CDG - The Costume Designer

12 THE COSTUME DESIGNER | FALL 2021 y onnie ipar "Ne r w k im s ild n. " W.C. Fields' advice wasn't just part of his grumpy persona, he knew audiences gravitate to the adorable actors. ot only can they steal every scene, their nature is in a word unpredictable. We spoke to three costume designers about their experiences with young thespians. Catherine Adair's show, The Mysterious Benedict Society, premiered on Disney in June 2021. Soyon An has won a Daytime Emmy for Julie and the Phantoms, as has Cynthia Sum- mers for her work on The Baby-Sitters Club. They give us a glimpse of what it is like working with a pint-sized cast with powerhouse energy. G k Chic Catherine Adair The Mysterious Benedict Society As the showrunners requested, I started with the original illustrations in the book and used them as a springboard. What I love about the story is that none of the children have superpowers. What we celebrate instead is their ac- cessible, quirky, and unique personalities. My team and I strove to build this into their costumes. We used a con- trolled color palette, mixed textures, and prints, with sub- tle aging and distressing to highlight the enchanting yet comfortably worn qualities of the world. This served as a counterbalance to the very considered and tightly drawn production design. The big challenge was the unexpect- edly long timeframe. I started prep in February 2019 and wrapped a full year later, at the end of January 2020. Everyone grew And because of COID and schooling, each young actor had two to four on-camera pho- to doubles and at least one stunt dou- ble. o clothes were shared according to protocols. Keeping the proportions believable across the many and slightly diff erent body types was an added wrinkle, not to mention all the shoes. We ended up with a giant bin of hand-painted high-top sneakers for the character, Kate Wether- all, for example, that just kept getting bigger and bigger. We had to be really resourceful. Her green hat was knitted remotely by a Canadian gran- ny we found on Etsy. I work the same way with all my actors regardless of their age. es, some love to spend hours in fi ttings, oth- ers, not so much. But I usually fi nd my young performers are excited, prepared, and engaged. This was especial- ly true on The Mysterious Benedict Society. My starting point for the character is always the same: Who are they? How will the costume transform them? How will it help them tell the story? The big challenge was the unexpect- edly long timeframe. I started prep in February 2019 and wrapped a full year later, at the end of January 2020. Everyone grew And because 2020. Everyone grew And because of COID and schooling, each young of COID and schooling, each young actor had two to four on-camera pho- to doubles and at least one stunt dou- ble. o clothes were shared according to protocols. Keeping the proportions believable across the many and slightly diff erent body types was an added wrinkle, not to mention all the shoes. We ended up with a giant bin of hand-painted high-top sneakers for the character, Kate Wether- sneakers for the character, Kate Wether- sneakers for the character, Kate Wether- sneakers for the character, Kate Wether- sneakers for the character, Kate Wether- all, for example, that just kept getting bigger all, for example, that just kept getting bigger all, for example, that just kept getting bigger all, for example, that just kept getting bigger all, for example, that just kept getting bigger and bigger. We had to be really resourceful. Her and bigger. We had to be really resourceful. Her green hat was knitted remotely by a Canadian gran- green hat was knitted remotely by a Canadian gran- I work the same way with all my actors regardless of their age. es, some love to spend hours in fi ttings, oth- their age. es, some love to spend hours in fi ttings, oth- ers, not so much. But I usually fi nd my young performers are excited, prepared, and engaged. This was especial- The Mysterious Benedict Society. My starting The Mysterious Benedict Society. My starting The Mysterious Benedict Society point for the character is always the same: Who are they? How will the costume transform them? How will it help Mystic Inscho as Reynie Muldoon Photos: The Mysterious Benedict Society, Disney

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