Colleen Atwood Quotes

The costumes had to serve the choreography.

I had to work out that it was something that could move, without having everybody in spray painted leotards.

I`ve been lucky in the things I`ve got to work on. I`ve been able to keep it fresh, always getting to do different kinds of things.

Sleepy Hollow had a lot of action in it, even though it was a fairy-tale movie.

In real life, a lot of people at that level will have their kimonos made especially for them.

On Planet of the Apes, I had a very knowledgeable team who knew good materials, but I had one main source person who worked online and on the street continually looking for the proper materials.

The first Chicago was definitely a product of its time, and Chicago the musical is definitely a contemporary look at another time.

Chicago is partly a fairy tale because it`s inside one person`s head, so that part of it`s made up and the rest of it is reality.

In Chicago, I walked in knowing what the dancers were going to need.

I really like the original Apes costumes. The colors were great, and the use of heavy materials was something that influenced me for this film.

Planet of the Apes was a gigantic challenge, making the clothes work so people could do stunts and action in the clothes. I really learned a lot about that in that movie.

As a designer, you have to solve a lot of problems. Even though people are wearing clothes that are supposed to look beautiful, they`ll have to do all kinds of things.

If you want someone to feel warm, you dress them in a warm color and put a warm light on them and you get the picture. Sometimes, all that needs pushing a little bit to help tell the story.

Costumes are the first impression that you have of the character before they open their mouth-it really does establish who they are.

Some of the kimonos took as long as four to five months to make, with all the layers that go into it.

I`ve always loved movies, art and clothes.

The reward is that you can actually create a world separate from reality with a story, actors, music, and camera design. When it works it can entertain, move people and teach us all.

I`d seen the current stage production and the 1975 production of Chicago. I liked them both very much, but I didn`t use them necessarily as inspiration.

Sometimes a contemporary film like Silence of the Lambs is difficult. To make it look real but interesting is always a challenge.

While researching design, I was inspired globally, from Peru to Turkey to Africa to Japan-from the 5th century through to today.

The designs were based on quite a lot of research of what a movie musical is, filtered through the eyes of today. If we`d gone strictly with the `20s, the movement would have been impaired.

Each simian had a much different body suit, so besides trying to define class across species, there was a definite attempt to dress each group in different styles.

Knowing who the actors were as you were designing them helped, with Catherine`s beauty and Renee`s frailty, they directed me visually just by who they were.