Improvising Upon Historical Accuracy
An interview with pluri-decorated costume designer Sandy Powell, who returns to Berlin as a Campus expert after her participation in the Berlinale Jury last year.
Sandy Powell
Costume designer Sandy Powell, a member of the Berlinale jury in 2011, has returned to Berlin, this time to lead the Talent Campus event “Dressing Stories.” She discussed her work, including the three Oscars® that she won for SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, THE AVIATOR, and YOUNG VICTORIA.
All of your Oscars® come from period dramas. Is it relatively easier to win an Oscar® by doing that kind of film?
Definitely, which I think is bad. The last non-period drama that won an Oscar® is THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT, and that was 18 years ago. It becomes less dramatic, although it’s always interesting to compete in the Oscar® race. It is something that you never apply for, they just put you in the race, and you want to win.
How do you approach your research, especially for period dramas?
Being precise with historical accuracy is boring. So instead of making a replica, I prefer to re-create the fashion that existed in the past. It’s not that I exaggerate them, but what is the point of being historically accurate? People can always tell what year your film was made. Although you make a very exact design based on a certain historical age, the fabric is different. During my research for YOUNG VICTORIA, I had a chance to see the real clothes of Queen Victoria. The fabric is so fine that it’s impossible to find nowadays.
What is the hardest project that you’ve worked on?
As far as I’m concerned, VELVET GOLDMINE was hard because there are so many scenes to shoot while we barely had any budget. GANGS OF NEW YORK was also difficult because although we had a gigantic budget, our film employs huge crowds of extras and we couldn’t avoid working on their costumes one by one.
You started designing costumes a long time ago. What is the difference between being a costume designer in the past and being one now?
When I started, there was no mobile phone. We had to gather information manually, like which company has which clothes. The internet changes all that – nowadays I can use eBay. But several things remain unchanged: in order to be a good costume designer, you had still better to be able to sew so you can understand how clothes are constructed. Secondly, you still have to be aware that costumes have to be manufactured physically. You can send the shoe design to me via fax, but I can’t send the shoes back to you via fax.
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