Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1400536
"We ng a place w e s m e p f om ." But it is not just more creative in uence Toy- bina is after. She also intends to leverage her newfound platform to raise awareness and respect for the costume designers as a whole, as well as advancing their initiatives. Pay eq- uity is a priority, so is working toward giving designers more control over their intellectual property. "We create and design from nothing," she says. After overseeing this process from concept to construction, she questions the con- clusion, "all of a sudden, you part ways with ev- ery idea you've created." While she understands presently contracts are work-for-hire, Toybina envisions a diff erent future where she and other costume designers can say, "This is my design. This is my character. This is my work. I will part- ner up with you but you will not have 100 percent ownership. That's the truth of it." There is another truth too for costume designers she is quick to point out. she is quick to point out. She and her team create elaborate, technical- ly brilliant, and amusing costumesthink a dragon, mushroom, or chameleonto disguise celebrity singers in a game of "guess who." In each episode, one singer is eliminated and un- masked. But another identity is also revealed, the person behind the transformation. Toybina's commitment to her art is matched only by her resolve to bring about the increased respect the profession deserves. She is among the few designers with both costume and pro- ducing credits, following in the footsteps of Lou Eyrich, who fi rst earned that distinction on Ryan Murphy's American Crime Story in 2018. "Lou's career and her progression have been such a huge inspiration," Toybina says. "We are getting to a place where designers have more power and freedom." These are hard-won gains she hopes to build upon to help others. "There is room for us to progress, for our voices to be more than just what we put on paper or pro- duce out of fabric." Always chasing the next horizon, Toybina is quick to acknowledge the journey is a group ef- fort. She refers to herself and her team as one. She hopes if the tide is rising, the crew helping steer the ship would be lifted with her. Case in point: For Season 6 of The Masked Singer, she helped secure a co-costume design credit for her assistant designer, Gabrielle Letamendi. Toybina is unabashed about her ambitions. When asked how the producing credit came about, she said she requested it. "I haven't had the easiest story, and everything I've done since I was fi fteen was based on getting better, push- ing forward, sacrifi cing to stick to my dream. I've earned the right to ask. I've earned that right to grow and I would like to open up those doors for other costume designers." 33