About Colleen Atwood: Colleen Atwood is an American costume designer.
I can create clothes for so many different time periods. I've always tried to avoid being pigeonholed. Plus, everything I learn about design and costume from one movie somehow works its way into something else.
I design for the movie and the character as well as the person wearing the costume. I show the ideas to the actor, then do fittings for shape and technical things such as movement in the costume. Once the costume in this form is on the actor, you hav...
The thing that's great about being a costume designer is you never know what's going to be next; you never what world you are going to enter.
It's great fun that my grandkids get to see the costumes in 'Alice in Wonderland' or a doll with grandma's dress, but then they also let me know they're bummed I didn't do any of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movies.
On Planet of the Apes, I had a very knowledgeable team who knew good materials, but I had one main source person who worked online and on the street continually looking for the proper materials.
I think a lot of young girls go through that period in their life of finding who they are, and at that point, looking good matters the most.
It's fun conjuring what people will be wearing in the future. We exist in this world today, and yet there are people walking around who still look like they're in the '60s.
In real life, a lot of people at that level will have their kimonos made especially for them.
I wanted to be a painter when I was a kid. And then, I had to make a living. I had a child when I was in high school, so I kind of had that work phase in my life.
I love designing costumes that I can actually construct, working to create an environment that people want to be in.
Every story is different, so what is a detail in one might not be in something else. Diversity is something I embrace and love about my work.
Some of the kimonos took as long as four to five months to make, with all the layers that go into it.
Sleepy Hollow had a lot of action in it, even though it was a fairy-tale movie.
In Chicago, I walked in knowing what the dancers were going to need.
If you want someone to feel warm, you dress them in a warm color and put a warm light on them and you get the picture. Sometimes, all that needs pushing a little bit to help tell the story.
Each simian had a much different body suit, so besides trying to define class across species, there was a definite attempt to dress each group in different styles.
Costumes are the first impression that you have of the character before they open their mouth-it really does establish who they are.
As a designer, you have to solve a lot of problems. Even though people are wearing clothes that are supposed to look beautiful, they'll have to do all kinds of things.
I always have a moment when I know I'm designing the last costume that gets made for a movie, and it's always been floating up there, but it's kind of the last one. That's always probably the hardest one for me.
People like to stir up the fashion vs. costume world, and I think what they mean by 'too costumey' is that it's too much, or not real enough for everyday wear. You couldn't say that about John Galliano's shows, right? I mean, they're awesome, and the...
Costume, hair and makeup can tell you instantly, or at least give you a larger perception of who a character is. It's the first impression that you have of the character before they open their mouth, so it really does establish who they are.
