Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1333810
26 The Costume Designer Winter 2021 workroom swung into overdrive with only one hour to get it all done. "One tailor took the sleeves, one took the pants, one was making the blouse." Broecker recounts, "And one was reconstructing the whole front, changing the double-breasted into a single-breasted." Meanwhile, he headed upstairs for the pre-show meeting. "One of the producers turned to me—this is 10:30 p.m.—and said, 'Just out of curiosity, are we changing their looks?' No one had said a word, no one had approached us, no one had even thought about it, but we decided that it was super, super, super important to do this and to get it right. It was a really important historic moment that we needed to participate in. I think that's one of the things that subconsciously people pick up on—you can see in real time how SNL actually works. That's the magic of this place. I have the best people. They know how to crank it out, and we know how to adapt and change." As a weekly sketch show, SNL has always been uniquely positioned to comment upon political, social, and pop cultural events. Under the Trump administra- tion—rich with comic gold, however inadvertently—one has had the sense that there are many Americans turning to SNL and particularly the cold open to get their news. The SNL production process is lightning fast. Every Wednesday afternoon, cast and crew gather for a read through. That night, the cast and writers meet with the costume, hair, and makeup departments to further discuss the sketches and their looks. Broecker notes, "Sometimes they have specific references, so they can show us ideas. Sometimes they don't. Some writers are more costume specific, other writers aren't. So this is a time when all of that information can start the dialogue in a much more intricate way." Creating impressions of real people—especially ones that linger longer than the actual people parodied—is a deft and delicate undertak- ing, and getting the costume details right is a big part of the process. Co-costume designer Eric Justian continues, "Once we know what sketches have been pitched, we jump into action. If it's a specific day, we get as many reference photos as we can. We look at every angle to understand what we're doing." Adds Broecker, "There is a crunch time in terms of getting all that research together and fig- uring out how to change something. We look at a jacket and ask, what can this jacket be? I could take the sleeves " There is a crunch time in terms of getting all that research together and figuring out how to change something. We look at a jacket and ask, what can this jacket be? I could take the sleeves off. It could become a vest. Turn it backward, it becomes a dress." –Tom Broecker Kate McKinnon as Jeff Sessions