Revolutionary Road
Albert Wolsky is the Academy Award winning costume designer behind the iconic fashion in films such as Bugsy, Grease, All That Jazz and most recently he dressed Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet for Revolutionary Road.
Female First caught up with him to find out what really goes on in the wardrobe department.........
Have you always wanted to be a costume designer? If not how did you end up in this career?
I've not always wanted to be a costume designer. I actually flirted with the idea of being a fashion designer. I very quickly realized that it was not a field I was interested in. With some delay-- a few years as a travel agent--I came upon the idea of combining my interest in clothes and my love of the theater. And here I am.
What is the process for taking clothes from the storyboard to the screen? And how long does it take?
As a costume designer I don't storyboard. I do however do a lot of research and painful sketching. The length of time it all takes depends on how much time I am given. It is rarely luxurious. Sometimes it's very short. Revolutionary Road which came together very quickly and had to evolve also very quickly gave me very short four or five weeks to prepare.
The process for designing is first reading, rereading and even more rereading the script, meetings with the director, research, sketching if needed, fabric collecting, patterns, fittings on actors and finishing which sometimes requires aging so that the clothes don't look as if they just emerged from a costume shop. All of these by the way is team work. I don't want to infer that I do it all alone.
What inspired you for the costumes for Revolutionary Road?
My inspiration for Revolutionary Road was researching the fifties not from a fashion sense but from an everyday practical sense. Thus I stayed away from fashion magazine and instead researched magazines like Life, Colliers, Sears Roebuck catalogues, photographers of that period. In short the business world of New York and suburbia in Connecticut. All dictated by the characters of the script and the costume needs.
What is your favourite fashion era, and why?
Since my work is character, describing who people are and what they are doing I like any period but today. I find doing my work in a current period very hard to accomplish. It's wonderful that we live in times where anything goes fashion wise. But it's very difficult when it comes to character work.
What is your favourite production that you have worked on, and why?
I have many favorite films that I've worked on. Going back in time I can say Lenny, Sophie's Choice, Grease, Bugsy and more recently Road To Perdition which is a special favorite since I had the most total control down to even having fabrics woven so that the clothes draped and hung properly. You can't do a period well without the proper fabrics of the times.
What did you find the most challenging production to work on, and why?
I think that Across The Universe was one of the most challenging productions I worked. Set mostly in the mid to late sixties it was a challenge to describe where all our principals were coming from. As an example, Liverpool for one of the characters. In additions there were theatrical fantasy moments invented by Julie Taymor, our director. It was challenging but also quite wonderful to work both realistically and in a theatrical mode.
Who is your favourite actor that you have worked with?
I've been very fortunate and have worked with many wonderful actors. I don't have a single favorite but I guess one can put Meryl Streep at the top of the list. But why not?
If you could dress any actor who would it be?
I'm a bit blank as to which actor I would most prefer to dress. I work totally from character and script. A wonderful, challenging script will always attract talented and dedicated actors. So for me it would be the project.
Revolutionary Road is out on DVD today (29th June)