Colleen Atwood

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 they're total costume. ”

I love designing costumes that I can actually construct, working to create an environment that people want to be in. ”

The exposure I have had to beautiful materials across the world, from Japan to Italy, enables me to pull design ideas together. This, combined with years of historical research, has created a great fountain of ideas for me. ”

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. ”

Planet of the Apes was a gigantic challenge, making the clothes work so people could do stunts and action in the clothes. I really learned a lot about that in that movie. ”

Sleepy Hollow had a lot of action in it, even though it was a fairy-tale movie. ”

I choose colors I like and will photograph well. I don't do color theory! ”

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 have a sense of their connection with it. I then take it to the next level with the final fit. ”

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. ”