Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1531371
2 SPRING 2025 EDITOR'S LETTER EDITOR'S LETTER Dear readers, Thank you for joining us for this second issue of The Costumer Quarterly! We're excited to share the magic of film and television costume production with you, whether you're a member or an enthusiast. This issue is particularly exciting as we feature one of the newest branches of our cra: Specialty Costuming. Our Basic Agreement contract defines Specialty Costuming as "the making and construction of the clothing, using foam, wire, plastic, cloth, leather, etc., for creature- type costumes to be worn by performers, such as versions of animals, plant life, futuristic and Star Wars-type creatures." The inclusion of Star Wars as a touchstone for this cra shows how new it is. 1977 may seem like a long time ago, but the making of garments is as old as humanity itself, and costumes in performance have been part of world cultures for thousands of years. So, a mere 50 years is new indeed. "Specialty" costumes were around in the early days of film, of course. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) is an early example, and probably one of the first. In the 1960s, Star Trek contained iconic specialty costumes designed by William Ware Theiss and inspired decades of imaginative looks on the big screen and the small. The world of costumes shied significantly with Marvel's Iron Man in 2008. Though superhero movies had been around for decades and comic book aficionados like me had avidly consumed them, Iron Man catapulted the genre into mainstream in a way even Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man had been unable to achieve. Reading my comic books in the '80s, I would never have imagined that one day I could find superhero merchandise in every store. The meteoric popularity of superhero, science fiction, and fantasy motion pictures has generated thousands of jobs for innovative and imaginative Costumers who turn ideas into reality. And those costumes fly out into the world as cosplays, fan art, and endless merchandising opportunities, generating billions of dollars. Neither the Costume Designer or the Local 705 artisans get a share of the Halloween costumes, action figures, or tchotchkes that feature their work, but next time you look at those things, please take a moment to appreciate the artistry of the people who puzzled out the paern or molded the mask or dyed that perfect color cape. They are the wizards who bring your favorite characters to life. In solidarity, Adam M. Nestra-West Editor-in-Chief Costum Costum Q UA R T E R LY The The EXECUTIVE BOARD PRESIDENT Ariel Goodman-Weston VICE PRESIDENT A. Jeffrey Schoenberg SECRETARY-TREASURER Angi Ursea BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVE Adam M. Nestra-West ASST BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVE Julia Bly REPRESENTATIVES MEMBER-AT-LARGE Melanie Powell MEN'S FINISHED Leo Castro WOMEN'S FINISHED Cecilia Hoggard MEN'S CUSTOM MADE Elizabeth Estervig WOMEN'S CUSTOM MADE Yuan "Anne" Hua Thueson COSTUME HOUSE CUSTOM MADE Corey Martin COSTUME HOUSE Darby Godfrey COMMERCIAL Adrian Gilliland SPECIALTY CUSTOM MADE Gina Scarnati SERGEANT-AT-ARMS Erin Wenrick Publisher INGLEDODD MEDIA Advertising INGLEDODD MEDIA 310.207.4410 MPC@INGLEDODD.COM WWW.INGLEDODDMEDIA.COM Official Craft Journal of the Motion Picture Costumers IATSE Local 705