on
40:39
Netflix. Go watch it as soon as possible.
40:42
You're going to love it. The costumes are absolute dream.
40:46
Thanks again, to Jennifer Johnson for joining me, and
40:49
thank you all so much for listening.
40:55
You're out of costume. Blogcast is hosted and produced
40:58
by Elizabeth Joy, glass, and Spencer Williams.
41:02
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41:06
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41:37
best and costume design. Incredible attention to detail
41:51
throughout this entire film. You you're Frozen?
41:56
Or I'm Frozen. Um, I just love that.
42:00
Dress to a my back. Yeah, your background.
42:04
No, it's fine. I was just complimenting.
42:06
You I love it. I'm sorry.