When working in creative spaces, many often talk about allowing room for inspiration. A valuable mindset, no doubt, but what it fails to capture is just how intense the production environment can become. Decisions need to be made fast and communicated clearly — and if you’re a department head in a craft space like costume design, it’s on you to maintain the authenticity of whatever world the project is seeking to build, as well as the efficiency of your own staff in doing so. For those working under these designers, it usually means forgoing inspiration entirely and operating purely off directives handed down.
Speaking in an interview with IndieWire’s Sarah Shachat, costume designer for the recent Hulu period series “A Thousand Blows” Maja Meschede likened her job to being a ping-pong ball, constantly volleying across a large factory setting and tending to different work stations. This requires more than just preparation, but a strong stamina and clear workflow.
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“I don’t think people who don’t work in film and TV or in costume know how fast everything has to happen and how huge the teams are,” she said. “To pull this off we had three huge work rooms of seamstresses and tailors and dressmakers.”
Sometimes this not only means designing apparel, but also breaking it down, adding dust or paint to it, re-mending them, and producing whatever worn-look the filmmakers may be looking to achieve. Though some may believe a costume designers job is to make the physical suits and dresses seen on screen, typically most of their time is spent directing others. On “A Thousand Blows,” this was all done in one space, so Meschede could focus on many different items all at the same time.
“It’s a huge factory,” Meschede told IndieWire, “and I just walk through, or get pushed from one end to the other, like, ‘Oh, Maya, come here,’ and you answer questions all day.”
This kind of work can lead to pretty “intense” days, as Meschede recounted, describing her process more like “speed designing” compared to the careful precision others in fashion might be afforded.
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s so much fun — a feast,” Meschede said, “but at the same time, you have to be really on the ball, focus the whole team, and just plow it out.”
