Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535749
42 • THE ARTISAN SUMMER 2025 What was it like collaborating with Ryan and Ian Brennan throughout the project? It was super helpful to have their input. I would collect pictures and send them and they would give me quick responses so my team and I could move forward prepping wigs and haircuts/styles. What did your preparation and research process look like? We scoured the internet of course, looking for all we could find, as well as what the writers and creators found and shared. When the actors were hired, I quickly figured out if they would need a wig or if we could cut and color. I worked closely with Rob Pickens, Ryans' main wigmaker—he would jump in and make it all happen pretty fast. Ari Graynor as Leslie Abramson HAIR Continued from page 40 Sevigny Bardem Was there anything you discovered that felt super impactful to your view of these characters? Finding out that Lyle wore a toupee, realizing how he must have felt being forced to wear one and that it made him pretty insecure—I really had no idea. I remember the case when it all went down in the '80s but didn't know a lot about it. You've mentioned that you grew up in LA during the '80s, around the time these events occurred. How did living through that time help inform your work on this series? I think growing up in the era helped me design the reality of the looks. Some shows make the '80s too perfect and shiny, but living through it, there was nothing shiny! More raw hair and a lot of perms—even men had perms. Of course, we had to tame the frizz for camera because it could be pretty distracting. The 1980s are iconic for their big, sometimes bad (in retrospect) hair. How did you approach staying faithful to that time period while also creating looks that aligned with the tone of the series? I know for the boys, Ryan wanted them to come off as Hollywood stars to add to the story. So, we tested some looks and figured out more subdued but classic versions of what they had. With the women like Judalon and Leslie, we went big but not over-the-top. Leslie Abramson had quite frizzy hair, so I tried to get it close but not distracting. Hair is such an important way these characters are perceived— whether it's Lyle's toupee or Leslie's iconic hair—what was that like to explore as a department head hair? Honestly, the challenge was exciting to me. Really fun to recreate the looks but still keep it real and hopefully, not too crazy looking. Finding pictures and sorting through good and bad was fun for me and my whole team. Some of the cast members have mentioned how supportive and comforting you were to them throughout the intense shoot—what was it like collaborating with this cast? My first and foremost process is to connect with the actors and make them feel at home in our trailer. The boys—Cooper Koch and Nicholas Chavez—were so into the look. Working with them was so much fun because of their enthusiasm. When they had intense scenes, they would get into their character while in my chair. Being a mom, I quickly went into Mom mode just trying to be comforting but not disturb their process. With Chloë and Javier, they were both very open to recreating the looks for Kitty and Jose. I think the transformation for Javier was so important for him and we would really let him fill the trailer with Jose vibes. Scary but amazing to watch his character come alive! All in all, every single actor/actress that came to us was so excited to work on this project. It really made it so much fun for me and my extremely talented team of Brittany Madrigal, Elissa Ruminer, Ånalyn Cruz, Taschi Lynell, and Kaity Lucina and so many more who brought the background to life in the '80s. There wasn't a day when we weren't brainstorming and creating and having fun doing it.