Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1256324
26 • THE ARTISAN SPRING 2020 Top: Bill (Joshua Jackson) with some of the teens. Middle: Linda (Rosemarie DeWitt); Bebe (Huang Lu). Bottom: Trip; Pearl. Photos by Erin Simkin/Hulu In 2018, I department-headed Big Little Lies, Season 2, and Hello Sunshine, Ms. Witherspoon's production company, was one of the producing teams on the project. I remember what an incredible experience I had on that gig, so I decided to take the job. I begin to read and break down scripts. I started pulling images of what hair was like in the '90s to build my collages to present to production. I had images of Joshua Jackson, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Jason Priestly, James Van Der Beek, and many other '90s icons you can think of in my presentation. At my first meeting, our showrunner Liz Tigelaar mentioned a fashion catalogue from the '90s called dELIAs, so I did a little research and let's just say, no further research needed. I still have 20,000 butterfly clips in assorted colors, and about 5,000 scrunchies in my arsenal. For the Richardsons, we know they have money, Elena and Lexie can go into the salon every four weeks for a cut and color. When Izzy burns her hair off, Elena takes her to a high-end salon for haircut. I'm sure the Richardson boys were at the salon every two weeks for cuts as well. Growing up in the '80s, I remember being inspired by music, I loved Duran Duran and Depeche Mode so I'd try and copy their hair styles and fashion. So, I'm positive these kids were inspired by Clueless, MTV, Dawson's Creek, 90210, or any of these iconic shows or musicians that were popular at the time. I'm sure they constantly read Teen, Seventeen, BOP, or any of those teeny-bopper magazines. There is a scene in LFE where the Richardson kids are watching The Real World on MTV, and in one episode, Lexie and her friends go to a Halloween party dressed as the Spice Girls. To this day, I feel that teens continue to copy their favorite celebrities' fashion tips and hair styles. For Pearl Warren, we figured they don't have much money, they're always on the go, they don't stay in one place too long, so we went with braids. We thought possibly her mother, Mia, braids her hair. They don't have the luxury of going to the shop every four weeks. Some of Lexie's fashion sense starts to rub off on Pearl the closer they become. Pearl's hair goes natural, she begins to wear head bands, butterfly clips, and other hair accessories. For Linda McCullough, Elena's best friend, we all pictured her in the Rachel cut. What a coincidence that Rosemarie DeWitt, playing Linda, goes to the man that made the Rachel cut infamous, Chris McMillan, for her haircuts, so I had him cut Ms. DeWitt's hair. I can't take credit for that one! Bebe Chow, played by Huang Lu, really had no money. We would give her a bad, uneven haircut using utility scissors, and then Lu would cut her own bangs for authenticity. I had an amazing department, SherriAnn Cole was my key, Zulma Zamora was my 3rd. These women kicked butt and really made these '90s styles look authentic. I couldn't have done this without them. Thank you, ladies. Thank you to Marva Stokes and Jennifer Petrovich for doing such amazing work and research for our homecoming dance and our high school scenes. And thank all my Local 706 brothers and sisters who helped us bring the '90s to life. Thank you, Cindy Williams and her make-up team, Liz Villamarin and Keiko Wedding, for always collaborating and for really being a team. Thank you, Lyn Paolo, costume designer, and her team for your collaboration as well. Thank you, Lona Vigi, Ms. Witherspoon's personal hair stylist, and Linda Villalobos, Ms. Washington's personal hair stylist. You guys rock. •