The Costume Designer Behind 'The Beauty' on Her Creative Process
Sarah Snyder takes us behind the scenes of the body horror starring Bella Hadid.
Everyone is talking about Ryan Murphy’s new series, The Beauty. The body-horror drama features a star-studded cast, runway-worthy costumes and sharply satirical commentary on unrealistic beauty standards. Oh, and it stars Bella Hadid.
The thriller follows the world of high fashion when supermodels start dying in gruesome and mysterious ways. FBI Agents, played by Evan Peters and Rebecca Hall, are then sent to Paris to uncover the truth. The characters discover a virus that transforms ordinary people into visions of physical perfection, but with horrifying consequences.
Costume designer Sarah Evelyn takes on a key role, with the looks defining the individual characters and reflecting wider themes within the plot. Evelyn has worked on multiple projects with Murphy previously, where fashion and character are closely intertwined, and this time is no different. We caught up with the designer to hear about her career, the creative process and what it was like on set. Read on for the full interview.
How did you first get into costume design?
It took me a while to find my way to costumes. I think I always knew I wanted to be a costume designer, but felt I couldn’t do it for all sorts of reasons. I graduated from college and went to school for art conservation, then after that went back to NYC and sold broadband before there was high speed broadband, moved to LA and sold radio, then started a product placement company, went on like this until I got pregnant, and when I got pregnant, somehow I decided it was time to go for costume design.
Gloria Kim
How did you get involved with the show?
I’ve worked on Ryan’s shows before. I actually met Lou Eyrich (Ryan’s costume producer and incredible costume designer) when I was working on promo for American Horror Story: Hotel. One thing led to another, and she gave me my first big break and gave me a job as co-designer on American Horror Story: Cult. I worked with the Ryan Murphy world for Hollywood, and I guess it was time to go back. The Beauty was really a case of right place, right time.
When you first read the script for The Beauty, what were your initial thoughts on the show’s costume design?
Ryan is really aesthetically directed, so I knew it was going to be an amazing creative opportunity. It was a little sci-fi, but right now, which meant getting to do some right now super-fab world creation.
What does your creative process look like?
Research, research, research and more research. I think I start by trying to understand the cinematic lexicon of whatever the subject matter is, so first I watch anything and everything that is body horror and film and TV that address themes of beauty. That said, Ryan always has a really strong aesthetic vision with really amazing references, so I start there, immersing myself in the references and looking, looking, looking and thinking.
The show has such a distinct visual identity. What were some of your influences or references for the costumes? Bertolucci was a big reference, The Passenger, Last Tango in Paris and The Hunger… this is where it all began.
Can you describe the show’s style in three words?
Oh my gosh, I really don’t think I can, but I hope it’s beautiful, different and crucial to the narrative!
Were there some characters that were harder to capture through costume? How did you navigate that?
Always. There are always challenges, but I think you just keep at it. You really cannot minimize the power of hard work, at least for me, the only way is through. Embrace that and have faith that you’ll get there and just keep pushing.
Is there a look you’re most proud of?
There are a lot of looks I feel proud of. I think I’m most proud of the things that we did as a team. We did so much actual making on this show. Our fabric buyer was this super talented costume-maker, Kathryn Bailey, and our cutter-fitter is this epic menswear tailor named Daniel Weger. Then we’d bring on other artisans when we needed other kinds of specialty, or we’d outsource.
I think it’s always the most special when you create something better because of all the teamwork that went into it. Isabella’s costumes were a true collaboration, from the illustrator to shoppers to Jonathan Knipsher, an incredible cutter-fitter in NYC who specialized in period. I never could have gotten there alone. It’s really meaningful to collaborate and feel that you produced something better than it ever could have been if you’d developed it alone.
How did you collaborate with the makeup and prosthetics team during this process?
It’s always a really close collaboration. With hair and makeup, we are always coordinated in terms of color and style, and with prosthetics, it’s about great communication.
What excites you most about the future of costume design for TV?
The ‘new’ excites me, so I always look forward to the new ideas that bubble up. The only constant is change itself, that’s what I’m most into: learning, growing and being inspired!
