Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1531371
MOTIONPICTUREC O S T U M E R S .O R G 45 practically lit up. Her skirt lit up. It worked out and it arrived, and then we figured out how to hide all the battery packs. That was the most different thing I had done in a long time, just figuring that out. We were very brave, we would just pull out the strands because it all comes from a central light that shone down the fibers so you can't cut through it. You had to be very careful. If you cut it a certain way, it would die. What techniques or skills did you use for this production that you don't get to use as oen? MADSEN: We got to go back to basics and do couture. It was the most couture Marvel has ever been. I've made street clothes for a lot of characters, like Agent 13 and Maria Hill, but this gave us a chance to do more couture costumes. Agatha's blouse is just beautiful. Emma [Agajani] sat there for days working on these tiny pin tucks that were just gorgeous. It was the joy of going back to couture, which you don't really get to do at Marvel. What does your average day look like on production? MADSEN: Well, an average day is: Get up at 4 am; get to work by 6:30 am, crew starts at 7 am. I was taught by the women at NBC that as the Manufacturing Foreperson, you are there a half-hour before your team and are there to greet them and have the plan for the day. That's what you do. And you work 10 hours minimum, but it depends. The budgets these days are just so challenging. We didn't have too many long, long days because of budgetary restrictions but 10 hours for sure, some 12s, but they were managing it the best they could. What were some significant challenges you and your team overcame in the process of production? MADSEN: It's always a process. It's finding the right fabric and this is the fabric that really works. And then a challenge was because of the expanse of the coat Daniel wanted. There's all those runes on the inside of the coat which you don't really see too much in the show, but it's been revealed in the Marvel Studios' Assembled: The Making of Agatha All Along. In order for those runes to happen, they had to be sublimation printed which means they were on a synthetic lining that wasn't really as nice of a lining. It was slidey, and it was really a challenge for my First Hand, Katherine Hoang, to cut out for us because it came printed, and then we had to stabilize it. And I would say the biggest challenge was actually getting the lining of the coat to install properly. What about this project was important for you to want to work on it? MADSEN: It was important for several reasons. It was the culmination of a long career in Hollywood. From the days of the beginning of my career, I feel like Hollywood has changed in the last 45 years. I was Lucille Ball's last dressmaker. I did Whitney [Houston] in The Bodyguard. I've done many shows out of my garage. I've done a lot of iconic work, and just to finally go, "Okay, it's time to go." I had Runes were printed on the inside lining of the Agatha Coat; (right) Katherine Hoang, Emma Agajani, Adrienne Martinez, Klara Farberov at work on the lining.