CDG - The Costume Designer

37 ACD AIN PMANN S u s a n M a t h e s on , Ad a m M c K a y & E l a in e Perl m an n "I adm t I y didn't w t ACD did l I t Ela e," explains costume designer Susan Mathe son. "I vividly remember staying at the o ce on Talladega Nights until two or three in the morning designing the NA SCA racing suits for the fi lm." When her costume supervisor, Dana art, told her she needed an assistant, Matheson balked. "I argued with her because I had no idea how one could possibly help me." It wasn't until they were prepping the fi lm SemiPro that her supervisor insisted, so she hired laine Perlmann. "She was an overnight miracle," Matheson enthus es. "We immediately became a cohesive team." or the fi rst time ever on a shoot, she noticed she was getting some sleep. "She knows I have a tendency to stay up until the wee hours looking for obscure garments from foreign lands." Perlmann's solution was to lock Matheson's computer in the o ce. Clearly, the two were a perfect match and have been a team ever since. Perlmann has been working in costume for years, and with Matheson since . n their recent collaboration, a Net ix original feature called Don't ook p, they were on location in oston, Massachusetts. ike so many others in our industry, they had to deal with all the challenges involved in production during the CID pandemic. The added protocols make teamwork vital and the need for an ACD even more critical. The week prep time for the project still proved demanding. "Setting up the de partment, getting studio accounts, and actor fi ttings, everything took longer than usual," says Perlmann. "I strongly recom mend asking for more prep time." rom shopping to returns, Perlmann had to be prepared for delays in shipping or lack of stock. Additionally, she set up a fulltime crew to process return deadlines. "Safe ty protocols, oom meetings, and CID testing take priority over your daily work load," she explains. "Net ix's CID poli cy was to put all the actors in the bubble eight days before they started working. Production told us when we had to fi t actors based on their seuester. We did their fi rst fi tting the day before they went into the bubble, and the second fi tting the day before they were on set. CID weight gain was pretty standard," Perl mann notes. "ecause of this timeline, it was critical to get accurate sizes and measurements. We started shopping and pulling in their size and also two sizes up to be covered." y Ivy Thaide

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