Behind the Scenes at Vogue World! | PLUS Angela Bassett and Ruth E. Carter on Working Together For 25+ Years

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Run-Through with Vogue

Episode: Behind the Scenes at Vogue World! | PLUS Angela Bassett and Ruth E. Carter on Working Together For 25+ Years

Date: October 27, 2025
Hosts: Chloe Malle (Head of Editorial Content, Vogue U.S.), Chioma Nnadi (Head of British Vogue)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives behind the scenes of Vogue World in Hollywood and features a captivating conversation with acclaimed actress Angela Bassett and legendary costume designer Ruth E. Carter. The hosts explore the professionals’ 25+ year collaboration across iconic films including Black Panther, Malcolm X, and What’s Love Got to Do With It, focusing on the artistry, mutual respect, and powerful storytelling that define their partnership. Listeners are treated to insider stories from the Vogue World event, the creative process behind cinematic costumes, and reflections on embodying historic and fictional characters.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Inside Vogue World: Hollywood

• On-the-Ground Buzz & Backstage Moments

  • Reporters describe the electric energy as Vogue editors, models, and creative staff gather before the Hollywood spectacle ([01:22]-[03:47]).
  • Highlights include live reporting from LAX, the American Airlines lounge, and Paramount Studios’ backlot.
  • Memorable moments:
    • Angela Bassett appearing in her Wakanda/Queen Ramonda costume—Viola Davis was seen audibly gasping in awe ([03:47]).
    • Gracie Abrams’ unique entrance by truck and live performance.
    • Baz Luhrmann and Nicole Kidman as a standout duo.

• Quote:
  “Angela Bassett in her Wakanda costume was such an iconic moment. I was sitting next to Viola Davis and Viola just gasped with awe.” (Unnamed Vogue World Reporter, [03:47])

2. Angela Bassett & Ruth E. Carter: A Creative Sisterhood

• Their Beginnings & Shared Journey

  • Ruth refers to Angela as her “muse and my sister from the start” ([12:28]).
  • Angela recalls her early career moments, including her nervousness before Malcolm X and intense preparation—involving sleeping with the script under her bed and wearing a Malcolm X T-shirt ([14:15]).

• The Black Panther & Vogue World Collaboration

  • Ruth’s excitement to showcase Queen Ramonda’s costume, and honor Zulu women through the isicholo and regal adornment ([07:00]).

  • Marvel’s archiving of costumes, allowing them to be “museum pieces” that can be revisited for special events ([08:35]).

  • Quote:
    “A lot of times the costume is just an entryway into who the character be... Once you envelop your costume, in this case, they were just so regal.” (Angela Bassett, [09:27])

• Costume & Fashion Crossover

  • Discussion of Olivier Rousteing’s Balmain creation inspired by the Dora Milaje as part of Vogue’s “twinning” editorial ([11:01]).
  • Ruth describes her pride in how designers are bringing storytelling into high fashion, and the satisfaction of seeing her film work honored on the Vogue Runway.

3. Deep Dives into Iconic Films

• Malcolm X & Tina Turner Biopic Memories

  • Ruth details meeting Dr. Betty Shabazz ahead of costuming Malcolm X, learning about her upbringing and dignified style ([15:59]).

  • Angela and Ruth share poignant memories from the sets of Malcolm X and What’s Love Got to Do With It, including Tina Turner doing Angela’s makeup in 10 minutes—with less fuss than any makeup team ([19:35]).

  • Unique insight into how wearing an actual Tina Turner costume and receiving her blessing impacted Angela’s performance.

  • Quote:
    “She did makeup in 10 minutes. It would take [the studio team] an hour. ...She also went into her archives and gave me one of her costumes to wear for the Disco Inferno.” (Angela Bassett, [19:36])

  • Ruth recalls building trust and quickly forming a creative bond:
    "I needed to shepherd her to the film, to the lens, by giving her everything she needed, needed to feel in that costume." ([12:40])

4. Artistry, Research, and Collaboration

• The Role of Research

  • Ruth’s approach adjusts based on available sources—personal interviews (with Dr. Shabazz), archival deep dives (Department of Corrections files for Malcolm X), and artistic creativity ([30:50]).
  • Consolidating history into powerful, visual storytelling.

• Mutual Trust & Growth

  • Both recall starting early in their careers—“it’s like, finally made to the top of this mountain. ...We as women, as artists, as creatives, grow and challenge ourselves and take the hard road and wind up exactly where we’re supposed to.” (Angela Bassett, [22:16])

  • Ruth’s perspective on fittings:
    “You can say that she’s not looking at Angela Bassett, she's looking at the image of the character in the mirror... you want to also give her the space to feel it out.” ([23:21])

5. Recent Projects & Motherhood

• Ruth discusses her work on the film Sinners, creating historically resonant costumes within the horror genre, using clothing to evoke the legacy of the Mississippi Delta and the Great Migration ([26:13]).
• Angela reflects on playing iconic women (e.g. Rosa Parks) and how her upbringing by a strong single mother and theater background let her “disappear” into roles ([27:58]).
• Angela shares advice for her son embarking on his first play and the joy of seeing him follow in her theatrical footsteps ([36:09]).

6. Red Carpet Style: Authentically Angela

• Long-standing partnership with stylist Jennifer Austin; Angela trusts Jennifer’s intuition and vision, noting their collaborative approach to fittings and individualized looks ([33:08]).
• “She understands that I’m only 5’3… She dresses me for the energy I bring... And I look nothing like the way she dresses herself.” (Angela Bassett, [35:36])

7. Personal Highlights

• Angela recently celebrated her 27th wedding anniversary and shared that she and her husband planned a trip to Paris for Thanksgiving ([37:54]).
• Rumors of Black Panther 3: Neither Angela nor Ruth could confirm anything—“Literally, we know nothing... I think Denzel knows more than we do.” ([38:41]-[38:59])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On their collaboration:
  “We’ve built a long legacy of strong black women... I show up like I’m in the queen’s court, and we put the isicholo on, and we’re honoring the Zulu women.”
  – Ruth Carter, [07:00]

• On embodying characters:
  “It’s almost as if I could disappear. I could disappear [into] those characters. ...Being raised by a single mother, a proud woman... I think it all plays a hand.”
  – Angela Bassett, [27:58]

• On red carpet style:
  “I’ve just come to trust her to that degree. She understands my proportions... She understands my energy as a person, ...she dresses me for the energy I bring.”
  – Angela Bassett, [35:36]

• On creative process and research:
  “Sometimes I do have to be creative and think of this as, you know, something that’s a two hour... encapsulation of a person’s story. ...We do have to consolidate and sort of pick out those things that were those pivotal moments and express them visually.”
  – Ruth Carter, [30:50]

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Timestamps for Significant Segments

• [01:22] – [03:47]: Live Vogue World event reporting, highlights from the runway, and backstage excitement.
• [06:01]: Main interview with Angela Bassett and Ruth E. Carter begins.
• [07:00] – [09:27]: Discussing Black Panther costumes and the ritual of fitting.
• [11:01] – [12:28]: Reflections on the Vogue/Balmain pairing and working on Malcolm X.
• [15:59] – [21:55]: Memories of meeting Betty Shabazz, working with Tina Turner, and building trust.
• [22:16] – [24:44]: The evolution of their collaboration and artistic growth.
• [26:13]: Ruth Carter on designing for Sinners and entering the horror genre.
• [27:58]: Angela Bassett’s perspective on playing iconic women and entering the industry.
• [33:08]: Angela on red carpet collaborations and personal style.
• [36:09]: Angela’s son’s first foray into acting.
• [37:54] – [38:22]: Personal life: anniversary celebrations and Thanksgiving plans.
• [38:41] – [38:59]: Teasing Black Panther 3—nothing confirmed.

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Tone & Atmosphere

The conversation is rich in warmth, sprinkled with good-natured humor and mutual admiration. Both Angela and Ruth speak candidly about their vulnerabilities, inspirations, and the sister-like trust that infuses both their working relationship and friendship. The tone is celebratory, focused on the impact of Black creatives in Hollywood, with insights into the effort behind achieving such powerful onscreen moments.

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Summary Takeaways

• Angela Bassett and Ruth E. Carter’s partnership illustrates the power of longstanding creative collaboration in bringing Black excellence and history to the screen, while evolving as artists and women.
• Vogue World’s Hollywood event brought fashion, costume, and cinematic storytelling together, honoring the intersection of high fashion and film costume design.
• Both women reflect on the importance of research, authenticity, and honoring lived experiences in character/costume creation.
• Angela’s and Ruth’s legacies are built on mutual trust, deep respect for craft, and a willingness to embrace new challenges—even in motherhood and new genres.

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For listeners or readers, this episode is a masterclass in the collaborative art that goes into creating visual and emotional power on both screen and runway, with inspiration for artists of all kinds.

Transcript

[Arden Fanning Andrews]

Hi, I'm Arden Fanning Andrews, Vogue's beauty editor at large. My husband and I talk a lot of ebay strategy together because it is something that we have bonded over since the beginning of our relationship. We've known each other for 20 years and we've been using ebay for even longer than that, both of us. He's very proud of his five star review, which I have the same. We're pretty popular. We have a really good reputation on ebay.

[Host of The Run Through]

This is the run through I'm chairman of. Today on the show we had the wonderful Angela Bassett and Ruth Carter. Angela and Ruth have collaborated on five films together. I mean, and when I think about their collaboration, you really can't leave out the Black Panther films. They're just so iconic. And actually some of those costumes made their way onto the Vogue World Runway, which we spoke about and so much more. I can't wait for you to hear our conversation because they have such a lovely rapport. They've known each other for such a long time and they've kind of grown as creatives. So they just had lots to say and lots of lovely stories to share, which I won't give away right now. But before we get into the interview, we've been collecting voice notes straight from Vogue World from our colleagues. So let's listen and see what they had to say on the ground.

[Vogue World Reporter]

LAX 5am Everyone streamed in to the American Airlines lounge destinations across the globe.

[Arden Fanning Andrews]

Made possible by our dedicated team members who all do it for one reason.

[Vogue World Reporter]

Can you hear the American Airlines safety video in the background? We are reporting live from Vogue Air.

[Ruth Carter]

You're all gorgeous and that's so true, but you're going to be walking with racy eight from the Doja Cat. There's been a weather update. Here's a hundred percent chance you're going to slay that Bogue World breath lane. So thank you all.

[Vogue World Reporter]

Alex Consani was getting coffee. Leah Cabetti and her daughter strolled in. Scarlet White was running to Hudson News before getting in line to board. It was a real all model. It's all hands on deck experience. And now we are taking off.

[Angela Bassett]

Hi, I'm Hannah Jackson.

[Vogue World Reporter]

I'm a fashion writer at Vogue and.

[Angela Bassett]

We'Re reporting outside of the Beverly H erawan. Jose, what do you think of Erewhon?

[Ruth Carter]

This is actually my first time in la, period. I'm having a great time. I got the goth Smashing Pumpkin smoothie. You know what would highly recommend?

[Angela Bassett]

Mostly because I'm expensing this.

[Ruth Carter]

Thank you, Conde Nast.

[Angela Bassett]

Hi, this is Christian Allaire. I'm a fashion writer here at Vogue and today a lot of the Vogue staff is busy preparing for the show. We're writing our content, we're building our stories. There's just a lot of excitement in the air here.

[Vogue World Reporter]

We are reporting live from the Vogue World Hollywood War room in the backlot of Paramount Pictures. Paramount Studios, Paramount.

[Angela Bassett]

Plus.

[Vogue World Reporter]

The photos from arrivals are starting to trickle in in our Getty drive and we are starting to put up our arrivals gallery. Everything is very exciting back here. There's a lot of Starbucks protein lattes being drunk. Some see's candy. The heat is on.

[Angela Bassett]

Hollywood glamour and action. Kj.

[Vogue World Reporter]

I feel like highlights for me were the end when all of the whole cast came jumping and galloping back down the Runway to the Beach Boys. I loved Gracie Abrams coming and coming out of a loading truck and singing. Angela Bassett in her Wakanda costume was such an iconic moment. I was sitting next to Viola Davis and Viola just gasped with awe. Baz Luhrmann and Nicole Kidman were such a duo. It was all thrilling from start to finish.

[Ruth Carter]

Cast and crew, cast and crew, cast and crew. That is a wrap.

[Vogue World Reporter]

We are back in the war room after the most spectacular Vogue world Hollywood. I have never been front row at a show with that much excitement and energy around it.

[Host of The Run Through]

The run through will be back in just a minute.

[Ruth Carter]

Foreign.

[Arden Fanning Andrews]

It's 11:30pm I'm just about to fall asleep and yet I'm still scrolling ebay looking for YSL. Quilted satin, transparent moto, miss 60 dead stock, an antique Edwardian blouse. I'm actively bidding and putting in best offers on ebay before my head hits the pillow. That's actually what lulls me to sleep at night and then waking up in the morning checking to see who responded to me. This is a normal day.

[Host of The Run Through]

Here's my interview with Angela Bassett and Ruth Carter. Hi, Ruth and Angela.

[Ruth Carter]

Hi there.

[Host of The Run Through]

So, so happy to have you on the podcast. And Ruth, welcome back. This isn't your first time at the rodeo here.

[Ruth Carter]

Oh, wow. So when was the last time?

[Host of The Run Through]

Oh, it was a while ago, wasn't it? It was three years ago.

[Ruth Carter]

Okay. Oh, well, I'm happy to be back. Thanks for bringing me back. I guess I didn't do a bad job. I came back for our rewrite.

[Host of The Run Through]

Back by popular demand. Back by popular demand.

[Angela Bassett]

Right.

[Host of The Run Through]

So I'm talking to you as we're just days away from Vogue World in Hollywood. You two have obviously already in LA and you're doing a fitting for the big show today, which I'm so excited about. I'd love to hear from you, Ruth, about how you prepared for this fitting. And can you talk about the. The process of bringing the Black Panther costumes for the show? I think people are going to lose their minds.

[Ruth Carter]

Yeah, I'm excited about it. I'm honored that Angela has, like, lent her time in her busy schedule to come and embody Queen Ramonda. I mean, she and I have together, thick as thieves. Through the career, Angela Bassett has played Stella and not only Queen Ramonda, but Tina Turner, and so we have kind of like a poetry together. We've built a long legacy of strong black women, and she knows how to embody that role. So coming together with Marvel, who actually owns the costume, and they bring it and prepar for the queen, I show up like I'm in the queen's court, and we put the ishicolo on, and we're honoring the Zulu women. We put on. We adorn the costume, which tells the story, you know, the storytelling aspect of what costume designers do. And so it's been really exciting to, you know, hear that Marvel was on board to bring the costume and that we could come together and honor costume designers, you know, to really let us take the stage for a change and, you know, bring fashion together with costumes.

[Host of The Run Through]

So is it stored. Are the costumes stored in sort of a Marvel archive or where. How does it all work?

[Ruth Carter]

Yeah, they're stored in the Marvel Warehouse. And they're like archival pieces. They're museum pieces. I have an exhibition, Afrofuturism and Costume Design, and they put 50 costumes, you know, however many we. We request in that. In that exhibition. So this is too, like taking the stage. This is an event. And so they are lending, you know, their. Their archival pieces to this wonderful, wonderful event.

[Host of The Run Through]

Angela, I hear you often go into character for fittings. Will you be in character as Queen Ramonda for this fitting? And. And why do you. Why do you like to go into character? It sounds like it's quite a ritual to put on. I mean, these costumes are quite impressive. And you. And they probably. I mean, they have this power. They kind of hold this power. I'm so curious to know.

[Angela Bassett]

Yeah, it is just that, you know, a lot of times the costume is just an entryway into who the character be. You have the script, you have the words on the page. That's one entry point. But also, once you envelop your costume, in this case, they were just so regal. So that aided. That helped. And you, as you're looking at the mirror in the mirror at Yourself, you know, maybe the first and last time, you know, you see her come to life, you see how she stands, how she comports herself. You just get little clues into who the character is. Ruth is just so humble. As a matter of fact, I thought she owned the costumes, but say, me too.

[Ruth Carter]

Yeah, no, we do a lot of things. 3D printing all of this stuff that happens, and they finance all of it, and then they store it. I mean, I really don't have much storage to put all those beautiful costumes, you know, obey in the proper, you know, temperature and all that that it needs. So it's kind of a great thing that they do that and then they're able to bring it out and let us see them.

[Host of The Run Through]

This week, Vogue released the twinning story that. That features those iconic costumes. And I know you were paired with Olivier Rostand of Balmain, which. Which I thought was such a great pairing and a creation that was in homage to one of your costumes in Black Panther. It was so beautiful to see them side by side. Did you get a chance to speak to Olivier about his reinterpretation? And what was your reaction to the finished look?

[Ruth Carter]

Well, my reaction to the finished work was, you know, dead on. I loved how all of these elements that embody storytelling came to life in this creation by Olivier. I have been out of the country on Thomas Crown Affair and super busy, so I wasn't able to be as immersive as I would have liked. But he did just fine on his own. It looks amazing and honored that we have this pairing.

[Angela Bassett]

Who's the pairing? Ruth.

[Ruth Carter]

He interpreted the Dora Milaje. And so it's a knitted garment that has all of these textures. It has beading, it has layers, it has netting. The colors are exactly from the piece, the Dora Milaje piece. So there's reds and browns, and it's gorgeous. It's really gorgeous.

[Host of The Run Through]

You guys have worked together on so many movies. Five, in fact, some of my favorite films, including Malcolm X. And I'd love to hear the story of you collaborated on Malcolm X. Angela, you played Betty Shabazz, Malcolm's wife. Do you remember the first outfit Ruth fitted you in? Angela and Ruth. What was your first impression of Angela? Cause just getting on the call today. I can tell you have such a lovely rapport, and it's so nice to see that. And obviously, it's so great when you have a collaborator that you really connect with.

[Ruth Carter]

Yes, well, Angela's been my muse and my sister from the start. And on Tina Turner.

[Host of The Run Through]

I'm gonna scroll back okay, yeah, let's. How could we forget? Let's go back to the first time.

[Ruth Carter]

I ever saw Angela. She was sitting over by herself, being Tina Turner, doing the gestures, studying her craft. And I looked over there and I saw someone who was so focused and so dedicated. I said to myself, I have to meet her where she is. I have to go and focus and be, you know, on point with whatever her needs are because she embodied the character. So I needed to shepherd her to the film, to the lens, by giving her everything she needed, needed to feel in that costume. And then we came together again on Malcolm X. And that, too, was such a wonderful experience to see the same person like, you know, this person, and she's doing another character, and she's embodying more of a quiet resilience, a quiet strength that Betty Shabazz had, a real assured person. And I'll never forget a story scene between her and Denzel Washington when Betty was trying to tell him that the nation was against him and he didn't want to hear it. And she went toe to toe to toe with Denzel. And when the scene was done, Denzel looked at her and said, that was good. Remember. Do you remember that? I do. I do remember that.

[Angela Bassett]

Yes. Yes.

[Ruth Carter]

Powerful. Quite intimidating. One of my favorite scenes in Malcolm.

[Angela Bassett]

X. Oh, thank you. Yeah. I remember in Malcolm. That was pretty early in my career. I. I remember I had just moved from New York to la. You. You. You heard this was happening. Somehow I cured the script, which, you know, you could only get pages to go into audition, not the entire script. I kept it under my mattress. I thought, you know, I would sleep, and through osmosis, the character come to me. You know, I had my Malcolm X T shirt that I slept in from 125th Street. You know, this face emblazone on it. I was just trying to just draw Sister Betty to me. And I remember going in, meeting Ruth and putting on the. What is it? The. The headpiece. The white garb.

[Ruth Carter]

Yes. The covering. The head covering that the Muslim women in the Nation Islam wore. Yes.

[Angela Bassett]

You know, how demure mindful you become. You know, you have strength and yet demure reverence and, you know, sisterhood. The entire filming, just the work ethic of everyone in the making of that film was at, you know, such a height and such an excellence.

[Ruth Carter]

Yeah, we really cared. We really cared about that project. And, you know, the casting was so. So well done. Everybody had a synerg. So it's great.

[Host of The Run Through]

Sounds like an incredible experience. Ruth, I know you spoke to Betty in preparation for dressing Angela for the role, I'm curious to know what you learned from her and how that influenced the decisions that you made with the costumes because they were so great. And Angela, your performance was just flawless.

[Ruth Carter]

Spot on. Yes. I went to the university where Dr. Shabazz was teaching, the late Dr. Shabazz. And I was sat in a classroom waiting for her and someone advanced her to say that she'd be arriving shortly. And she came in and she sat down with me and she asked me what I wanted to know. And she told me that her upbringing was not Muslim and that her parents really didn't want her to be a Muslim. Muslim, but she believed in it so strongly. And they gave her clothes, they gave her. They wanted her to embody a level of dignity and class. And so she was given pieces from her mom. From her mother. And, you know, that's what I remember her telling me, that she really, you know, felt like, you know, if she was to be portrayed in this film, that it needed to have this same connection of elevation that her parents or her mother wanted her to have. And so with that, I went forward with Angela's selections. And in keeping that in mind, I'm.

[Host of The Run Through]

Gonna go back to Tina. I know that Tina was present for the filming, which must have been quite an experience. I'd love to know what it was like when you met her, what advice she gave you for the role. Because for me, you became Tina. It was like it was incred.

[Ruth Carter]

Well, thank you.

[Angela Bassett]

Yes, she. I met her early on in the, in the studio. I had like 30 days to prepare for it. And I was working with Michael Peters, famed choreographer, at his studio, at his home, and she came through and he would put me through the paces. And he was dealing with his own health concerns at the time, so he would just put me through the paces, then he'd go lay down and rest. And Eartha Robinson, his assistant, would just make sure, would just drill me and make sure I got through. Tina would come through, came through once to his studio and she was just like, Michael, please let her learn it before the stilettos. Oh, Jesus, let her learn it flat footed first. Which I appreciate. I mean, she was an advocate. She showed me pictures and. Photo album, old pictures and, and you could just point out, oh, what's happening here? Oh, I was, you know, it might have been after, you know, an incident with Ike and, and just the way she talked about it, it was, you know, it, it. Nothing brought her down. She had, you know, such exuberance and, and, and Life and affirmation within her, within every cell of her being. So I just sort of, you know, tucked that. Tuck that away, put that away. It was like. It was as if nothing could stop her. Then, of course, you know, she lived, you know, abroad. We continued with our work, and at the end, she came through. And for that last scene in the movie, she actually did my makeup. And everyone's knocking on the door, like, you need anything? Do you need anything? She did makeup in 10 minutes. It would take them an hour. Someone who, you know, who put her costumes together and her makeup and her hair and her whole glam and her look, you know. You know, on the road, on the circuit, when they were doing it, 10 minutes and it was done, it was perfect. But she also went into her archives and gave me one of her costumes to wear for the Disco Inferno.

[Ruth Carter]

It has a long V piece in the front, and, you know, it's very high on the side, you know.

[Angela Bassett]

You remember it?

[Ruth Carter]

I do, I do. Wow.

[Angela Bassett]

I could imagine that it fit, but it did. I mean, long waist, short waist, whatever. It was perfect. It just gave me such power to be wearing, actually one of her costumes. And then I remember one day she actually went shopping. Ruth, do you remember? She. I think she. She. I don't know, she went Beverly Hills somewhere and came back, and she was like, I got you this and these shoes. Yes, leopard shoes. And she just wanted to make sure. Just I was supported.

[Ruth Carter]

Yeah, she was lovely. We were on a journey together, and it was intense. And I was dealing mostly with Tina's assistant, Rhonda, and she took me to all of collections in her storage units, and I got to look at, like, all the performance costumes, like, you know, in person. And, you know, it was just really a wonderful experience for a young costume designer, you know, like me, who really wanted to, like, embody this, you know, this look for Angela. And I just remember that what's Love Got To Do with it song at the end, the leather dress, and Tina coming to me with our CD cover and saying, you know, I want this for Angela, for the what's Love Got To do with its song. You know, how she had her voice. I was like, okay, it's tomorrow, but I can do it. Oh, my God. And we made that leather dress, like, overnight. And she grateful. And I remember seeing her walking across the base camp with her wig on a styrofoam head and going towards Angela's trailer, and she was like, meet me at Angela's trailer. And I walked over there and opened the door and there was Angela sitting cross legged on the floor in front of Tina. Tina was plaiting her hair to put the wig on to pass her crown. Okay, no camera phones, just right here.

[Angela Bassett]

Wow.

[Ruth Carter]

Yeah, it was good.

[Angela Bassett]

That was good.

[Host of The Run Through]

It sounds like you built this trust very quickly. You know, there was this bonding experience that you had on these films. And I'd love to know what you've learned from working with each other because I think there's obviously like a very great two way collaboration happening here.

[Angela Bassett]

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we started, I guess we're both, you know, early in our careers. Although, you know, Ruth had been working with, with, with Spike on the number of what, two or three films before Malcolm X. Yeah, yeah, of course, I was, you know, of course a big fan. Going to see every last one of them and just beautiful around. And then when I got the opportunity, I mean, everything's exciting. It's like, well, finally made to the top of this mountain. And to see Ruth along this journey, I swear, when I walked into, you know, our last collaboration on Black Panther and Wakanda Forever, my mind is still blown. I'm getting goosebumps. A moment makes me so proud to see how we as women, as artists, as creatives, grow and challenge ourselves and take the hard road and wind up exactly where we're supposed to. Getting two Oscars. Yes.

[Host of The Run Through]

So well deserved.

[Ruth Carter]

Yes. Oh, my goodness. I think that because we both started in theater, we understood the artist's journey, we understood like the inspiration. And you know, I, as she's explained, I like to bring in the environment to the fitting. So like, while you're thinking about how you want to play your character and I'm thinking about how I want to adorn and have things. I need to have things around me. I need to have things around Angela. And so I think what I've learned from Angela is, you know, we are artists. We are, we're on separate journeys. Her as an actor and performer and me as a costume designer. But we're still both artists. And like the, the resilience and the dedication to the art is something that's like an ongoing lesson every time I, I, I'm with Angela in the fitting room and how she stands in the mirror and she looks at herself and you can say that she's not looking at Angela Basset, she's looking at the image of the character in the mirror and she's, she's, you know, turning left and right. You know, you want to just dive inside of her brain and think what she's thinking, but you want to also give her the space to feel it out and understand where it could go.

[Host of The Run Through]

The run through will be back in just a minute.

[Arden Fanning Andrews]

Sometimes people ask me which search terms I use whenever I'm on ebay. So I search a lot of dead stock. That's a term that I throw in there a lot. Dead stock means that no one's ever worn it before, but it is like an archival piece or it's a vintage piece. And so that's a great. There's a ton of dead stock, vintage. And it's just kind of, like, comforting to know that, like, you're the first person taking this, like, piece on its maiden voyage, even if it's 50 years old. Ebay offers this departure from the everyday that ends up feeling totally you.

[Host of The Run Through]

I wanted to take a second to talk about some of your recent projects, Ruth, because Sinners, for me was a cultural moment. And I spent hours debating that film with friends and talked in detail about the costumes and how the twins were dressed in a. Like, differently. And like, for me, it was such a big. A big moment and your fingerprints were all over it. So I would. I mean, we could talk about this film for a long time, but I just kind of wanted to touch on it a little bit what it was like entering that genre, horror genre, which was new for you, and what the conversations were like with Ryan, because obviously he's been a frequent collaborator too, and this film had such a big, big impact.

[Ruth Carter]

Yeah, well, Sinners was such a personal story for Ryan. Horror was a little bit for me on the back burner. I really wanted to embody the history of the Mississippi Delta and the history of the story of the blues and how people who are disenfranchised like they were in 1930 and could make something out of nothing. And what did that look like? And the idea that we were going to shoot in this large IMAX format said, like, I could tell an even bigger story about the history of black Americans in this country. And the more I delve into it, the more it laid the landscape for what was eventually a horror story. You know, I didn't think about the blood as much till the last minute. And I was like, wait, wait, you can put blood all over. How many do we need? So I embrace the horror genre, but more so I embrace the story of the Great Migration. And so when you see images of the train station or the sharecroppers, it's telling an American story. And we were very much connected to that.

[Host of The Run Through]

It was wonderful. It was really wonderful. Angela, you've played so many iconic women, I think, about Rosa Parks, I think Tina Turner and Yesterday producer and I sat down to talk about, you know, the sort of impact of your career. And I was just thinking, wow, like, you never seem to feel overwhelmed or encumbered by these kind of enormous roles and embodying them in a fictional space. Like, it seems like you had, like, a sense of freedom from them.

[Angela Bassett]

No, never overwhelmed and interesting enough, you know, I guess, coming up, coming through New York, you know, starting in theater a little bit and segue into TV and then making my way to California because I wanted to perhaps, you know, do more television and film. And there was very, very little of that happening in New York at the time. You know, maybe, you know, one or two roles would come through and then they would just wind up casting someone in California anyway. So, you know, constantly actors were talking about, you know, going to LA or waiting until they got a project from LA that brought them there. And, I mean, it just seemed like by the time you got to the character that a black woman could play, everything was all taken care of, you know, all the money was spent, you know, and you would just, you know, they would cast someone that was there. So I didn't have the luxury of just waiting around until they came knocking on my door. It felt as if I needed to go and knock on their door. And during that moment, during that time, it was the time of biopics and biopics about black women. So it was just fortuitous that that was the moment I came along, at that moment had Train, had theater, drama school, all of that, you know, someone they hadn't seen. So it's. It's almost as if I could disappear. I could disappear those characters. I. You know, I think it all plays a hand, you know, being. Being raised by a single mother, a proud woman. Those women in my life and the characteristics of these characters I was playing, whether it was a mother or Rosa Parks, the mother of the Civil Rights movement, and just a very humble, gracious woman who I did have the pleasure of meeting once. Wow, fantastic. It was at a, I think a journalist convention in Atlanta. And I. I joke because I say I was sitting on the dais at dinner between the. The mother of the Civil Rights movement and the Godfather of Soul, James Raft. So, you know, it really was all I could do to keep my bed on my neck.

[Ruth Carter]

That's pretty awesome. Wow.

[Angela Bassett]

Yeah, awesome and amazing.

[Host of The Run Through]

So, I mean, Ruth, you've also helped bring characters like this to life. People who have existed People who have amazing legacies and historical kind of influence. Is your research different approach when a person who has, you know, lived a life, existed versus a fictional a character?

[Ruth Carter]

Well, sometimes you get a lot of information. Like when we did Selma, the Selma Marsh, there was a lot of photographs and documentation. There was some for Malcolm X. But, you know, to me, the written words give you even more. I went to the Department of Corrections and looked at Malcolm X's files and I read his letters and I felt like I was a little bit closer to the character of who he was. And I felt a little more confident about making decisions, decisions about what he would wear and certain, you know, on his hajj to Mecca and all of that. So I actually do kind of change my approach a little bit, just depending on what the subject is or what the. Who the person was and what's available. You know, sometimes I do have to be creative and think of this as, you know, something that's a two hour, you know, encapsulation of a person's story. And so as much as we like to go at it from a documentary point of view, we do have to consolidate and sort of pick out those things that were those pivotal moments and express them visually.

[Angela Bassett]

I also remember when we were doing Malcolm X, as I said earlier, sleeping in a T shirt with his face in blaze and you know, the script under the bed osmosis. I remember, you know, going to the home that he lived in, you know, or the street where the home was or the cemetery where he's buried. I mean, leaving way for just the spirit to inform you and. And to lead you. And that requires being quiet and being open to it, you know, and then, you know, inspiration attends.

[Ruth Carter]

It does.

[Host of The Run Through]

I want to switch gears a little bit now and ask Angela a little bit about red carpet style because that's something that you've had a wonderful way of doing too. You've worked with stylist Jennifer Austin for a long time. Tell me about that collaborative process and how it differs from. Cause obviously you're showing up as yourself and also in a completely different way. And what is the secret to feeling great on the red carpet? Because you always look so great and confident.

[Angela Bassett]

Yeah, working with Jennifer has been amazing because I remember before Jennifer, you know, someone said, oh my gosh, she looks so frumpy. It was like, really? I just went to dinner. You'd be outside the door taking pictures and commenting. But I do remember that. Anyway, a friend of mine introduced me to Jennifer just. Just to get some. I'm very Casual, get some, you know, clothes to just wear around the house. She came with racks and, you know, and she was just her. Her energy delightful. And we just continued on and, you know, I was maybe working with another stylist for red carpet. And then I think. I don't know what happened. I think they put me on the back burner a little bit. They had someone else that was really important to them at the moment. And so it's like, okay, Jennifer, can you help me out with this? And she came in and I want to just let you do your thing. I'm just, as Ruth says, I'm just going to observe and look and do I feel comfortable, Comfortable in this, that. But I'm not going to give you a whole lot of direction, directive because I think you know what you're doing, you know, so I'm sort of seeing where you're leading. And then I can. Then I can come in, you know, I can come in and say, well, what about this? Or this is too much for me. This is wearing me. But we've worked together maybe about 12 to 15 years now, and she does. And we are so not going to look like the character. You know, sometimes you want to look the same all the time. She's really sort of like the art director, you know, and I just trust her. Just. I think we. What was it recently? I. Working all day, 16 hour days. We're trying to find a moment for a fitting for the recent Emmy Awards. She comes in with something and we put on the first dress. And she looks at me and she says, that is stunning. I mean, I just looked at strapless dress. I said, well, well, you can't be stunning. I didn't look in the mirror. I've just come to trust her to that degree. She understands my proportions. She understands that I'm only five three.

[Host of The Run Through]

Really. You look very tall.

[Angela Bassett]

As someone said, I think highly of myself, but no, I'm actually sure. So she understands those things. She understands my energy as a person, you know, exuberance, you know, as everyone would say, oh, you look younger. You know, all of that talk. But so she dresses me for the energy I bring, and she will do that for each individual person. You don't look to her. She doesn't believe in dressing everyone the same, so. And. And I look nothing like the way she dresses herself.

[Host of The Run Through]

Yeah. Angela, your son just got cast in his first play, which is so exciting.

[Angela Bassett]

Has he, you know about it?

[Ruth Carter]

Yes.

[Host of The Run Through]

Well. Well, tell me, did he come to you? I mean, I'm sure he's come to you for acting advice. But, like, tell us, Share with us.

[Angela Bassett]

You know, this summer he did on 91 1, he. He came to work on the set and. And went around to the different departments. And one day he did come in. One evening he came in. I guess it's. Oh, yeah. After working on the set. And I think it was an emotional day for my character. And he said, mom, I mean, how do you cry like that? You know, I was like, he's asking advice. I mean, any advice, you know, from his mom. So it's like, huh? And so I just, you know, start talking to him a little bit. Sort of like the character you have to. What is going on? What are you thinking? Just going through different questions that you would ask that maybe Spark thought. And then he did like this, like, look, Mom, I'm doing.

[Arden Fanning Andrews]

I.

[Ruth Carter]

Crying.

[Angela Bassett]

Okay, son, here it is a month later. She's gonna play.

[Host of The Run Through]

So excited.

[Angela Bassett]

I've canceled everything to see every performance.

[Host of The Run Through]

Oh, did you?

[Angela Bassett]

All three. I'm really excited. And I guess, you know, I'll mind my P's and q's if you, you know, want to hear from me afterwards.

[Ruth Carter]

Oh, man. I mean, theater is the best training. So I'm really happy for him and for you that he's following in the right path.

[Host of The Run Through]

And didn't you just celebrate an anniversary this. This month?

[Angela Bassett]

Yes. Yeah. Early October.

[Host of The Run Through]

Yeah.

[Ruth Carter]

How many years?

[Angela Bassett]

27.

[Host of The Run Through]

Wow. How did you celebrate? How did you celebrate?

[Angela Bassett]

Oh, it's quite. It's quite simple. We just went to a restaurant that. That he loved. He's really the planner. But I. Maybe after 27 years, I gotta start planning something, so. But we're also going a big trip for Thanksgiving. Going to Paris for Thanksgiving.

[Host of The Run Through]

Well, I know we don't have too much time left, and I've really enjoyed talking to both of you, so I wanted to ask you, because last time you were on the show, Ruth, we discussed Black Wakanda Forever. And I know there are talks about a Black Panther 3. Is there anything that you guys can reveal to us?

[Ruth Carter]

Oh, we know nothing.

[Angela Bassett]

We're not bitcoin. Literally, we know nothing.

[Ruth Carter]

What? You know, like, I, I, you know, shoot, I wish I start gathering up the elements maybe.

[Angela Bassett]

I think Denzel knows more than we do.

[Ruth Carter]

Yeah, right. And that's not going to be a whole lot. Ryan's doing, you know, X Files first.

[Angela Bassett]

Oh, yes, I read that recently. Yeah, for his mother, right?

[Ruth Carter]

Yeah, for his. No, he always makes it a personal, you know, approach which really, like, starts all you off on the right foot. I think.

[Host of The Run Through]

Yeah, well, I. I really hope this does happen. So I'm willing this into to existence and. But it was such a wonderful conversation. Thank you so much. I'm so excited for Vogue World. It's going to be major and just thinking of you both and excited. Thank you.

[Ruth Carter]

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

[Angela Bassett]

Thank you for having me.

[Host of The Run Through]

Such a pleasure. Thanks for tuning into our special Vogue World episode.

[Ruth Carter]

Bye.

[Vogue World Reporter]

The Run through is produced by Chelsea Daniel, Alex DePalma and Stephanie Kariu. It's engineered by Pran Bandy and James Yost. It is mixed by Mike Kutchman. Chris Bannon is Conde Nast's head of Global Audio.

[Arden Fanning Andrews]

My first job in New York City was as a trend forecaster. I do trend forecasting still, and ebay is a part of that because I'll search for things that I'm seeing around and it will end up directing me in places that I could have never anticipated. And one of the trends that I'm seeing these days is crafting things that are made by hand. And so playing with clothes and accessories to create something kind of distinctive for your wardrobe is a great way of doing it. And getting supplies off of ebay is my favorite thing for it. I'll get, like, maybe a pair of slippers that I'm wearing right now and then cut them in a specific way, and then they're totally my own. And I feel like it's a great resource to create your own trends because then you can both feel like you're bringing something back to life. You're already, like, pulling it out of the ebay archives, and then you're also adjusting it so that it really expresses your own style. Style, which is something that, you know, people really want right now whenever they are feeling, like, so algorithmic about the style that's being pushed to them. That doesn't have to be perfect. Things can have rough edges, and that sometimes makes them feel more special.

[Host of The Run Through]

From prx.