ANNIE SPONG - Intimacy Coordinator
Tales From A Costume Designer
This week’s guest is Intimacy Coordinator & Costumer Annie Spong! We had a fantastic discussion all about Intimacy Coordination: the origins, the nuance of the job, the process, the intersection with costumes, intimacy riders, different types of modesty garments, and so much more! Annie also co-hosts a fantastic Intimacy Coordination podcast called Romancing the Screen - check it out through the link below. There’s a LOT of great links in the show notes today, so be sure to take a look. --- If you want to support me and this podcast, please subscribe to the Patreon - we have...
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BOOK CLUB: THE COSTUMES OF HOLLYWOOD with Co-Authors Coleen Scott and Larry McQueen
Tales From A Costume Designer
This week episode is a special Book Club episode digging into the brand new book The Costumes of Hollywood with co-authors Coleen Scott & Larry McQueen! We cover Larry’s extensive collection, the creation of the book, the importance of preserving Hollywood history and maintaing the legacy of Costume Designers and their teams, advice for Costume Designers on archiving their own pieces and so much more! The Costumes of Hollywood details the design, creation, and influence of over 100 ensembles from some of the most iconic designers, films, and roles in Hollywood history,...
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KATHLEEN FELIX-HAGER - Costume Designer
Tales From A Costume Designer
This week’s episode features the fantastic costume designer Kathleen Felix-Hager. We dig into her start in the world of costumes on the epic film Waterworld, the love for our costume teams, using her grandmother as one of her inspirations for Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance in Hacks, the unexpected logistical issues that come with cross-boarding, the joy of contemporary research, what we look for when we’re hiring new staff members, and so much more! --- *We had some cute puppy barks and gardening noises in the background, so don’t be alarmed if you hear them a few times! --- If...
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BOOK CLUB: BREAKING INTO NEW HOLLYWOOD with Co-Author Ada Tseng
Tales From A Costume Designer
This week episode is a special Book Club episode digging into the brand new book Breaking Into New Hollywood: A Career Guide to a Changing Industry with Co-Author Ada Tseng. Come listen as we highlight the special features in this book and what went into bringing it to life. I’m honored to be featured in the Costume Design section of this book (along with this very podcast!) and it was a blast to turn the tables on Ada who interviewed me — now I get to interview her! --- If you want to support me and this podcast, please subscribe to the Patreon - we have tiers starting at just $3...
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TONY GARDNER - SFX Makeup Artist, Designer & Puppeteer
Tales From A Costume Designer
This week’s episode features the incredible designer Tony Gardner! I was lucky enough to work with Tony on Freaky and we overlapped on the Happy Death Day series. We dig into his illustrious career from his professional start on Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video through his most recent projects like Heart Eyes. We talk about collaborating with costume designers on Hocus Pocus, designing the helmets for Daft Punk, and finding places for his disembodied head to have a cameo. And so much more! --- New Release Day! New episodes will now be dropping on Mondays both on the Patreon and...
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Summer Check-In
Tales From A Costume Designer
Hello everyone! It’s hard to fathom how quickly time has passed and now how long it’s been since my last episode. This quick little episode talks about what’s been going on in my life and the industry in the time since. I hope you all do the homework I assign to you! Sending much love to all of you out there. --- If you want to support the work that I do or you want to be a part of my little community, you can meet me over on our Patreon page. I have a free membership tier too so it doesn’t have to cost any money at all. When I get back to releasing episodes (will be...
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KATIE IRISH - Costume Designer
Tales From A Costume Designer
This week’s episode features my talented friend and colleague, Costume Designer Katie Irish. We dig into her roots in theatre (she also started off college pre-med just like myself!) and her transition into film and tv which included taking over designing The Americans. We talk about our union work in United Scenic Artists Local 829 - especially as she and I have been two of the co-chairs of the Pay Equity Task Force for several years. We discuss our recent contract negotiation and the gains made and what more still need to do: especially in regards to our amazing ACDs and CDCs. We...
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TINA MABRY - Director, Writer, Producer
Tales From A Costume Designer
This week’s episode features the incredible Director, Writer, Producer Tina Mabry, who I was lucky enough to work with on our film The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat from Searchlight Pictures which just premiered on Hulu in August. Not only do we dig into our work together on The Supremes, we also cover a wide array of topics from cultivating a kindness and respect on set, jumping into directing episodes of television on established tv shows, to coming up with the spark of an idea for a script to and what happens when you a have to cut a two page monologue in favor of a wordless scene...
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KARA LINDSTROM - Production Designer
Tales From A Costume Designer
Today’s episode features Production Designer Kara Lindstrom, who I was lucky enough to work with on our film The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat from Searchlight Pictures which just premiered on Hulu in August. Her impressive and varied career has seen her work as a Set Decorator, Art Director, Screenwriter & Novelist in addition to Production Design. Not only do we dig into our work together on The Supremes, we also cover her beginnings starting with a mentorship from Polly Platt to her career today and what it took to design clean mud and construct trees for her Predator film...
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LISA SMEDLEY-CALDERON - Costume Designer
Tales From A Costume Designer
Today’s episode features Costume Designer and Fashion Stylist Lisa Smedley-Calderon. We talk about her start in the entertainment industry as a fashion stylist for many musical artists including Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, and Boyz II Men. We dig into how styling and costume design are two very different jobs that sometimes intersect. Lisa shares what it was like when she had to leave the industry for a decade to take care of her ailing parents and how she decided to transition fully into costume design when she returned. She built her experience by working as a buyer, a costumer, and an...
info_outlineToday’s episode features Costume Designer and Fashion Stylist Lisa Smedley-Calderon. We talk about her start in the entertainment industry as a fashion stylist for many musical artists including Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, and Boyz II Men. We dig into how styling and costume design are two very different jobs that sometimes intersect. Lisa shares what it was like when she had to leave the industry for a decade to take care of her ailing parents and how she decided to transition fully into costume design when she returned. She built her experience by working as a buyer, a costumer, and an ACD on a multitude of projects before starting to head her own teams as a costume designer. If you head on over to the Patreon, there’s an extended cut of this episode with even more stories. I also release episodes there two days early!
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Costume Designer Lisa Smedley-Calderon
Credits include: Color Book, The Waterboyz, Cinnamon, Karen, The First Noelle, How The Gringo Stole Christmas, The Ice Cream Man
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Lisa Smedley-Calderon, Costume Designer and Fashion Stylist, has built an impressive reputation from styling, creating images for legendary celebrities, to creating characters for commercials, TV series and movies. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, it was her move to California that propelled a whirlwind of working with some of the greatest artists in the entertainment industry. Lisa became known for cultivating styles unique to each clients’ personality while adding a hint of her own quirks. Her acute attention to detail marks her signature touch.
While completing her studies in Fashion Merchandising, Lisa became a fashion consultant for Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills. While at Saks Fifth, she was referred to the Crystal Agency and began assistant styling and later styling independently as one of the most sought after fashion stylists and is presently working in movies and TV series. Lisa has styled for artists such as Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Bobby Brown, Boyz II Men, and Color Me Badd, as well as award shows such as the Grammy’s, American Music Awards, Billboard and MTV Awards. Lisa has evolved in her career as a costume designer on movies and TV series with A-List celebrities. Now with over 20 years of experience in the film and TV industry, Lisa continues to have the same drive and passion she did 20 years ago. When not on a project, Lisa likes to read, travel, and spend time with family.
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Lisa Smedley-Calderon Links:
LSC Website: fashionstylingbylisa.com
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TFACD Links:
Patreon: Tales From A Costume Designer
Instagram: @talesfromacostumedesigner
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Whitney Anne Adams Links:
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Union Links:
Costume Designers Guild IG: @cdglocal892