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40 The Costume Designer Summer 2016 IN FOCUS BOLDFACE NAMES BFN - AWARDS CD Deborah Ferguson and award-winning actress Carly Chaikin of TV's Mr. Robot conceptualized a short fashion fi lm that is nomi- nated for six awards at the International Fashion Film Festival. Fer- guson has also produced and costume designed an award-winning fashion fi lm for Contentmode, with actor David Oyelowo, which won two awards, including Best Actor at two international fashion fi lm festivals. BFN - PRESS Costume designing a show that straddles the line between the real and the scripted, CD Cynthia Summers enjoys the opportu- nity of working on what essentially is a show within a show on UnREAL. The glittery, sexy, hopeful world in front of the camera and the gritty, dark, conniving world of making reality TV behind the camera. Summers notes that there is never, ever, a dull moment. This summer, Summers' design was included in no less than seven articles in the magazines Instyle, Us Weekly, People, Racked, The Huffi ngton Post, and Footwear News. BFN - ENTREPRENEURS 250,000 garments for those in need. The company tapped TV per - sonality and entrepreneur Nick Cannon to help raise awareness for this year's initiative. "I've worn many different fferent ff 'suits' over the course of my career — as a musician, an actor, a record producer — and no mat - ter the task at hand, feeling and looking confident is key. A suit can bring that pep in your step to perform at your personal best," Cannon said in the release. "I'm The Canadian Suit Drive is on until July 31. To learn more, visit Canadian- suitdrive.com. M E N , M E E T T H E J A C K S O N In more men's fashion news, Montreal-based menswear and accessories brand WANT Les Es- sentiels is looking to bring back the messenger bag. The company's co-founders, brothers Byron and Dexter available in August), include organic cotton and French leather exterior, padded laptop and stretch pockets on the inside, a protective mesh backing and adjustable shoulder strap. The Jackson Messenger bag retails for $550 and is available at select stockists internationally, at Want Apothecary boutiques, and online at Wantlesessentiels.com C O S T O O P E N I N VA N C O U V E R Fashion fans rejoice: COS is com- ing to Vancouver. The company, also known by its full name as Collection of Style, will be opening its first Vancou- ver store later this year, as well as a second location in Toronto. COS, an offshoot of popular ffshoot of popular ff Swedish retailer H&M, offers ffers ff minimalist-chic fashion for men, women and children at "compa- rably affordable prices," accord ffordable prices," accord ff - ing to a news release. "We are excited to be opening two new stores in Canada this year," Marie Honda, manag- ing director of COS, said in the release. "Since our launch in the market last year, we have received a posi- tive response from our Canadian customers and we hope they will enjoy our new stores in Toronto and Vancouver." The Vancouver shop is set to open in an as-yet-undisclosed location in Gastown and will fea - ture more than 3,000 square feet of shopping space. T R AV E L T I M E W I T H B I O D E R M A Travelling can be stressful SUIT DRIVE HELPS THE UNEMPLOYED Moores offers discounts for donations Canadian brand Want Les Essentiels has a new $550 messenger bag. TV host and producer Nick Cannon is partnering with Moores Clothing for Men to call attention to the Canadian Suit Drive. Those who donate will get 50 per cent off regular-priced merchandise. H E M L I N E S S T Y L E T U E S D A Y, J U LY 5 , 2 0 1 6 V A N C O U V E R S U N C3 Y O U And if she can't find an item? Well, then she puts her years of experience as a costume designer and builder in dance and musi- cal theatre to work — and she makes it. "If we can't find it we make it," Summers says. "And if we need multiples for stunts or photo doubles, and we can't either afford to fford to ff purchase a second outfit or the look is sold out, we will knock it off." ff." ff Budget is the main differ ffer ff - ence Summers cites when asked about the challenges of working on a TV set rath- er than a film. Money — and time. "It takes the exact same process to create a feature, as it does a TV show or se- ries," she says of the differ ffer ff - ences in wardrobing a film versus a television show. "In film, you have two to six or more months to prep. In TV you take exactly the same meetings, script b r e a k d ow n , s h o p p i n g , building, fittings and col- laborations with produc- ers, production designers, actors … but cram it all into seven or eight days." Summers and her team then repeat the process — for each and every episode of the show, which can often mean re-wardrobing the cast 10 to 22 times. "Essentially you're mak- ing a movie every seven days," she says. "It always blows me away when I say 'You're making a movie every seven days' U N R E A L F R O M C1 C1 C A L E E S H A H A R R I S Moores Clothing for Men's an- nual Canadian Suit Drive is back. The event, in its seventh year, sees Canadians drop off gently ff gently ff used men's and women's work - wear at any of the 126 Moores locations across the country. The donated items are given to unemployed Canadians who are looking to re-enter the workforce via more than 60 local organiza - tions. "A suit not only changes your SUIT DRIVE HELPS THE UNEMPLOYED Moores offers discounts for donations TV host and producer Nick Cannon is partnering with Moores Clothing for Men to call attention to the Canadian Suit Drive. Those who donate will get 50 per cent off regular-priced merchandise. S T Y L E Shiri Appleby Y O U VAN01229908_1_1 A L E E S H A H A R R I S You don't have to be a fan of shows like The Bachelor or Real House- wives to understand reality TV isn't exactly reality. In fact, it's of- ten just the opposite. And that's exactly what UnREAL looks to point out — and poke a little fun at. The B.C.-shot TV show, which airs on the Lifetime Network, documents the real and fabricated drama surrounding the filming of a dating show, dubbed Everlasting. The onscreen drama is sensa- tional, the behind-the-scenes fights are fierce and the fashion is, well, it's worthy of reality TV. And we have Cynthia Summers to thank for the popular faux-real- ity production's good style. "The overall fashion on UnREAL spans two shows ... a movie within a movie," Summers explains. "Our constant goal is to show the beauty and the beast, as it were." Summers, who is originally from Vancouver but now splits her time between here and Los Angeles for work, says some of the actors' on-camera styling is all glitz and glamour, similar to what viewers are used to seeing during the rose ceremonies on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. "All bright colours, sequins and sexy silhouettes," she explains. In comparison, the "real," behind- the-scenes wardrobe is much more gritty. "(It's) the dark reality of working in the hard and fast, unforgiving world of 14-hour-day TV," Sum- mers explains of the less-than- glamorous getups worn by the show's production stars such as Shiri Appleby. "Nothing sparkles here and this is totally reflected in the palette of our Everlasting crew." She says while the reality TV "stars" wear sequins and jewel tones, the hard-working crew are all clothed in "murky" earth tones, black and white. "Utilitarian, on-your-feet-all- day silhouettes," she reveals. Summers and her team (she works with a team of more than 10 costumers on UnREAL on an average production day) work to create a cast wardrobe that fits the show's dramatic mood — while also appearing realistic. "Even if the project is contem- porary in look, so much goes into making the characters feel like they 'look' in the right place and time, and harmonize with all the other characters on set with them," she explains. "Wardrobe, hair and makeup set the tone for a charac- ter's mood, physical situation and motivation." As the head costumer for the pro- duction, Summers was given loose directives as to what the directors and writers had in mind for the styling of the stars. And the rest was up to her. Not that it was much of a gamble for the production team to take. Summers has spent her more- than-two-decade-spanning career outfitting casts for various films and television shows, including a stint as the lead costume designer on the popular show The L Word from 2003-08, for which she won the 2005 Hollywood Style Award. "I have a lot of freedom to form the looks of the characters," she says. "I think this comes from ex- perience — having a track record, if you will — which helps me to inspire directors, producers and cast to trust that I will bring my best to accomplish the looks we are all working for, while at the same time challenging the status quo, to add uniqueness to our collective vision." So, where does Summers get all the clothes for the show 's cast, which includes the main charac- ters, contestants and background performers? In short: every- where. "Fortunately for costume design- ers, with the advent of the Internet, shopping for shows has become a lot more widespread," she says. "On UnREAL, I did a lot of my shopping in Los Angeles at the top of the show, then did even more on- line and locally within Vancouver." Summers says she continually shops throughout the production process. They also rent specialty pieces such as police uniforms from local costume companies. CULTURE CLUB Pubs, cafés offer cosy comfort C6 BARD'S OTHELLO GETS CIVIL Shakespeare classic given a twist C5 YOU Glamorous garb for 'onscreen' characters and utilitarian clothing for those behind the scenes are needed on the set of UnREAL. S E R G E I B A C H L A KO V V A N C O U V E R S U N T U E S D A Y , J U L Y 5 , 2 0 1 6 S E C T I O N C Cynthia Summers Costumer recounts challenges of outfitting B.C.-shot reality TV spoof's popular characters STYLE On-set S E E U N R E A L O N C3 VAN01233631_1_1 CD Cynthia Summers CD Courtney Hoff- man just wrapped her directing debut, a feminist Western called The Good Time Girls, starring Laura Dern, Alia Shawkat, Annalise Basso, and Garret Dillahunt. After costume design- ing in the genre for four years, Hoffman got to explore an un- heard voice for the women of the era. The piece centers on a trio of women who hunt down the gang of outlaws who destroyed their lives. It was shot on 35mm fi lm and is entirely department headed by women, including CD Anastasia Magoutas, Hoffman's ACD of four years. The short fi lm was being made through the AFI Women's Directing Workshop and a grant by Women in Sundance and Refi n- ery 29's Shatterbox Anthology. The Good Time Girls In the spring 2016 issue, the fi lm Equals should have been cred- ited: Costume Design by Abby O'Sullivan and Alana Morshead. BFN - CORRECTION