CDG - The Costume Designer

Jack Kasbarian wccmail@westerncostume.com 818-760-0900 The Head Master Tailor and a welcome presence at Western Costume Co. for 36 years, Jack Kasbarian started his fi rst job at 12 years old in a small tailoring shop in Lebanon. It wasn't until he turned 16 that he fell in love with it and began to learn the business of tailoring. "Over the years, I've worked with too many designers to name and I wouldn't want to leave anyone out," he declares. However, he names the astro- naut suits he made for Jeff Goldblum and Liam Hemsworth for Inde- pendence Day: Resurgence as his favorite project. "It was challenging because of the fabrics used and the attention to detail." For multiples, he makes a unique pattern for size gradation that is both challenging and time consuming. In truth, there's really nothing Kasbarian and his talented staff can't make, from swashbuckling doublets to blow your mind futuristic suiting. Kasbarian loves when actors arrive for a fi tting and they remember him from other projects they've done together. "My biggest reward is when I see the smile on the faces of the designer and actor. It doesn't hurt when I see my work on the big screen and can tell my family, 'I made that.'" Serj Kazarian suitsbyserj.com 818-845-2800 After many years of working for major studios, including head tailor at 20th Century Fox for several years, Serj Kazarian opened his own shop in Burbank in 2008. Located in the boutique Magnolia Park area, Serj Costumes & Tailoring is his dream come true. From the very beginning of his studies in Armenia, Kazarian's goal was to be a tailor. While he attended tailoring courses at college, he simultaneously trained at a private shop, learning from the many gifted sartors. Moving to Los An- geles in the late '90s, he found work in shops, including Italian master tailor Dominic Gherardi's Cotroneo, but it was tailor Anthony Gaspari of Hollywood who introduced him to studio work. Kazarian is well known for fi ne men's custom suiting, fi t to perfection, but his favorite costume was the blue survival jackets for Star Trek Beyond. It exemplifi es one of the reasons he decided to open his own shop focused around his desire to get away from the high ratio of alterations at at the big studios, and do more interesting custom work. "Collaborations with costume designers is always stimulating and rewarding to me," says Kazarian. When you work with designers like Sanja Hays, Ruth E. Carter, Marlene Stewart, and Mary Zophres. "What's not to love?" It takes years of training to hone the skills of a master tailor, but Kazarian's discriminating artist's eye is innate. "Tailoring is a form of art and I love to help create art." to get away from the high ratio of alterations at at the big studios, and do more interesting custom work. "Collaborations with costume designers is always stimulating and rewarding to me," says Kazarian. When you work with designers like Sanja Hays, Ruth E. Carter, Marlene Stewart, "C s co u s w s imul w d • ," s s Kaz i- . Wƒ n … w k s like S- ja H s, RŒ h E. C t , M " ne St• t, M y Zop™ š , "W› t's ž • loŸ ?" Photo: Western Costume Co.

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