Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541402
30 • THE ARTISAN WINTER 2026 PHOTOS COURTESY OF FOCUS FEATURES B Y T O R S T E N W I T T E H A I R A N D M A K E - U P D E S I G N E R REFLECTIONS OF BUGONIA L ike anyone else would be, I was thrilled to get the call to design hair and make-up for Bugonia, a film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and shot in England. From the start, thanks to an introduction by Emma Stone, my first meeting felt incredibly warm and relaxed—a great beginning when stepping into a new collaboration with a director of Yorgos's caliber. I've had the pleasure of working with Emma on La La Land, Battle of the Sexes, and the U.S. reshoots for Cruella. Knowing your leading actor in advance is a huge advantage—it gives you insight into what they're comfortable with and what direction you might explore visually for the character. I'd also heard nothing but great things about Jesse Plemons, and I was genuinely excited to be part of the creative team bringing these unique characters to life. Working on a film with a message is always meaningful, and Bugonia instantly sparked something in me. e script was not only bold but also deeply rooted in themes of environmental awareness. It reminded me how vital it is that we treat our planet with the utmost care and respect— and how storytelling can help inspire that awareness. Having a long-standing friendship with costume designer Jennifer Johnson made our creative collaboration seamless from the start. ere was also a wonderful openness in our dialogue with production designer James Price and cinematographer Robbie Ryan. From the very beginning, we were all building a shared vision with Yorgos for what Bugonia would become. We were especially excited to explore Yorgos's take on creating an extraterrestrial world—one that felt grounded, surreal, and slightly uncanny. What he created is unmistakably his own world, full of nuance, originality, and surreal edge. Jesse and Aidan's characters are conspiracy theorists and beekeepers, and Aidan had the kind of hair you dream about as a hair designer. I immediately wanted to visually connect them. Jesse and Yorgos embraced the idea, and we decided to add micro-extensions to Jesse's hair since a wig wouldn't give us the realism we needed. Zoe Hoskin, a long-trusted friend and collaborator, was the perfect person to take on the challenge of helping me transform Jesse into Teddy. Her work blending the finest glue-in extensions into Jesse's very short crew cut was meticulous and kind of magical. We really couldn't have done it without her. Jesse's hair—Teddy's hair—were incredibly important to me, to Jesse, and to Yorgos. We all wanted Jesse to fully become Teddy. He came in with a clean, preppy crew cut, but it was immediately clear we needed something else. Teddy felt like the kind of guy who hadn't had a real haircut in a few years and probably only washed his hair once a week, if that—yet still had a certain coolness about him. Something believable for a conspiracy theorist, a midwestern beekeeper, someone who might've once surfed or gone off-grid. We pulled references from '90s grunge and added a touch of bohemian surfer. at layered, lived-in length ended up tying Teddy and Don together perfectly—two characters with strong visual identities, grounded in their hair. Bugonia really is a film where hair and sto rytelling are inseparable.