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.

FIDM Grad Designs Shoes for World Premiere of WOLVERINE

FIDM Footwear Design Alumna Kim Dingman has her own line of customizable high-end, handmade shoes called Jen + Kim. Actress Lynn Collins wore a custom-made pair called "CeCe" to the premiere of Wolverine in Tempe, Arizona. Kim also designs shoes for the popular brand Chinese Laundry. View the Jen + Kim collection at www.jenandkimshoes.com.

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's Movie Costume Exhibition Launches!

 
The FIDM Museum & Galleries' popular 17th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition opened on Saturday night. Over 150 FIDM Grads, including Kevan Hall, Nick Verreos, Estevan Ramos, Daniel Caudill, and Suzy Magnin, and their guests attended the event, along with industry notables. "It was our biggest opening to date," said Exhibition Coordinator Michael Black. Alumni Relations Director Nathalie Holtzman added, "It was a spectacular evening and great to see all the grads!"

Costumes featured in this year's exhibition include Academy Award Best Costume Design nominees The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Duchess, and Milk, as well as Doubt, The Dark Knight, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and so many more--over 22 movies in all!

The free exhibition runs through March 29, 2009. Group Tours are available. Visit the FIDM Museum & Galleries online for more information. --Kim

Closer Look at FIDM's Movie Costume Design Exhibition

FIDM's 17th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition opens on January 28 at the FIDM Museum & Galleries. The popular exhibition features actual costumes from the previous year's most memorable films. This year, the costumes are from a host of fabulous movies, including The Dark Knight, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, The Duchess, and so many more--over 22 movies in all!

We sat down with Michael Black, the Exhibition Coordinator, to find out more:

How did the annual exhibition come about?
Michael: The first FIDM Museum & Galleries Director, Maggie Murray, had many good connections with costume designers, the studios, and costume rental companies. It was her idea that showcasing the work of all these talented people was a natural tie-in with FIDM.

This was initially planned as a one-time only exhibition, but proved so successful, we have now been putting it on for seventeen years. In the beginning, we showcased both current and vintage film costumes, and have expanded from one small gallery to three galleries of over 10,000 square feet.

Sixteen out of seventeen exhibitions have featured costumes from all five Academy Award(R) nominated films, which is quite a feat, as we are set up before the nominations are announced.

When do you start preparing for the exhibition?
Michael: We start planning the new exhibition as soon as new films start coming out in January. Making lists of possible films to pursue goes on all year long. Generally, we start contacting the studios around October, reminding them that our exhibition is coming up, and getting their feedback on what costumes they have available.

What is the most interesting/unusual piece in the exhibition?
Michael: Probably the elf costumes from The Spiderwick Chronicles. They are examples of work that gets done for a production but for any number of reasons do not actually make it into the final film. These costumes were requested for scenes in the film, but then as filming got under way, it was decided to go with CGI (Computer Generated Images) instead.

Are there any interesting stories you can relate about procuring the costumes or getting them ready for exhibition?
Michael: It is always a gamble going after costumes for this exhibition. Many production companies no longer have the budgets or facilities to store every costume from every film, or even key costumes from major films.

Many times, the costumes get auctioned off before we get a chance to display them. In the case of very popular films, there is increasing interest to display the costumes, so other venues may get items we would like to show and vice versa. We are very popular with the costume designers themselves, so a lot of them will work on our behalf to get what we need.

The free exhibition runs through March 29, 2009. Group Tours are available. Visit the FIDM Museum & Galleries online for more information. --Kim

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

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

FIDM Students Are Finalists In Hollywood Reporter's Key Art Awards Student Competition

FIDM congratulates Digital Media students Samantha Young and Michael Asmus and Graphic Design student Sarah Neyhart, finalists in the 7th Annual Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards Student Competition. "Of the twelve finalists in the Trailer division, FIDM took two places and in the 'one sheet' or poster division, we took one spot among the twelve," reports FIDM Department Chair Marlene Morbitt-Dunn.

"The competition this year increased by approximately 62% more entries in the poster division, and 50% more in the trailer division. Stiff competition!" Marlene continued. Stephanie created a trailer for the feature film 300, while Michael's trailer was for Dreamgirls. Sarah created a poster for the comedy Knocked Up.

The reception and the announcement of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in each category will take place on May 29th at a reception in the FIDM Museum & Galleries. Watch the video and see the posters from the FIDM Students who won last year's competition. --Kim

FIDM Students Win "Hollywood Reporter" Competition

We're thrilled to announce that FIDM Digital Media Student Meme Ellis was awarded FIRST PLACE in the Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards Student Competition's audiovisual category for her Brokeback Mountain trailer (above). Explains Meme, "I chose Brokeback Mountain because I knew from the start that it would be a complete challenge for me.  The film itself is so beautiful, raw, and subtle." She continues, "It's very gratifying to know that my hard work has been appreciated. The Key Art Awards brings so much opportunity to students like me, and for that, I am so grateful!"   

FIDM Graphic Design Student Melissa Wong, who won SECOND PLACE  in the print category for her Walk the Line movie poster, says of the Key Art Awards, "Being a finalist is such a surreal feeling, especially since the caliber of work from all the schools is so high. I feel fortunate to be a part of a competition that represents student work in a real-life industry of Entertainment and Marketing. It is an honor to be recognized and I'm proud to have represented FIDM in this competition." --Kim

More Info
* Read an article about the awards on the Hollywood Reporter website.
* Watch more movie trailers by FIDM Students. 
* Learn about FIDM's Digital Media and Graphic Design programs.
* Read our earlier post on the Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards Reception.

FIDM Students Are Finalists In Hollywood Reporter's Student Competition

The finalists for The Hollywood Reporter's 6th annual Key Art Awards Student Competition were announced at a special reception on FIDM's L.A. Campus last week. FIDM Students Melissa Wong (Print) and Meme Ellis (AV) were among the finalists for this prestigious scholarship award. Melissa Wong's striking entry, a poster for the hit movie Walk the Line, is pictured above.

"The quality of this year's student entries is absolutely incredible, and we're thrilled to be able to showcase and honor such brilliant work," said John Kilcullen, Publisher of The Hollywood Reporter. "This unique competition connects students with key players in the Hollywood creative community, and I believe that many of the finalists, if not all, will be Key Art Award nominees in years to come."

Winners will be announced Friday, June 15th at the Beverly Hilton. Watch this space for more information, plus check back to view finalist Meme Ellis's movie trailer! --Kim

More Information:
Purchase Key Art Awards tickets or find out more about the event.
Get the details on FIDM's Graphic Design Program.
Get the details on FIDM's Digital Media Program.