Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1197129
34 The Costume Designer Winter 2020 Like many Costume Designers, Kaplan can trace his fascination with film and costume to his early childhood. "I remember the first movie I ever saw was called The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing, starring Joan Collins," he explains. "It was a beautiful, colorful movie about the original Gibson girl. I thought it was kind of dazzling. The Belle Epoch costumes and the colors really made an impression." That love of beauty and glamour would per- meate his childhood. Looking back, Kaplan muses that his interest in clothing began when he was in elementary school. "I had a lot of admiration and pride in my mother. My teachers would always tell me after PTA meetings how beautiful she was. I would always tell her what I thought she should wear. It seems like it was there all the time." Studying fine art at the Philadelphia College of Art, Kaplan's love of drawing became the starting point of his career, but after dabbling in illustration and graphic design, he would soon set his sights on the film industry. "None of the advertising stuff was very satisfying. I did some soul searching and thought that Costume Design would be much more fulfilling. I think I might've known all along that that was what I wanted to do, but being a kid from the suburbs of Philadelphia, it just didn't seem like a possibility. I felt like I needed a radical change; something that I could do for the rest of my life that would keep me interested." Kaplan began using his talent for drawing to get his foot in the door as a sketch artist to Costume Designers who didn't do their own sketches. Getting established would take persistence, but even in hustling for work, his experience is a veritable Who's Who of the Costume Designers Guild members. "I had many interviews. I interviewed with Edith Head, and Theodora Van Runkle, who did all of her own sketches which were stunning. I met with Bob Mackie and his partner, Ret Turner, on The Sonny and Cher Show who at the time said they didn't need anyone, but if things changed they would call. I heard that quite often. They actually did call a few months later. One of my contemporaries, Julie Weiss, who was working as their assistant and sketch artist, was moving on to another job and that created an opportunity for me. My first real job in the industry!" When the chance came to connect with a young, up and coming, Ridley Scott, Kaplan was happy to take the meeting. "I had just gotten into the Costume Designers Guild and Ridley Scott called my union. He was making a film called Blade Runner. He had a Costume Designer from England, named Charles Knode, who was accus- tomed to working with a partner. Ridley was looking for someone with fresh ideas who knew Los Angeles. He had seen a number of designers who heard it was a futuristic film and their take on it was more along the lines of how people thought about the future back then (silver Mylar spacesuits). These viewpoints were not what Ridley was looking for. He called the head of the Guild, Sheila O'Brien, who said, 'We've got this very young kid who just joined the union; maybe you should speak with him.' Photo: Warner Bros. Sean Young in Blade Runner.