Latest / The Art of Costume Podcast / The Queen of Versailles with Christian Cowan - The Costume House with Spencer Williams
Transcript
- 0:12In my runways, I would be like, OK, let's make the most
- 0:15harmonious, beautiful, kind of like chic look that works
- 0:17together. But with this, it was like, OK,
- 0:19we've made this gown now what necklace shouldn't really go
- 0:23with this, but like or what shoe makes no sense with this.
- 0:27What would Jackie pick in her closet?
- 0:29Because she's excited about it. And I just really saw something
- 0:32in her that I love in my clients within my career is people who
- 0:36just excited by the craft. Welcome to The Costume House
- 0:40with Spencer Williams, a podcast dedicated to the art and
- 0:43storytelling of costume design in film, television, and
- 0:47theater. I'm your host, Spencer Williams.
- 0:49Thank you so much for being here.
- 0:51Today's guest is someone whose work is instantly recognizable
- 0:54for its joy, audacity, and full throttle glamour.
- 0:58Christian Cowan Christian has become a defining voice in
- 1:01contemporary fashion, known for his bold vision and exuberant
- 1:04sense of spectacle. His designs have lit up red
- 1:07carpets and stages around in a world worn by icons such as
- 1:10Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus and Zendaya and celebrated
- 1:15everywhere from Fashion Week to Vogue and the New York Times.
- 1:18But now he brings that signature energy to a brand new stage.
- 1:22Broadway The Queen of Versailles marks Christians Broadway
- 1:25costume design debut A glittering high drama musical
- 1:29world built on excess aspiration comedy and some truly delicious
- 1:34fashion storytelling. Today we talk about stepping
- 1:37into the world of theater for the first time, crafting
- 1:39wardrobes big enough to fill the Versailles of Florida, and how
- 1:43he translated his runway sensibility into a character
- 1:46driven Broadway narrative. The Queen of Versailles is
- 1:48playing now through December 21st, 2025 at the Saint James
- 1:52Theatre. Head to
- 1:53queenofversaillesmusical.com and get your tickets now.
- 1:57And with that, it's time to step inside the Costume house.
- 2:08I'm so happy to welcome my new friend, Designer Christian
- 2:12Cowan. Christian, I'm so pleased to
- 2:13meet you. Thank you for being here.
- 2:15Hello. Thank you for having me.
- 2:17I'm so honored. I'm so honored.
- 2:19And I wish I had as beautiful of a backdrop as your lovely green
- 2:22curtains operation, but you. Gosh, well, thank you.
- 2:25This is not real, but your brick wall behind you looks very
- 2:28lovely, so I'm. Silhouetted I've got Monica
- 2:30Bellucci has joined the chat as well so it's perfect.
- 2:33Which is always a plus for me. Well, Christian, I am so excited
- 2:37to talk to you. We have a lot of great stuff to
- 2:39get into. Obviously you're celebrated
- 2:41fashion designer. Your collections have been worn
- 2:44by Beyoncé, Gaga, Miley Cyrus, and Daya.
- 2:46We could go on and on. But today we're talking about
- 2:49your Broadway costume design debut for the show The Queen of
- 2:53Versailles. I have to start by asking, did
- 2:56you always imagine yourself stepping into this world of
- 2:59Broadway? What what drew you to this
- 3:00medium? It had to have been there
- 3:02somewhere. It's been here for a long time.
- 3:04I mean, obviously, like I'm based in New York and my whole
- 3:08career has been here. And I when I first came to New
- 3:12York when I was 10, I came, I saw Moulin Rouge and it was like
- 3:17such a formative experience. And so forevermore, like it was
- 3:20always something I wanted to do. And I remember being kind of
- 3:23surprised when I entered my kind of like high fashion career of
- 3:26like how separated the two industries are at times, even
- 3:29though we share this wonderful city together.
- 3:32And so forever I was like, that makes no sense.
- 3:34Like why is the fashion world and the Broadway world in one
- 3:38city and then not overlapping enough in my opinion.
- 3:41So there's always there's always on my little hit list of things
- 3:44to do. And I can't really believe it's.
- 3:46And now we're here and it's happened and it's on the stage.
- 3:48Yeah. It's so odd that sometimes they
- 3:50just don't speak to each other the way you think they would.
- 3:52And also Moulin Rouge will get you that.
- 3:55That's like that's a gateway for sure.
- 3:57It was a gateway. It was it was a gay awakening.
- 4:00It was so many things all at once.
- 4:02Yeah, yeah. I just, I think more of the
- 4:06fashion world should countdown to the Broadway world and
- 4:09Broadway to fashion. Like there's such AI think
- 4:12people think they're so different.
- 4:13They are so different, but the same principle is there if if
- 4:17you're designing is driven by character.
- 4:20And did you always find yourself to find like a theatricality in
- 4:24your work before that maybe kind of helped you attuned to this
- 4:27Broadway landscape? Absolutely.
- 4:29I mean, my career started by addressing singers, mainly
- 4:32artists. And so you know, the whole, not
- 4:37only the expression of character and you're, you're doing a
- 4:39performance, but also the whole practical side of just, it's got
- 4:43to be durable. It's got to be able to be
- 4:44sweated in and moved in. And the zippers got to be strong
- 4:47and heels going to be a certain width because of the holes on
- 4:50the stage like that sort of stuff that I'm very used to
- 4:52because that's how I already began.
- 4:54So I think it made sense that it's just an extension of
- 4:57performance. Well, let's get into the show.
- 4:59So your costume design has quickly become one of the
- 5:02production's stand out highlights.
- 5:03I mean, every review seems to go to the costumes of the show.
- 5:08So the musical is partly inspired by the documentary.
- 5:11The same name following Jackie and David Siegel's quest to
- 5:14build 100 dollar $100 million mansion in Orlando.
- 5:20Jackie's dream home modeled after the Palace of Versailles,
- 5:23all just before the 2008 recession.
- 5:26So there's a lot happening there.
- 5:27How did you tap into the mindset and the glamour of the Queen of
- 5:31Asai? We're watching a documentary.
- 5:32Were you looking at reference photos?
- 5:35How do you even start? Well, so I'm a big fan of Lauren
- 5:39Greenfield, the documentary maker who made the original
- 5:41documentary. I'm a big fan of her work.
- 5:43And I remember years ago, my parents, like maybe 10 years
- 5:46ago, gave me a book called Generation Wealth by her.
- 5:49It's amazing. It just delves into this topic
- 5:51of like, what is the American Dream and the toxicity behind
- 5:56this kind of onslaught of commercialism that is so
- 5:59intertwined with the American Dream in so many ways.
- 6:02And so I loved that book and I liked what it represented.
- 6:05I like finding the darkness within the beauty, like the the
- 6:09person who has all the most gorgeous clothes in the gorgeous
- 6:12homes. But there's some darkness that
- 6:15I've always loved those characters in film.
- 6:18And so that was already a big inspiration point for my own
- 6:20brand. Really.
- 6:21I liked that maximalism that had something off.
- 6:26And then so I was kind of like red born to do it in a way.
- 6:29And then I I went around town telling people that I wanted to
- 6:33do a Broadway show and someone, this amazing Broadway producer,
- 6:36Bill Damasci, contacted me being like, hey, I'm doing a Broadway
- 6:40show based on that documentary Queen of Versailles.
- 6:41And I was like, say less, I will do it because it's just so my
- 6:46SO. I love that.
- 6:48So the show is directed by Michael Arden.
- 6:50Can you talk about your creative collaboration with with the
- 6:53director and how the two of you shaped the visuals for this
- 6:56world? I mean, Michael, firstly, I was
- 6:58just so honored and gagged that my first Broadway thing got to
- 7:03be with a director like Michael Arden.
- 7:05And I'm such a fan of his work in the past.
- 7:08So to be able to absorb from him and learn from him, you know,
- 7:11like in my career up until now, a lot of the time it's my own
- 7:16creative I'm dictating and then following.
- 7:20And I found it so inspiring to get his notes and his changes.
- 7:24And like, he really encouraged me to delve into kind of the the
- 7:29low points of Jackie's costuming.
- 7:32You know, my mind is obviously off the races with the gowns and
- 7:36the things, but he really encouraged me to expand upon
- 7:40those casual looks, but like bring so much characters to
- 7:43them. And also just watching the way
- 7:45that Michael conducts. But everyone is masterful.
- 7:50It is masterful just seeing how someone can harness so many
- 7:54creatives and make them all collaborate in such a good way.
- 7:57So I just learned so much now. I'll always be very, very
- 8:00grateful that my first projects got to be.
- 8:02With him, I mean, it's clear that that collaboration really
- 8:04worked quite seamlessly both on stage and off.
- 8:08Another collaboration that I would love to get into, Jackie
- 8:11Sequels, played by Kristen Chen, with Bold, Vibrant, endlessly
- 8:15aspirational. What was it like this?
- 8:17Like this version of Jackie, this actually real person to
- 8:21life. Well, I was so nervous the first
- 8:23time I was meeting Kristen, and I very rarely get nervous.
- 8:26But I've realized the people that you get nervous around are
- 8:29the people that you loved as a child.
- 8:31Those are the people that really get you.
- 8:32So I remember once when I met Vanessa Williams, I was obsessed
- 8:35with Willemina Slater. So like I was, I was like dying
- 8:39at meeting her. And I had the exact same for
- 8:40Kristen. You know, I grew up on the
- 8:42school bus singing along to popular and it was a huge part
- 8:47of like my childhood experience. And so to meet her, it was a
- 8:51dream come true because she was just the, there was like a big
- 8:54warm hug the second I met her. And she wanted to know about me
- 8:59and not just my work. She wants to know about me
- 9:01personally. And, and honestly, I, I mean it.
- 9:06One of my best takeaways of this whole experience has been my
- 9:08friendship with Kristen. She's such a true and real
- 9:12friend and such a supporter and also a dream to dress because
- 9:17she looks amazing and everything you put her in.
- 9:19So it's like it makes my job so easy.
- 9:21And she's also just game. She wants to dazzle people.
- 9:25She wants to do the thing. She doesn't care too much about
- 9:28being comfortable. Another designer's dream.
- 9:32And yeah, it's like she's a Tour de force.
- 9:34Like the way, I don't know, I've never seen anyone work that hard
- 9:38in my life. It's honestly really
- 9:39inspirational. Like she's nonstop working.
- 9:42She nonstop has time for everyone.
- 9:45It's really rare, honestly, someone like that, so blessed to
- 9:51being able to have worked alongside her.
- 9:53So from a costume point of view, when we're talking about Jackie,
- 9:57I'm seeing lots of pinks, lots of sparkles, lots of glamour.
- 10:01Even though we're heading barreling toward a recession,
- 10:04tell me a little bit, without spoiling too much, what the
- 10:07costumes are going to look like when you see Jackie on stage.
- 10:09What's so fun about this show is not only Jackie's costume
- 10:13tracking, but then in comparison to like everyone else on that
- 10:16stage as well. But like Jackie is this
- 10:19wonderful fusion of all the money in the world and an
- 10:24obsession with color and sparkle, but then a very unique
- 10:28language of how she puts that together.
- 10:31And that was really fun to play with.
- 10:33It was about, hey, what does this not necessarily like in my
- 10:38runways, I would be like, OK, let's make the most harmonious,
- 10:40beautiful, kind of like chic look that works together.
- 10:43But with this, it was like, OK, we've made this gown.
- 10:46Now what necklace shouldn't really go with this, but like or
- 10:50what shoe makes no sense with this.
- 10:52What would Jackie pick in her closet because she's excited
- 10:55about it. And I got, I got the honor of
- 10:58Jackie giving me a tour of her closet in the in the house
- 11:01itself. And yeah, which is wild and
- 11:05everything you expected to be. It was amazing.
- 11:06That's a dream, actually. It is her closet is 2 stories.
- 11:12It's got beds and stairwells and it's got, I mean 10s of
- 11:16thousands of pieces of clothing and handbags and display things.
- 11:20And it was so much fun seeing and I just really saw something
- 11:24in her that I love in my clients within my career is people who
- 11:29are just excited by the craft of clothes and just love to
- 11:33celebrate clothes. And they're not necessarily
- 11:35worried about fitting into a trend or doing this or doing
- 11:37that. Just joy.
- 11:39Like she brings the joy out in clothing.
- 11:41So that was really fun to bring in.
- 11:42But then I love the contrast of Jackie Siegel's character was
- 11:46this exotic bird surrounded by normal birds.
- 11:49And so it was, it was about creating those 2000 and
- 11:52something teenage looks and those construction worker looks.
- 11:55But then I also got to do period French court, which was such a
- 11:59treat. So there's so many
- 12:00juxtapositions. It was very fun.
- 12:03Yeah, well, that leads me to my next question, because I'm a
- 12:06costume nerd. I love history.
- 12:08I love period costumes, so when I was diving into all of your
- 12:12beautiful illustrations and seeing some of these pictures,
- 12:15one of my favorite elements is, of course, the historical
- 12:17costume. And so I have to ask you, what
- 12:19did your research process look like?
- 12:21We're going to get into the Marie Antoinette gown in a
- 12:23minute, but just tell me first diving into the history of it
- 12:26all. Well, I mean, you're in New
- 12:27York. Save a wealth of information and
- 12:30research and history around you so.
- 12:32Lucky and I chose to see this show not as just a modern day
- 12:37show with a period element, but I think it's got two period
- 12:40elements. There is the kind of Louis the
- 12:4314th to Louis the 16th, you see. And then there is also the
- 12:482000s, which to me is a period. Now it is a period and I took
- 12:53both as seriously as each other in their realism to what was
- 12:57going on. The only slight outline to that
- 13:00was Mary Antoinette, which I'll get on to in a second, but
- 13:03everyone else was very much verbatim to someone within the
- 13:07French court who wore an outfit like that.
- 13:09So it was really just about researching loads of, we've got
- 13:11loads of books scarred the Internet found all the paintings
- 13:15I could find of costumes that celebrated using.
- 13:21I wanted to use a lot like primary colors within the French
- 13:24court because I feel in modern day interpretations to the
- 13:27French court, you often get this like pastelized conversion,
- 13:31which definitely happened. But also it was a big trend at
- 13:34the time to just enjoy bold Reds, bold Blues, bold greens,
- 13:38like these kind of like less fashiony colorways, but and
- 13:42using as many of those colors as possible.
- 13:44I didn't want to make harmonious palette across the stage because
- 13:48it's been done before and it's been done to perfection.
- 13:50So it's like, let's give something else.
- 13:52So we very much went for realism down to the trims, down to the
- 13:57techniques used to make them, you know, collaborating with
- 13:59people like Eric Winterland who are so knowledgeable.
- 14:01There was a massive parts of it for me as well was Eric was just
- 14:05so intensely knowledgeable about human.
- 14:09Incredible. I'm a true master.
- 14:11And so it was an education. Like I was very happy to give in
- 14:17and learn. And I was like, you know, this
- 14:20is what I want, help me get there.
- 14:22And I can't stand when people just try to bulldoze through,
- 14:28you know, these amazing costume makers talents and try and put
- 14:32their own perspective. So it was very much
- 14:34collaboration, which was amazing.
- 14:36And then it was the same for 2000s costumes.
- 14:38I used a lot of my references on my sisters at the time.
- 14:43So I put all their horrendous fashion decisions into that
- 14:46show. It's the.
- 14:49Got through Facebook for a bit, yeah.
- 14:50Yeah, like the awkward layer. And they're like different bra
- 14:53tops with like baggy tops over jeans with like the jeans that
- 14:56like get frayed at the back and have the salt rings on them and
- 15:00the, and the, the owl pendant necklaces, like just all these
- 15:03things that for some reason we all thought were great at the
- 15:06time. And that was so much fun to
- 15:09explore. But then with going back to
- 15:12French court as well, the only place that I kind of deviated
- 15:15from real life, like out of Austria was out of Austria,
- 15:18blah, blah, blah. Everyone was everyone.
- 15:19But for Marie, I wanted to do some refresh spin one probably
- 15:24out of like selfishness because what a dream just to be able to
- 15:27do your own take. But also I kind of wanted to do
- 15:32some. There's one which is very much
- 15:34within a color palette we've seen before.
- 15:35It's almost a shepherdess fantasy, almost harkening back
- 15:39to like her village that she had.
- 15:41But then there's this final main one and I was like, what's the
- 15:45color palette that I haven't really seen done on Marie
- 15:48before? And I'll say I've never really
- 15:50seen this like sunset kind of tonal palette, this like warm
- 15:54pinks with warm oranges with yellows.
- 15:58And Cassandra, the actress who's playing Marie, I was like, this
- 16:01is going to look so beautiful in her.
- 16:03And we had this like pink wig. But in my research about Marie,
- 16:07apparently she had this dress that had handmade ceramic vases
- 16:12into woven into the gown itself. And then there was fresh flowers
- 16:16placed in the little vases as an adornment.
- 16:19And I was like, well, we have to do that like that.
- 16:21That just has to take place. That's just the most incredible.
- 16:25And, and so so the depiction of like what the show is about this
- 16:29like mass ostentatious wealth. And so we had these amazing 3D
- 16:34printed little ceramic vases done because they were lighter
- 16:37weight for the costume. And then they were all hand
- 16:39painted. And then we got handmade silk
- 16:42flowers done and placed them in it.
- 16:43And it was just was fun. It's gorgeous.
- 16:46I mean, when you read that, you must be like, well, we can't
- 16:49unread that like we're going to. Get these.
- 16:50I was like, there's no conversation about it and
- 16:52they're like, oh, it's going to be really expensive.
- 16:54And I was like, cool, this is. A story about the Palace of
- 16:57Versailles, So. Exactly.
- 16:58That's what I'm saying. It's, and also I'm sorry, like
- 17:02if someone's travelled from France or Oklahoma or wherever
- 17:06it is and come to New York to see a Broadway show and they're
- 17:08here, goddammit, they're going to see a fabulous Marie
- 17:11Antoinette costume Like they, they, they've got to get their
- 17:14back to their back. That's.
- 17:15What? I'm talking about Christian
- 17:16Cowan giving the people what they want, honestly.
- 17:19There's a big thought process about my whole thing is I really
- 17:21think about like the average like person going to go see a
- 17:25Broadway show, not someone from our world, not someone even from
- 17:29New York, just someone coming. I like, I want to make sure that
- 17:32they are having the experience that they're excited for.
- 17:35I think that's so important. Right.
- 17:37And another stand out costume you shared on Instagram is this
- 17:40lilac metal Python skin dress that I'm just absolutely in love
- 17:44with because of the texture. And I feel like texture really
- 17:48plays like a big role in your process as a as a costume
- 17:52designer, I'll say. Massively, Yeah, very true.
- 17:55Like throughout this show, just for Kristen Jackie's tracking,
- 18:00one of my main things was I was like, I want to express nearly
- 18:03every color. Like I want to see her in all
- 18:05the colors and I want to get as many different textures, prints,
- 18:09everything, because that's what my experience I got from
- 18:12Jackie's closet. And so the Python was a perfect
- 18:15extension of that of, well, if you're thinking of this
- 18:18character who's got all the money in the world and loves
- 18:21luxury, she'd have like Python skin stuff and all that.
- 18:25So that had to be in it. And I always joke that her
- 18:27neutral was animal print. So like there was cheetah print,
- 18:31there was zebra stuff, there was and the Python stuff, there was
- 18:35all sorts of different prints. Well, we have a little extra
- 18:38time, so I actually want to talk about another character as well.
- 18:41F Marie Abraham is in this musical.
- 18:44I mean, what a legend. Tell me a little bit about his
- 18:46character as well. Well, first, I've just got a
- 18:49disclaimer. He's the funniest man alive and
- 18:53I believe it. He's so lovely.
- 18:55He's constantly cracking jokes and he's also just so kind and
- 18:59like caring. I just really adored him.
- 19:01And his character was really fun to dive into because he was the
- 19:05perfect kind of thing to play off of for Jackie, you know,
- 19:09that he's actually, you know, the man bringing in all the
- 19:13money. But like many of those men that
- 19:16they're not, you know, fashion obsessed and they often like
- 19:18what they like and they're not deviating.
- 19:21And I studied, I got to meet David Siegel, luckily before he
- 19:25before his sad passing, but I also just looked at what he wore
- 19:30and he he liked to be comfortable.
- 19:32He liked a loose fitting suit. It wasn't about the most amazing
- 19:35dazzling suiting. Like I don't think that was his
- 19:38concern in life. And he loved like a printed like
- 19:41palm leaf shirt. And so I kind of kept that going
- 19:45throughout his closet. But then I really wanted to show
- 19:48points of bankruptcy and stuff. You know, there are many lines
- 19:52in the script that allude to everything's OK as long as the
- 19:55money's there. And so when the money wasn't
- 19:57there, I wanted to really show that level of depression within
- 20:00his clothing. So, you know, you see F Murray
- 20:04in like loose I'll fitting bad tank tops and like loose kind of
- 20:10like baggy ugly shorts. And like pulled up socks, like
- 20:13things that aren't finessed or nice.
- 20:15And he's on this stage with all this like gold gilt stuff and a
- 20:19wife in a Python skin dress, but he's in that watching TV.
- 20:24And I think that contrast was important to highlight Jackie's
- 20:28kind of extremeness, but also to highlight the complexities of
- 20:33their relationship through these huge hurdles that they faced.
- 20:37Umm, so there's, I don't, I think people quite realized how
- 20:40much thought went into F Murray's wardrobe.
- 20:43But I was really pleased with how it turned out.
- 20:45And I felt bad one day he was like, can I not wear something
- 20:50nice? And I was like, Oh my God, I
- 20:53will work out one or two nice suits.
- 20:55But otherwise, I'm sorry I'm keeping you in these.
- 20:57Outfits, right? I mean, it's such an excellent
- 21:00character study. So your team shared with me
- 21:03before that the Queen of Versailles features around 375
- 21:07costumes on stage, which is a massive number.
- 21:10But then we start to factor in everything else.
- 21:12I mean, we're talking about roughly over 1000 costumes at
- 21:15this point, 1100. It's a massive undertaking,
- 21:18Christian. So can you talk about the scale,
- 21:20talk about your team and how you were all able to pull this off
- 21:24together? Not for one second do I want
- 21:26anyone to believe, but it was all in one person please.
- 21:29Like it was an A small army of us like like my team.
- 21:35I can't like begin to summarize how grateful I am to the team.
- 21:39You know, I'm a first timer and no matter how eager 1 is and how
- 21:44excited and how much someone researches, there's just a bunch
- 21:47of shit that you have to learn on the job because it's such a
- 21:50it's a whole new world. I didn't know how previews and
- 21:53tech and tech works. I didn't know about how it works
- 21:56outside of the when you're doing your Boston run and then this
- 21:58and all the read throughs. I didn't know so much.
- 22:02And the people on my team held my hand and educated me and
- 22:06brought me through it so incredibly from, you know, the
- 22:12people to my immediate side, but who helped me to the
- 22:16seamstresses, to the 3D printers, the assistants who
- 22:20were in charge of fabrics, watching.
- 22:22You know, we had a large team and it was but one of the main
- 22:26beautiful parts about the experience was being able to
- 22:28work with that many talented people who love what they do.
- 22:30That's the beautiful thing about Broadway.
- 22:31I've really like, really learned from this experiences.
- 22:35It is one of the industries I've touched into the most where
- 22:37people love what they do. People love it so deeply.
- 22:41They're not there for the acclaim or the money.
- 22:46They're there for the pure passion.
- 22:48And that's my favorite thing in this life is to work with people
- 22:50like that. That's the thing that makes you
- 22:52want to continue what you're doing.
- 22:54So that was incredible. And and taking on a production
- 22:58of this size, you know, I definitely had some insecure
- 23:01moments where I was like, am I meant to be finding it this
- 23:04overwhelming? And it's like this hard.
- 23:06And there would be like, this is a 10 out of 10 of complexity of
- 23:09Broadway show. Like you need to understand that
- 23:11this is extreme. And it's a bit like a baptism by
- 23:15fire of, you know, it being my first gig, but I'm so grateful
- 23:19for it because I feel like if we could, we could do that show
- 23:24with all of its complexities, we could do anything.
- 23:27So, and I hope I get to work with many of my team members
- 23:29again because it was amazing. And then also outside of my own
- 23:33team, Sorry to ramble. The outside my own team as well.
- 23:35So inspired by Dane sets and Lauren and Crees choreography
- 23:40and just seeing how everyone else worked and ran their
- 23:42departments. I've never had that experience
- 23:45before. I've never watched a different
- 23:46fashion brand. I've only ever done my own
- 23:48brand. So I only really know my own
- 23:49leadership style. And so to be able to experience
- 23:52everyone else that I, I just, it was one of the most helpful
- 23:56career experiences I've ever had because I just got to absorb it.
- 24:00Or even staying house, seeing how Stephen Schwartz works with
- 24:02his team and how involved he is, it's like, yeah, it was amazing.
- 24:07It's totally amazing. That synchronosity obviously
- 24:10just. Worked so well together.
- 24:12And I mean, you should be so proud.
- 24:14I mean, for this to be your first year, big debut, what like
- 24:17you said, what a big the project to do as your first, I can't
- 24:21even imagine very. Honored.
- 24:23This was such a credible production looking back on this
- 24:27entire process. What has the Queen of Versailles
- 24:29meant to you, looking back on it now?
- 24:32I think on a personal, it's meant personal growth.
- 24:35It really has like, and I don't just mean professional like I
- 24:40think I was in a run of doing fashion show after fashion show
- 24:44after fashion show. And it's don't get me wrong, I
- 24:47adore it and I will continue to do it, but you can stagnate a
- 24:52little bit. You know, you're with your same
- 24:54team and you're essentially working under like some sort of
- 24:57creative dictatorship of your own because within your own
- 25:00mind, you're never having any external influences push you in
- 25:03a different direction. And so to be able to be pushed
- 25:07and pulled and learn and critiqued and have notes and
- 25:13just all the stuff that comes with working on a production
- 25:15with this many people, it just helped me grow as an artist so
- 25:18much. So I think the show always been
- 25:20growth for me and, and just very grateful for it.
- 25:24And it's always going to have the biggest place in my heart
- 25:27because it was my first ever costume design job in its
- 25:31entirety. I've done a few dresses for
- 25:32films before but nothing, nothing like this.
- 25:35Well then I have to ask, I mean, do you see more costume design
- 25:38in your future? Absolutely, if someone will have
- 25:42me, I would love it. But like, I definitely am very
- 25:46conscious of what type of product I'll take on next.
- 25:48I, I don't know what it is yet, but I, I might, there's some
- 25:54things, but I would love to do a film, I'd love to do ATV show.
- 25:57I kind of want to taste them all and see what is my favorite
- 26:01thing. I'd definitely like to do more
- 26:03Broadway. I'd love to do an opera, I'd
- 26:04love to do a ballet. Uh, so I definitely want to do
- 26:07them all. Umm, but I'd definitely do
- 26:10another Broadway show. Like it was so fun.
- 26:14I'm sad that it's now left my life.
- 26:16I'm like, I miss, I miss it. You've become a family with
- 26:19these people. So yeah, I miss it.
- 26:21Well, I could speak for everyone listening that we are all hoping
- 26:25to see more of it because you're so great at it.
- 26:28Designer Christian Cowan, thank you so much for being here.
- 26:30This has been such a joy. I'm so glad I got to talk to
- 26:33you. And I can't wait to make it over
- 26:35to New York and see the Queen of Versailles in person in New
- 26:39York. Tickets are available now.
- 26:40So thank you so much Christian, for being you.
- 26:42Too. Thank you.
- 26:43This was an honor. Thanks.
- 26:44And I let me know when you're in New York.
- 26:46We can get a cocktail. Yes, please.
- 26:48The Costume House with Spencer Williams is a production of the
- 26:51art of costume This. Episode was hosted, produced.
- 26:54And edited by Spencer Williams. To discover more conversations
- 26:57with the designer shaping film, television and theater, visit
- 27:01theartofcostume.com or follow us on social media at The Art of
- 27:05Costume. And don't forget to connect with
- 27:07me on Instagram at host Spencer. If you enjoy this conversation,
- 27:10be sure to follow and subscribe wherever you listen to podcast
- 27:13or watch on YouTube and stay tuned for more episodes.
- 27:16Celebrated designers shaping today's most captivating films,
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