Ms. Beavan, do you ever use your real life as inspiration for your work as a costume designer?
Well, I have used my grandparents in The Remains of the Day. They lived by the sea in England. And so Emma Thompson at the end of the film is based on my Nana, she’s wearing these white, rather old fashioned court shoes and a headscarf, you know, it’s a seaside thing. And then my grandfather is the guy in the pub always who wore a tassel shirt and a pull over.
Apparently you are also an avid people-watcher, often taking photos of interestingly dressed people on the street or the bus.
That’s true, I don’t use them as direct references; but I do find myself inspired, because I think it’s all very fascinating. Last September, I saw an extraordinary person wearing a sequined outfit on the tube — which had to be recorded, just for posterity! You can also see such amazing sights on the bus. I love public transport, you know, and I just can’t resist sometimes. There was a woman the other day dressed purely in white, but it was all sort of swathe and bandage. She was extremely eccentric. So there’s sometimes moments that just trigger something for me. But my process is usually: I read a script, I research it, maybe on the internet, maybe with the books, whatever, and then I let it happen. I find that the best ideas come when you’re either lying in a nice, warm bath thinking, or you’re in the supermarket and you’re not thinking about it. That’s when your mind is free.
“The best references tell stories: you see soldiers putting on armor, you see them dressing in the morning, you see everything you need to know. You don’t need 50 million books…”
Does it help you or hinder you to have existing reference material to work with? With your Oscar-winning designs for Cruella, for example, you had two different 101 Dalmatians films to start from.
I do love the references, I just don’t need too many. I think the problem is people get swamped! I remember when I started on Oliver Stone’s Alexander, they got every book that even mentioned the Greeks. I mean, I’ve never seen so many books. I said, “There’s just too much. I can’t cope. Let’s just close the door and walk away!” (Laughs) And it’s all on the Greek vases in the British Museum, which I’m sure we stole, but the best references are there. The best references tell stories: you see them putting on armor, you see them dressing in the morning, you see everything you need to know. You don’t need 50 million books.
It must be hard to escape all those references these days, though, we live in such a visual world, you can get thousands of images at the click of a button.
I remember when I was younger, I used to go to the V&A, our wonderful Museum in London with an incredible library, and you would put in these requests for books, and then you’d go and have a meal, and when you came back, the books would be on your table. It was fun, but it was slow. I mean, it smelled like a proper library, and it’s really beautiful. There were men in brown coats and white gloves who would get the books for you. It was just amazing.
Are you nostalgic for those days? Or is that a bit too romantic?
To be honest? No, I’m not nostalgic. You’re absolutely right that it was romantic, but it was very, very slow. The ease with which we now can click, I find wonderful.
How else do you find your references and inspiration?
I try not to look at films. I find it very odd when directors reference other films, because we’re doing something fresh. I prefer to look at old photographs and look at the real clothes. You can find 20th century, 19th and some 18th century real examples in the V&A. They also have a wonderful costume collection.For almost every film, I will just go out to different vintage stores, especially here in London on Portobello Road, I find that to be very inspiring, being amongst real life clothing. It’s really good to see real stuff, it triggers ideas.
What about when you’re designing costumes for a film that takes place in the future, like your Oscar-winning designs for Mad Max: Fury Road, and its prequal Furiosa?
Oh, you use your imagination more, much more. There was so much creativity involved. The director, George Miller, in particular with these films, he’s often very clear about what might have happened. You build up from very little, you build up what could have happened and how it would happen. With both films, we’re seeing that they’re reliant on finding water, they’re relying on what they’ve got with them, what they can make, using whatever fabrics survived like leather and rough canvases and linen. It was a huge undertaking, the costumes for these films, but luckily we were able to reuse a lot of the costume elements from Fury Road for Furiosa.
“A lot of what I do isn’t just about the clothes. I’m interested in telling stories with clothes and costumes.”
There are lots of details in these costumes that also seem to ground them in something personal or intimate, like the teddy bear we see attached to Dementus’ outfit.
When you read him in the script, you have no idea where Dementus comes from. So in my research, I was looking at dictators and gurus, and it sort of fitted brilliantly that the teddy bear would be something from his past that he wouldn’t give up. It was incredibly important. But as an audience, you don’t really know why it’s there. And I think that’s something that sets our costumes apart, they have to do with reality. I’m going to be a bit rude about Marvel and all that because the costumes look good, you know, these muscle suits are beautifully made… But our costumes for these films are, as you say, personalized, decorated with these elements that clever craftspeople would have made work. It’s got a truth behind it.
That’s also what costume design should be: clothes that tell a vivid story, giving us little hints about the person’s personality and character — rather than something that is complicated or intricate or grand.
Yes, absolutely. A lot of what I do isn’t just about the clothes. I’m interested in telling stories with clothes and costumes. I look at the character, I read the character, I listen to the director. I just try and make it very real. I find that to be the most inspiring.
Does it help achieve those storytelling goals when an actor is able to work with you and bring you insight into their role?
Oh, I find that incredibly important. It is a collaboration. If I wanted to do my own thing, I’d be a fashion designer or an artist. I would not be a costume designer. You’re part of a team. Part of what you’re doing is basically helping the actor by supporting the story in clothes. And so I love it when they have an opinion. I mean, Emma Stone’s extraordinary about that. Geoffrey Rush was brilliant to work with. Robert Downey Jr. is one of my favorite actors to work with. These are actors that are very, very collaborative. You get someone like Judi Dench who comes in and looks back and says, “Oh, that’s exactly the colors I imagined.” Or Lesley Manville who says, “Now I know who I am.” That’s what it’s all about, is helping them to know who they are.