Costume — Designing for Character, Fittings, Costume Change Charts, Doubles, Aging, Rentals and Returns

Costume design starts with a question: where did this person buy these clothes, and how long have they worn them? Two office workers, one just starting out and one a long-time executive, differ in the quality and fit of what they wear. If a character changes over the story, you can shift the color and shape of their clothes bit by bit to show it.

• Concept per role — collect reference images, colors, fabrics and silhouettes for each character. Match the art department’s color palette so they don’t disappear into the background.
• Clothes that cause trouble on camera — very fine stripes and small checks tend to create moiré, a shimmering pattern on screen. Pure white and very black clothes are hard to expose for, so check with the cinematographer first.
• Brands — prominent logos can raise clearance issues, so cover or avoid them.
• Sound — rustling fabrics and jangling jewelry interfere with production sound. Plan where to hide lav mics with the sound team.

A fitting is when the actor tries on the costume to check size, color and movement. Don’t only look at them standing: have them sit, run and raise their arms. For action scenes, check there is room for pads underneath. Photograph the fitting from the front, side and back for the director to approve, and mark alterations on the spot.

• Before the fitting — get the actor’s measurements and prepare plenty of options for each role so there is room to choose.
• After the fitting — number the approved costumes and list the alterations and anything still to source.
• On set — the costume team watches the monitor for how clothes sit and fixes collars and creases between takes.

A costume change chart puts scenes across and roles down, with the costume number each character wears in each scene in the cell. Lay scenes out in script order and add the story day, and you can see at once whether an outfit carries through the same day. On shoot days, re-sort it in shooting order and tell the 1st AD how many changes each actor has that day and how much time they need.

• Doubles — several identical copies of one costume. You need them for scenes where it gets wet, bloodied or torn, and when a stand-in or stunt performer wears the same outfit.
• Aging — washing, rubbing and dyeing new clothes so they look long worn. Age the doubles exactly the same way, or the swap will show.
• Breaking down — adding dirt, sweat and stains to show what a scene has put the character through. Set the level of wear in stages that follow the story order.
• Continuity photos — at the end of a scene, photograph the actor from front, side and back, and note details like rolled sleeves and how many buttons are undone.

• On arrival — record items, quantities and their starting condition, such as stains or scratches, with photos.
• Before altering — agree with the rental house whether you may take in, dye or age a piece.
• During the shoot — label rented pieces and store them apart from purchased ones.
• On return — check whether cleaning or repairs are needed and return everything before the due date.