costume design
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The Truth From Ruth: As Her Collaboration With H&M Drops in Stores, Ruth E. Carter Drops Some Knowledge on Us
“I’ve never wanted to be a fashion designer, because I felt like I was a storyteller,” says famed costume designer Ruth E. Carter, who, in 2019, thrillingly added an Oscar to her many accolades for her work in 2018’s Black Panther. For many longtime film lovers (including this writer), Carter’s triumph was long overdue; since…
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So, What Exactly Does One Wear to a Slave Rebellion Reenactment, Anyway?
Last weekend, realizing of the vision of artist Dread Scott, hundreds of volunteers—in costume as 19th-century enslaved people—marched 26 miles to New Orleans’s French Quarter in a reenactment of the Louisiana Slave Rebellion. The rebellion, which occurred on Jan. 8, 1811, and was suppressed by white militia two days later, was the largest slave uprising…
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Applauding Our Own: The Black Design Collective Honors Ruth E. Carter
She’s been a force in the field of costume design for over three decades, but Ruth E. Carter is very much in her prime—and finally getting the recognition she deserves. In addition to her 2019 Oscar win and double awards for Black Panther and Lifetime Achievement from the Costume Designers’ Guild, the visionary designer’s next…
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Ruth E. Carter Forever: The Costume Designers Guild Celebrates the Black Panther Designer's Brilliance
It’s one of the smaller ceremonies of awards season, but there was big talent recognized on Tuesday night at the 21st annual Costume Designers Guild Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. The queen of the night? Legendary designer Ruth E. Carter, who proved her three decades of influence to be ongoing…
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Oscar-Nominated Costume Design Legend Ruth E. Carter Gets Her Flowers During New York Fashion Week Event
What makes an icon? Is it longevity? Passion? An impressive and unmatched body of work? If so, Ruth E. Carter exemplifies all of its characteristics and then some. In her decades-long career, Carter has solidified her place in black cinema as the costume designer for some of the most prolific films about the black experience…
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Ruth E. Carter and Marci Rodgers Nab Costume Designers Guild Award Nominations for Black Panther and BlacKkKlansman
The BAFTAs may have turned a blind eye to the brilliance of legendary costume designer Ruth E. Carter, but a jury of her peers see the light. Recognizing her incredible artistry in Black Panther, Carter has been nominated for a 2019 Costume Designers Guild Award for Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film for her work on the…
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Time Traveling: For BlacKkKlansman, Costume Designer Marci Rodgers Took a Full Circle Journey
If you ask Marci Rodgers how she became a costume designer, her answer is simple: “God.” To the believers, it’s a perfectly credible answer, while the more spiritually skeptical might raise an eyebrow. But there is something undeniably divine in Rodger’s career trajectory, which began as a style-obsessed teenager in Evanston, Ill., just north of…
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Dystopian by Design: Costume Designer Deirdra Govan Isn’t Sorry to Bother You
Just watching the trailer for Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You is like taking a mini psychedelic trip. The rapper-turned-director’s dystopian fever dream may be set in present-day Oakland, Calif., but explores alternate dimensions as an allegory of the dangers of assimilation. The satirical comedy, which stars Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson and Omari Hardwick, among…
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Putting the ‘Fly’ Back in Superfly: Costume Designer Antoinette Messam Dresses Up a Classic
Remakes are a tricky business. Attempting to reinvent a classic for a new generation is rife with potential missteps—not to mention the potentially tepid response from an audience who may not be interested in being retold an old tale. And then there’s timing; opening weekends can be hell when contending with established franchises or, God…
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Costuming Calrissian: The Iconic Influences Behind Lando’s Looks
“It was a very happy day for me [to be hired as a costume designer] because I’ve been a big Star Wars fan. … When I saw it, I was 6 years old and it blew my little mind.” These are the recollections of Glyn Dillon, half of the costume-design team on Solo: A Star…