Fashion People — “Red Hot & Behind the Seams”
Date: November 28, 2025
Host: Lauren Sherman
Guests:
- Ruth E. Carter (“Sinners”)
- Paul Tazewell (“Wicked: For Good”)
- Malgosia Terzanska (“Hamnet”)
- Kate Holly (“Frankenstein”)
Overview
In this special Oscars-edition episode, Lauren Sherman welcomes four top costume designers from this year’s most buzzed-about films — “Wicked: For Good,” “Hamnet,” “Frankenstein,” and “Sinners.” The conversation dives into the artistry, process, and collaboration that define their work, with a surprisingly passionate focus on one color: red. They discuss historical references, balancing period accuracy with cinematic fantasy, director-actor collaboration, and personal highlights from their films.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
The Significance of Red in Costume Design
Main Theme:
The color red emerged as a “common denominator” across all four films — symbolizing everything from life, passion, fire, and blood, to grounding the viewer’s eye within the cinematic frame.
- Ruth E. Carter (06:42): “I knew you were going to ask that [about red]. Because it seems to be the common denominator.”
- Paul Tazewell (07:26, 08:18): Describes how red is reserved for narrative impact in “Wicked,” especially for the poppies and Mrs. Throp: “I reserved using it because I wanted for the poppies to resonate, you know, so Mrs. Throp is red… the poppies on the wizard's dressing gown are red, but there's not a whole lot more that is red.”
- Malgosia Terzanska (08:19): “For us, it was the living blood, the living pumping blood, and then lack of that life in my movie. But I think it's the contrast of, like, the border between life and death, you know, in this, like, vibrant, vibrant red.”
- Ruth E. Carter (08:42): “It also is a grounding color. It directs your eye. It gives composition. When you see the masters and you see their paintings, you see their use of red, and they're very intentional about where red lands… it adds a nice balance to the composition, directs your eye.”
Expanding the Palette: Blue, Green, and Contrast
Lauren notes that both “Hamnet” and “Frankenstein” feature strong blues and greens contrasting with red, against more muted backdrops.
- Malgosia Terzanska (09:53): “For me it was…to balance out this powerhouse of a woman. But also I loved his connection to water… so it kind of came in that way. And also did a nice yin and yang with her redness.”
- Kate Holly (10:30): “Greens, particularly in Elizabeth’s world, are opposite on the color wheel to the reds… [in Frankenstein] natural world was inspiration, but it took on a sort of radioactive quality… red always heightens all of those colors.”
Navigating Historical References and Fantasy
The challenge: How closely should designers adhere to historical clothing, particularly when the narrative leans into fantasy or established IP?
- Ruth E. Carter (13:11): “Storytelling gives you the freedom to…push the boundaries with whether it’s your color palette or whether it’s the choices… I don’t think any of us want to go outside of the period. I think it’s important to keep the context and keep the audience engaged in the time and place.”
- Paul Tazewell (13:55): “What I was hoping [with Wicked]…was to embrace all of the culture of the Wizard of Oz characters… so that then the audience could relate…in a modern way. So I’m using period as a visceral touchstone… Like Elphaba is based on Victoriana mourning clothing, and then translated into a fantasy point of view. Glinda is Dior, 1950s Audrey Hepburn… and, yes, suggestive of Billy Burke as Glinda in 1939.”
Adapting Books and Non-Existing Historical Images
- Kate Holly (18:17): Draws inspiration from Mary Shelley's novel, not just film adaptations: “I read the novel before attacking this piece with Guillermo… The sense of melancholy, great loneliness, the layers of memories through the creature.”
- Malgosia Terzanska (20:21): On adapting “Hamnet”: “We have these historical figures, but what kind of freed me was Chloe saying, we are not trying to do a museum piece… The images we have of Shakespeare were created after his death. So… it was an adaptation of sorts anyway. So I kind of, you know, that was—it made it easier to just start from scratch and kind of stick. Start from the interiority of those characters and build them from the inside out.”
Relationship Dynamics: Directors and Actors
Collaboration is essential, and the dynamic between directors, design teams, and actors can be the secret ingredient.
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Malgosia Terzanska (23:53): “That was my first time with everyone on this movie and I wanted it to be forever… It just felt like we were like a mushroom, that we were, like, kind of growing together and understanding the world together. And it was so organic and so beautiful…”
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Ruth E. Carter (24:29): “Relationships are important to the success of the creative process. So it starts at the top. And for us, Ryan was such a family man… The actors really trusted him and therefore…The trust…creates an open relationship for creativity to flow.”
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Paul Tazewell (25:58): Describes the collaborative “War Room” on Wicked: “It was a shared space where we had costume sketches lining a whole side… [It] became a safe space to offer up ideas… folding [the actors] into what my design was… because, you know, I always say that, you know, I can't design in a vacuum. And also I'm relying on these actors to bring my work to life.”
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Kate Holly (27:52): On collaboration with Guillermo del Toro: “Guillermo was very clear on the vision, but it was always an open door. All of us could have access to him… He shared with us his edit…And he often refers to us as his legs of his table. It's a big table, I think, and we're all his lieutenants…”
Personal Highlights—The “Hero” Pieces
Each designer shares the costume or look they're proudest of from their current film.
- Ruth E. Carter (31:27): “The Zwali dancer in the surrealistic montage. I felt like when I saw the film, he kind of hypnotized me… it represents, you know, how Africa and movement and dance all mixed with the blues kind of influenced, you know, the origin of the blues was magical for me.”
- Malgosia Terzanska (32:12): “For me, it's the ghost. The ghost outfit… just made of linen and clay. And it was the simplest solution. But my favorite favorite one.”
- Paul Tazewell (32:45): “Elphaba in her wake of Witch of the west costume. I mean, she's a badass, and Cynthia is so—I mean, she completely wears that costume. So I love that.”
- Kate Holly (32:59): Speaking of the “cell outfit” for Elizabeth and overall process: “The process with Oscar and, you know, watching his performance and the play that happened for me, that was a rewarding experience… For me, it's the whole and the experience of the crew and, you know, I don't know. It's very hard.”
Burnout and Humor: “Never Want to See Again”
- Lauren Sherman (33:39): “Are there things that you will never want to see again?”
- Kate Holly (33:42): (Deadpan) “Yeah. Red.”
- Lauren Sherman (33:46): “Red is everywhere.”
Notable Quotes & Moments
Color as Storytelling:
- “Red also is a grounding color. It directs your eye. It gives composition. When you see the masters and you see their paintings, you see their use of red, and they're very intentional about where red lands.”
— Ruth E. Carter (08:42)
On Collaboration:
- “I can't design in a vacuum. And also I'm relying on these actors to bring my work to life. So they have to buy into it.”
— Paul Tazewell (25:58)
Letting Go of Historical Literalism:
- “The images that we have of Shakespeare were created after his death. So it was an adaptation of sorts anyway. So I kind of…started from the interiority of those characters and built them from the inside out.”
— Malgosia Terzanska (20:31)
The Workroom as Creative Sanctuary:
- “We had what we called the…‘war room,’ which was our design space…It became a safe space to offer up ideas, to throw things around, to really, you know, understand what it was that we were trying to achieve.”
— Paul Tazewell (25:58)
Humor on Overused Trends:
- “Are there things that you will never want to see again?”
“Yeah. Red.”
— Lauren Sherman & Kate Holly (33:39-33:42)
Timestamps for Key Segments
- Opening Introductions & Guest Panel (05:54-06:32)
- Discussion of Red’s Importance (06:38-09:22)
- Color Contrast and Symbolism (09:22-11:23)
- Approaches to Historical/Fantasy Costume (12:34-16:38)
- Adapting Literature and Non-Historical Characters (18:09-21:49)
- Director & Actor Collaboration Stories (23:37-27:52)
- Favorite ‘Hero’ Pieces (31:15-32:59)
- Burnout and Color Trends (33:39-33:46)
Closing
This episode provides a rare, behind-the-scenes look into the layered artistry of costume design for film — from the weight of history and symbolism of color to the deeply collaborative environments that shape what ends up onscreen. It's a lively, intimate, and revealing discussion for anyone invested in the meaning behind what movie characters wear, and the fashion people who dream up those worlds.