The Wardrobe Department The Complete Guide to Film

Costume Designer Pre-Production ü Meets with the director and discusses the general vision of the wardrobe, and the looks of particular characters. ü Depending on the type of show, may conduct research. Research could be required if the show is a period piece. The costume designer may need to research medieval wardrobe and accessories, or the particular wardrobe look of another ethnicity. ü Completes a wardrobe breakdown by scene, showing what wardrobe occurs for each actor on each story day. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Costume Designer Pre-Production ü Hires the wardrobe supervisor. ü May begin designing wardrobe as needed. ü May meet with the production designer to discuss the wardrobe look. ü Gets measurements of all the actors. ü Supervises all wardrobe fittings. ü Meets regularly with crew to monitor progress. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Costume Designer Production & Wrap ü Always on call, may not necessarily be on set. May still be monitoring fittings and continuing to design pieces of wardrobe. ü If on set, continues to monitor all wardrobe operations. Wrap ü Makes sure all rented wardrobe is returned, or, all bought wardrobe is sold or returned to the production company. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Wardrobe Supervisor – Pre. Production ü Does a wardrobe breakdown per scene and confers with costume designer. ü Goes over wardrobe requirements for each actor with the costume designer. ü Discusses any time-intensive wardrobe pieces with the costume designer. ü Discusses any major time-intensive wardrobe changes with the 1 st A. D. ü Discusses any wardrobe that needs to be doubled or tripled. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Wardrobe Breakdown © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Wardrobe Supervisor – Pre. Production ü Makes sure all actors’ measurements are accurate for design. ü Acquires all rented costumes. ü Oversees sewing of originally designed costumes. ü Creates wardrobe list by scene. ü Distresses any wardrobe as necessary. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Wardrobe Supervisor – Production & Wrap ü Responsible for the continuity of the wardrobe while actors are shooting. ü Supervises or dresses each actor in proper order for the first scene. ü Supervises the dressing of each actor throughout the day. ü Stands by on set to repair or adjusts wardrobe as needed. Wrap ü Returns all rented wardrobe to vendors & makes sure all designed wardrobe is sold or returned to the production company, as per their policy. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Other Wardrobe Personnel ü Men's/Women’s Costumer ü Seamstress ü Wardrobe P. A. ü Assistant

Wardrobe Hierarchy Costume Designer Assistant to Costume Designer Men's Costumer Women's Costumer Wardrobe Supervisor

Conclusion The wardrobe department works to dress actors as appropriate to their characters and in line with the director’s vision. Wardrobe may be originally designed by the costume designer or rented from wardrobe houses. The wardrobe team on set must work quickly to get actors to set and use costumers to help the actors dress. Sometimes, when there are large numbers of extras, additional crew members are needed. This is especially true for period productions, where actors or extras may not know the proper way to wear period costumes. © 2017 Taylor & Francis