Podcast Summary

Podcast: All Of It

Host: Alison Stewart
Guest: Trish Summerville, Costume Designer
Episode Title: Dressing for the 'Hunger Games' with Costume Designer Trish Summerville
Date: November 21, 2023

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the costume design of "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" with acclaimed designer Trish Summerville. Ten years after her work on "Catching Fire," Summerville returns to the franchise to craft a world bridging dystopian fantasy and mid-century Americana. The discussion explores her creative process, the politics of fashion within the Hunger Games universe, and the collaborative art of filmmaking. Specific costumes, design challenges, and the links between onscreen visuals and deeper narrative themes are central to the conversation.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Trish Summerville’s Creative Process

• Initial Approach
  • Summerville’s starting steps include reviewing the director’s previous works and source material.

    “If I don't already know the director and their body of work, I definitely look at that … then I grab the book and start reading the book … and then going through the script.” — Trish Summerville (02:32)

Balancing Fantasy and Period Authenticy

• Integrating Imagination and History

  • Unlike strict period films, fantasy allows more imaginative freedom, blending inspiration (Americana ‘40s-‘50s) with “a futuristic twist.”

    “With period films. I do a lot of research on the actual history … With fantasy … we could kind of play with it a bit, have things look period, but then put kind of a futuristic twist on it.” — Trish Summerville (03:00)

• Example: Tigress’s Costume

  • Inspired by 1940s designer Lily Ann, then exaggerated (shoulder pads, outward seams, airbrushed for faded effect) for a lived-in and futuristic vibe.

    “…extended the shoulders and raised the shoulders … really intense shoulder pads … sewed the seams outward instead of inward so that they look a bit frayed.” — Trish Summerville (04:11)
    “We went in and airbrushed all the edges … so that it looked like it was maybe originally a really dark fuchsia. But she'd had this fabric for so long that it had faded.” (04:21)

Designing Iconic Costumes: Lucy Gray’s Rainbow Dress

• Challenge & Process
  • The book/script mandated a “rainbow ruffle dress with pockets,” her mother’s heirloom. Summerville, not favoring multi-color, emphasized authenticity and practicality.

    “I'm not big on a lot of color and definitely not multiple colors together. So that was a design challenge … I wanted it to look like an heirloom … really giving it a lot of aging and distressing … so it didn’t look like this bright, flashy, brand new dress...” — Trish Summerville (06:04)

  • Multiple versions were created for the film's shooting schedule and Lucy’s physical action sequences.

    “For us shooting it. She wore this dress for weeks … I made it in several pieces … we had to make 10 of those pieces so that we had enough to cover all the stages of it getting distressed. And then enough for Rachel and enough for her stuntwoman.” (08:01)

The Importance of Detail: Buttons and Collaborations

• On the Power of Small Details

  • Recalling how significant close-up details (like buttons) become onscreen; inspiration from Luis Sequeira (“Nightmare Alley”).

    “A lot of people now watch things on their phone, but you know, I love film ... looks fine right now, but when it's the size of a house, you know, how are we going to feel?” — Trish Summerville (09:41)

  • Example: Snow’s shirt buttons, handmade and mirrored in the set design for continuity.

    “In the story … Tigress has remade his father's shirt. … she pulls these tiles from the wall to make him…these buttons … we hand cast and hand painted all these buttons … I brought it to the production designer ... so he could incorporate it into the wall in Snow's bathroom.” (10:12)

• Interdepartmental Synergy

  • On film, departments must collaborate closely (costume, sets, props, stunts).

    “You gotta talk to the production designer, you have to talk to the stunt people, because ... her double needs to be able to run in it … I love being part of a tribe of people that want to tell a story.” — Trish Summerville (11:33)

Nods to Franchise Continuity and Character Evolution

• President Snow’s Suits and Signature Rose
  • Donald Sutherland’s original boutonniere and the symbolic rose are echoed in young Snow’s wardrobe.

    “When [Donald Sutherland] came in, he brought this boutonniere … that’s what he put the rose in … for Tom's character … have that representation of the rose which the grandmother grows.” — Trish Summerville (13:17)

  • Young Snow’s evolution shown through stronger silhouettes and color links, including an overcoat echoing past films.

    “Towards the end, I really wanted to bring in this silhouette of these really strong shoulders, this long overcoat, … the same kind … in the Catching Fire film.” (14:10)

Viola Davis’s Character: Dr. Gaul and the Blood-Red Gloves

• Designing for Iconic Presence and Symbolism
  • The lab coat is dip-dyed to appear as if soaked in blood, the gloves add a sinister edge to Dr. Gaul’s presence.

    “Her lab coat … look as if, like, blood was just draining down … I was really into these red latex gloves. … these red gloves are so off-putting that … it really worked with the whole thing of being in the lab.” — Trish Summerville (15:11)

  • The gloves unexpectedly became a fan favorite even among the crew.

    “Even the producer, Nina Jacobson wanted the gloves … of all the things you designed. You're like, really? It's the gloves that everybody wants.” (16:52)

The Politics of Fashion in The Hunger Games

• Visualizing Social Hierarchy and Power

  • Costumes highlight divisions between Capitol and districts, and the pre-brutality happiness of District 12.

    “We try … to really show all the levels of what is still existing, has always existed … levels of society and caste systems … wanted to show the happiness in District 12 before … so many years of the brutality of the Hunger Games.” — Trish Summerville (17:23)

  • Capitol: strict, communistic, controlled style; Districts: colorful, connected to nature, hand-crafted details.

    “…keeping the Capitol much more communistic, much more strict and much more classic in fashion and controlled and contained.” (18:27)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the challenge of Lucy Gray’s rainbow dress:

  “It will live for time and all eternity if it chooses to, you know, so … that one was quite a challenge to get around.” — Trish Summerville (06:54)

• On trusting her own vision and fan expectations:

  “Number one, I have to be true to myself and be really satisfied with the design because it. It will live for time and all eternity if it chooses to.” — Trish Summerville (06:40)

• On collaboration in filmmaking:

  “I think that's what I love about filmmaking … I don't want to work in isolation. I love being part of a tribe of people that want to tell a story.” — Trish Summerville (11:53)

• On using color for symbolism:

  “A lot of directors don't like red because it does really pull your eye, and it kind of can steal a scene if it's not used appropriately. … I wanted her lab coat to look as if, like, blood was just draining down.” — Trish Summerville (15:15)

Important Timestamps

• 02:32 – Summerville on her process for starting new projects
• 04:11 – Example of period-futuristic mashup in Tigress’ costume
• 06:04–08:37 – Designing and managing Lucy Gray’s rainbow dress
• 09:41 – The significance of costume details (buttons)
• 10:12 – Snow’s handmade shirt buttons and production designer collaboration
• 11:33 – Insights on interdepartmental work
• 13:17 – Young President Snow’s costumes and connections to the original trilogy
• 15:11 – Designing Dr. Gaul’s lab look and red gloves
• 17:23 – Costuming as a political and world-building act

Tone and Final Thoughts

The conversation is thoughtful and enthusiastic, reflecting both Summerville’s passion for her craft and her respect for the collaborative nature of film production. The episode offers an engaging, insider look at how costume design shapes narrative, evokes social commentary, and leaves a lasting cultural impression.

“I want it to just be this beautiful story that you can look at and you're enraptured in the whole story. And then later you might think, like, oh, that dress was really cool because of this.” — Trish Summerville (12:24)