FIDM Magazine

Students Construct Doll-Size Iconic Film Costumes

Each student in this year's graduating Advanced Study Film & TV Costume Design Program constructed a doll-size iconic film costume worn by a star in a royal role. The costumes represented were originally designed by a notable Costume Designer for stars like Greta Garbo in Queen Christina (costumes by Adrian), Cate Blanchette in Elizabeth (costumes by Oscar winner, Alexandra Byrne), Marlene Dietrich in Scarlet Empress, Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, Glenn Close in Dangerous Liaisons, Tilda Swinton in Orlando, Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday (costumes by Edith Head), and Kirsten Dunst in Marie Antoinette.

Interview with Film & TV Costume Design Grad Michelle Liu

FIDM Film & TV Costume Design Grad Michelle Liu is the Motion Capture Key Costumer for the upcoming film Alice in Wonderland directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway.

Read our interview with Michelle to find out what it's like to work with Tim Burton and see how FIDM helped launch her dream career!

FIDM Grad Is Key Costumer for Tim Burton's ALICE IN WONDERLAND

FIDM Film & TV Costume Design Grad Michelle Liu is credited as the Key Costume Designer on the new Tim Burton film Alice In Wonderland, which is currently in production. Michelle, who graduated in '06, has also worked on Bedtime Stories and The Cleaner. For more pix from the set of Alice, click here. --Kim

FIDM Grad Is Stylist for The Starter Wife

Strictly Fabulous Style interviews FIDM Fashion Design Grad Agata Maskiewics about her job as stylist for the T.V. show The Starter Wife. Here's an excerpt:

"Fashion is almost like another character in The Starter Wife. So much of the personality of the actors comes through in the clothing they wear. Our goal is to have the audience as excited about the fashions as they are the characters. We want the people at home to feel as though they can hear the ruffle of Molly’s Zac Posen silk dress and smell the exquisite leather of her Manolos. We want them to daydream about getting into Molly’s closet and have the opportunity to dress from it everyday as she does. And yes, the closet is huge, since as a Hollywood woman, she never repeats an outfit!"

Read the rest of the interview here. --Kim

The Latest Buzz on Film & TV Major Internships/Jobs

Film & T.V. Costume Design Grads are really using their FIDM education to make a name for themselves within the Entertainment Industry! FIDM's amazing Career Development Center and our unique industry partnerships help make it possible.

It's also exciting to see that successful working alumni are usually more than willing to hire new FIDM Students and Grads because they know that they have the skills necessary to perform well on the job. Here is just a small sampling of some of the most recent jobs held by our grads within the field of Costume Design. --Kim

Kristi Hoffman, Set Costume Designer for Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page's upcoming film Whip It
Agata Maskiewicz, Costume Designer for NBC's The Starter Wife
Kelli Martin, Designer Contestant on Project Runway: Season 5
Suzy Magnin, Set Costumer for FOX's Prison Break and Costume for So You Think You Can Dance
Michelle Liu, Costume Designer for CBS's The Cleaner and Key Costumer for Steven Spielberg's Tin Tin
Rumaldo Medina, Designer/Sampler Maker for ABC's America's Prom Queen
Andrea Galer, Emmy Winner and Costume Designer for Jane Eyre miniseries
Christie Tackett, Design Guest for Tyra Banks Show
Diana Savone, Set Costume for Teen Choice Awards
Ray Baltazar, Producer for Ed Hardy's Smashbox runway show
Rumaldo Medina, Sketched Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise's wedding attire for In-Style Celebrity Weddings
Joan Lee, Intern for City Ballet of Los Angeles
Greg Lavoi, Costume Designer for The Closer

T.V. Stars and Costume Designers Attend Launch of FIDM's T.V. Costume Exhibition

On July 26, FIDM launched it's 3rd Annual Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design exhibition, featuring costumes from today's top T.V. shows, including Scrubs, Project Runway, and Emmy-award nominated Mad Men and Pushing Daisies. Also on display are wonderful retro costumes from T.V. shows of the '70s and '80s such as The Carol Burnett Show and Moonlighting.

This is an amazing opportunity to see the work of some of the most renowned Costume Designers working in the business. The exhibition runs through September 28. Visit the FIDM Museum & Galleries page for details. --Kim

Images from the Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design exhibition opening: (from top) Bryan Batt (Salvatore Romano on Mad Men) with Costume Designer Katherine Jane Bryant; Spencer Grammer (Casey Cartwright on Greek); Lloyd Segan, Producer of Greek, Costume Designer, FIDM/The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Grad, Mandi Line, and Shawn Piller, Producer of Greek; Marg Helgenberger, Actress, plays the role of Catherine Willows on the television show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Video of FIDM Grad and Costume Design for 'Swingtown'

FIDM Merchandise Marketing Grad Jill Ohanneson is the Costume Designer for CBS's new show Swingtown, set in the 1970s and brought to us by the creators of The OC. Watch this video for a behind-the-scenes look at costume design for the show. Jill, who also worked on Six Feet Under, has been nominated for three primetime Emmys. --Kim

Interview with FIDM Museum & Galleries Curator Kevin Jones

FIDM Museum Curator and Fashion Design Program Grad Kevin Jones came up with the idea for the FIDM Museum & Galleries latest exhibition Aesthetes, Bohemians & Craftsmen: Artistic Dress, 1880s-1920s while lunching with the curator of the historic Gamble House. Read the interview on FIDM's Fashion Club Daily to find out lots more about the FIDM Fashion Design Grad and this fascinating new exhibition! --Kim

Must-See Historical Fashion Exhibition at FIDM Los Angeles

Honoring the Centennial Celebration of the historic Gamble House, the FIDM Museum & Galleries latest exhibition, Aesthetes, Bohemians & Craftsmen: Artistic Dress, 1880s-1920s, celebrates the Artistic Dress Movement from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, depicting a dynamic period of changing morals and attitudes relating to dress and positions in society. This avant-garde epoch helped propel fashion out of the Victorian era and continues to influence 21st century fashion.

Complementing the FIDM Museum & Galleries exhibition will be a special exhibition at the Gamble House curated by FIDM's own Museum Curator Kevin Jones. Drawing on FIDM’s extensive and notable collection of costumes the exhibition will showcase Fashionable Dress from the period in which the house was built a century ago.

Visit the FIDM Museum & Galleries online for more information to arrange a free group tour of Aesthetes, Bohemians & Crafstmen on the FIDM Los Angeles campus. For information on the Gamble House exhibition, click here. --Kim

Images: A life size frieze of Isadora Duncan, wearing a series of garments, captures the essence of the Aesthetes, Bohemians and Craftsmen dress movements; Little Lord Fauntleroy costume; Tunic created by Raymond Duncan, Paris; "Lampshade" Tunic created by Parisian designer Paul Poiret.

Visit FIDM's Hollywood Costume Exhibition!

Where can you see the actual costumes from some of 2007's most exciting films? Only at FIDM's "16th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design" exhibition, of course. The costumes from last year's biggest and best films including Atonement, Sweeney Todd, Enchanted, Harry Potter, The Golden Compass, and many more will be on display in the FIDM Museum & Galleries through April 12, 2008. Find out more! --Kim