This is one of those issues in the film/television world that I have mixed feelings about. (I could probably do a rant video about it, but I doubt anyone really wants to see that.) The article wants people to believe it's all about sexism, but it has nothing to do with being a woman - there are plenty of men who design clothing (but they do seem to gravitate more to theatre & fashion). It's simply about being an artist working under the umbrella of a film production, and costume designers are in the weird & unusual position of being upper level yet crew at the same time since their work is so intertwined with the stars on screen.
On one hand, it really stinks for a costume designer not to be included in the merchandise and fashion lines based on their designs. Costume designers never get the protections that fashion designers get because producers and everyone above the line (which means name and position typed "above the Line Producer" on a production call sheet) think they own anything and everything created for a movie since they're the investors of the production.
But on the other hand, it's major hypocrisy because most designers treat the costume teams that physically build their designs the same way - we are the invisible worker-bees who don't get credit and are told the designer owns our work. I know a designer who thinks those of us who actually build the costumes shouldn't be allowed to share photos of our work behind the scenes (like a close up of my hand-stitches or a even a pretty button) because only the designer owns the rights to those photos, even if it's just an old stock costume.
Anyone who works in a creative position is used to working multiple jobs from multiple angles and to try to make money however they can. The higher-ups in film production tend to have more stable employment and a much larger hiring pool to pull from (it's more corporate), but the skilled positions are much more niche and less permanent/long-term. Most crew are freelancers.
No one ever bothers to mention the existence of the no-name designers who create the fashion line based on the movie costumes designed by the well-known costume designer. So why do some people think they deserve so much more credit and name recognition anyway?
It all boils down to people who don't have skills wanting to make money off those who do. And in the creative fields where so much of it is art, it somehow seems extra unfair.
#lifeasacostumer
I spent the day priming things for paint and then I remembered to shoot a quick video. #SewingStudioBuild
I started cutting all the edges while Janet was away yesterday morning. When she got back after lunch, she pulled out a roller and started filling in. I'll put a pic below in the comments. #SewingStudioBuild
We broke for lunch and then came back with a portal ac unit plugged in to an extention cord from the house. Can't wait until they finished hooking up all the electrical and we have the mini split cooling the room for us - it was stupid humid today! #SewingStudioBuild
I thought you all might be interested to know what happened to the original treadle base on my antique Singer. This was all my husband’s doing, as he’s wanted to try this project for years. He’s gotten into woodworking this past year, so he’s got more of the skills now. The table portion is from a fold-down IKEA table that used to be my cutting table, back in the pre-kid days when I had a whole room for sewing. (It’s been living in the basement folded up for years, mostly used for garden seed storage and a few small tools.) He added the sink basin and faucet. We’re debating about me making a small curtain underneath that would hide the pipe work, while still showing the treadle base.
This project sparked another room makeover, though this one is our half-bath so it isn’t nearly as involved as our kitchen and kids’ rooms have been. Several of the other items in the picture came from a couple of local antique shops, though the old milk crate belonged to my husband’s ...
I haven't been sewing since a big project finished about a month ago - I'm just burned out (will post photos at some point).
After a couple exhausting weekends of installing a new dishwasher because my 29 year-old mechanical stopped rinsing properly 😥, I was motivated enough to start reorganizating the rest of the kitchen. It's always a domino effect, and I'm still not finished, but I washed the curtain I made a million years ago and properly dusted/washed all the pitchers and decorations on the window shelves. (I even polished the formica tabletop!) So the window area was photo-worthy.
Back when made the curtain, I was smart and used velcro instead of a curtain rod. I put a male sticky-back strip on the top of the mini-blind housing and sewed a soft female strip of regular velcro onto the curtain. The curtain itself is all one piece gathered to that strip of velcro - easy to pull off and throw in the laundry (not that i overcome laziness and actually wash it regularly but whatever).
I ...
Been so busy, I forgot to share photos of the final Paquita costume! Well, most of these photos are “semi-final”—after the photoshoot and first dress rehearsal, his teacher asked me to tweak the front seams below the waist so they would stay close to the body (not flare out like in the photoshoot) when his arms were up. This involved re-doing the bottom trim but the final result was worth it, so! The full sleeves were not as dramatic as we thought they were going to be, but still a nice effect. I really love the elbow sleeve detail and maybe will post more about it later.
