I Heart True Grit

The Oscars are tonight and personally, I'm rooting for True Grit and Mary Zophres for Best Costume Design. She makes dirt interesting and fun which I've really grown to appreciate the complexity of thanks to my last couple of design projects. My favorite pieces include the traveling man wearing a full bear skin and LaBeouf's fringed buckskin coat (Zophres said that in the script his character's is described as having "a bit too much pizazz"). The whole movie is so well done and the costumes add so much detail and touches of humor. I just think she knocked it out of the park.

Oh, and I got to meet her a few weeks ago at the FIDM exhibit opening night! If you want to read my interview with her where I try not to geek out, you can check it out on Frocktalk.com.

MARY ZOPHRES' COSTUME SKETCHES 

{via Frocktalk.com }

TRAVELING MAN

MARY ZOPHRES WITH HER WORK

Sparkle Motion

The best thing about LA has got to be awards week! Lots of fabulous industry events going on and yesterday was a particularly wonderful one for costumes designers called the Swarovski Sparkles Designer Workshop. Luckily, I was able to work the event along with the other UCLA MFA students and escort costume designers around and talk with all of them at the reception! The panel included Mark Bridges, Ellen Mirojnick, Arianne Phillips, Danny Glicker and Academy Award Nominees Jenny Beavan, Antonella Cannarozzi and Sandy Powell. It was all I could do not to geek out on designers I admire so much! They were all so lovely and I couldn't ask for a more glittery Friday afternoon.

Of course we all just had to have our picture with Sandy Powell, who is nominated this year for The Tempest. Personally I'm rooting for True Grit, designed by Mary Zophres but Sandy's Tempest designs are incredible. I just love her Elizabethan fantasy costumes made out of leather and zippers. And Helen Mirren's cloak will take your breath away.

{ All images via filmofilia.com  }

Fanciness

My sister's getting married in 3 months and is in full bride mode arranging and sending out bridesmaids links, etc. Apparently, Anthropologie (ie. the-best-store-ever) now does bridal! Or the company that owns Anthro just launched a bridal line called BHLDN.com. It's amazing and full of whimsical things I am coveting for myself that can be worn far away from a wedding. Check it out because there's a pair of jelly heart shoes and hat and a polka dot dress that have my non-bridal name written all over it!

{All images via BHDLN.com}

The Searchers

Here are my are my western renderings. I am attempting to loosen up my drawing style (with urging from Julie Weiss) so I used tombo markers and ink to render instead of my normal photoshopping. I still can't for the life of me "draw outside the lines" but it's definitely rougher than what I usually do. 

My next project is Hello Dolly and after Someone Who'll Watch Over Me and The Searchers boy do I need a show that's pretty and clean!

...Watch Over Me

 

I just got the photos from my show Someone Who'll Watch Over Me. This was such a great show to practice my distressing, and boy did I get lots of it. And it's gotten me in a dirt mindset just in time for coming up with conceptual designs for that western film! Now if I could just get the dirt make-up out from underneath some of my nails all would be well....

Westerns

The next project I'm working on is redesigning The Searchers, an old John Wayne film. Woo hoo! This is going to be fun! I'm working on this all week so I'll post more sketches when they are finished but here's a peek of my first rough. I have so much wonderful research I thought I'd post some of my favorites that are getting me all inspired!

Post-Valentine Enjoyment

It's been a busy couple of weeks. The show I designed has opened and closed, I pulled together costumes for a student film and finally I've been stitching for costume designer Kate Bergh on the Reprise production of GiGi.

It's such a fun show full of Parisians, French love affairs, top hats, art nouveaou and big gowns. Sure the premise of the story is pretty creepy when you realize GiGi is a girl being groomed to be a friend's mistress, and it features the dirty old man anthem "Thank Heaven For Little Girls." But never mind all that and focus on the fluffy, pretty and fun aspects! Kate's designs for the show are gorgeous and I can't wait to see everything onstage and see what the show looks like as a whole.

Now that the show's opening, maybe I should focus on some, uh, school projects or something....
 
It should be noted that the movie version of GiGi is one of my guilty pleasures