Some of the kimonos took as long as four to five months to make, with all the layers that go into it.
Knowing who the actors were as you were designing them helped, with Catherine's beauty and Renee's frailty, they directed me visually just by who they were.
While researching design, I was inspired globally, from Peru to Turkey to Africa to Japan-from the 5th century through to today.
I've been lucky in the things I've got to work on. I've been able to keep it fresh, always getting to do different kinds of things.
Sometimes a contemporary film like Silence of the Lambs is difficult. To make it look real but interesting is always a challenge.
In Chicago, I walked in knowing what the dancers were going to need.
I really like the original Apes costumes. The colors were great, and the use of heavy materials was something that influenced me for this film.
The first Chicago was definitely a product of its time, and Chicago the musical is definitely a contemporary look at another time.
The designs were based on quite a lot of research of what a movie musical is, filtered through the eyes of today. If we'd gone strictly with the '20s, the movement would have been impaired.