Despite a four-decade career as a costume designer, Sandy Powell has only ever done one film in black-and-white: “Wonderstruck” with director Todd Haynes. But she would do another one in a heartbeat. “It was the first and only time I’ve done black-and-white. I’d like to do it again because it’s really interesting,” Powell said, speaking at SCAD Savannah Film Festival.
Powell, the recipient of Variety’s Creative Impact in Costume Design award, was in conversation with senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay discussing her start with director Derek Jarman, working with Martin Scorsese, Haynes and how she approaches films.
But Powell admitted the 2017 film was something she found “quite difficult.” The three-time Oscar winner says, “Color is so important to me and I often start with color, so the thought of actually eliminating the color was quite difficult.” Her solution? If there was a fabric she wanted to use, she would take a photo and turn it into black-and-white to see what it looked like.
Powell also worked closely with the film’s cinematographer Ed Lachman. She said, “He told me, ‘It would be much better to have textures, and high contrast because that works well in black and white.’”
Through that process, Powell spent time looking at tone, texture and pattern rather than color. “Red doesn’t work very well,” she said.
Powell, who had spent the morning in a masterclass with SCAD students, shared her story of starting out in the industry at 23.
Inspired by Luchino Visconti‘s 1971 film “Death in Venice,” Powell was in awe of Piero Tosi’s costumes. But it was dancer and choreographer Lindsay Kemp, who worked with David Bowie, who would change her life. Powell knew she wanted to be a part of this world.
Working with Kemp, Powell met Derek Jarman. After taking the aspiring costume designer under his wing, he gave Powell a job on his 1986 film “Caravaggio.”
Powell recalls, “I didn’t realize it at the time but working on a Derek Jarman film is not the same as working on other films. It was quite a different experience. It was the same way as I’d worked in the theater, where you do a bit of everything.”
It was a collaborative effort with people who were set painting also coming in to help make costumes, and actors ironing their own costumes. Powell says, “I thought that was how it worked.”
Powell became Jarman’s go-to costume designer. She would also become a close collaborator with directors including Neil Jordan, Haynes and Martin Scorsese. “They all provide so much information and so many visuals at the beginning that it’s incredible, and it’s an inspiring place to start.”
Powell also talked about her experiences working on Scorsese’s “Hugo,” and says the film’s set was extraordinary. “It had one of the biggest lighting rigs ever in a London studio, and the whole station was built.” She adds, “We had hundreds of extras every day and the film was set in the winter. All these extras were in original 1920s clothing. The wool was thick and heavy with coats, scarves and gloves, and we shot through the summer. It was boiling.”
The upcoming Sony Pictures Classic release “Living” is Powell’s latest project and is garnering Oscar-buzz for the costume designer. The Bill Nighy film set in post-war London was set in an office full of men in suits. Says Powell who is no stranger to designing men in suits, often hundreds at a time said, “On one hand, it’s a uniform, but you’re faced with the challenge of making each one different and giving each one a character.”
She added the bowler hats came via Lock Hatters in London. “All of the bowler hats for the principles were made to measure because everyone has completely different shape heads.” She added, “If they don’t fit properly, they look comical, so the actors had to have these contraptions put on their heads.”
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