Costume designers and costumers work with celebrities every day

Costume designer

Unlike his or her work for the theater, a costume designer for the movies must consider how certain fabrics and colors will photograph. The costume designer, who reports to the director, will usually go to work as soon as he or she's given the script. Fitting the actors will come long after choosing the proper clothing. Working with the art director, the costume designer will make sure that the clothes under consideration won't clash with the colors of the set.

Although the costume designer either creates or chooses the patterns for the actors' clothing, he or she doesn't make the clothes. In the 1930s and 1940s, the studios had dressmakers and seamstresses on staff to do the necessary sewing and stitching, but in recent decades this work has traditionally been hired out. The costumer is responsible for the care and upkeep of the clothing during the shoot.

It may seem obvious that the costume consists strictly of clothing, but the responsibilities of the costume designer and the propmaster often appear to overlap. For instance, in a western the gunbelt is considered part of the costume, but the gun that goes in the gunbelt is considered a prop. When costumes for the extras are needed, they are often rented by the costume designer rather than made. If there is a contemporary crowd scene, it is up to the costume designer to instruct the extras in advance as to how they must dress from their own wardrobe.

While famous couturiers have often designed the clothing of individual stars in films (e.g., Givenchy for Audrey Hepburn), they are not necessarily responsible for clothing the entire cast.

Costumer

Not to be confused with the costume designer, the costumer is responsible for clothing that has already been bought, made, or rented for the cast. Originally known by the title of wardrobe mistress or wardrobe master, the customer not only controls access to the costumes, he or she also helps the stars dress for their scenes.

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