Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/680832
18 The Costume Designer Spring 2016 "I didn't find Costume Design," Ruth Carter says. "Costume Design found me." But if you were to attribute Carter's expansive career to luck, that assumption would disregard that a critical component of good fortune is knowing what to do with it. There was certainly the external impetus—a serendipitous query from her pro- fessor to create costumes for a production in which she was not cast as an actress. But the way Carter caught the ball lobbed in her direction set off a chain of events, whose effect she still feels today. There was no costume curriculum at Hampton University in Virginia. Undeterred, Carter boldly made her own syllabus through the fashion, music, and theatre departments. There, she became known as the go-to Costume Designer on campus and was asked to design every project, from dance to musical theatre. Upon graduation, Carter wanted to beef up her formal education and diligently sought internships. She strategically chose one in Tanglewood, Massachusetts, the theatrical haven, which came with a stipend and a free apartment. Next, after a season at Stage West in Springfield, her hometown, she followed a recommenda- tion across the country to Santa Fe Opera. "I had little holes in my fingers from all the hand sewing, but I loved it," she says of the experience. When Carter finally made her way to Los Angeles, she worked as the assistant costume designer at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, which ran five shows simultaneously. She landed her first paid gig when she offered her services to a choreographer who didn't have a Costume Designer. Before she knew it, Carter was touring the country with the dance company and creating all of their costumes. In another bit of synchronicity, she met director Spike Lee at an intermission and her focus shifted to film. BY ANNA WYCKOFF Illustration by Grace Kelsey. All photos: Steve Diet/HISTORY.