Lights, cameras, costumes!

MANILA, Philippines - The eighth Cinemalaya Awards took place over the weekend and while we’d like to congratulate this year’s winners, we noticed that nearly every aspect of the films was given due recognition from the directors and actors to the editing and the music score — except for the wardrobe department. After all, where would Charlie Chaplin be without his iconic bowler hat or what kind of a filmmaker would Wes Anderson be without the highly stylized characters in his films? Wardrobe is an integral part of a film’s overall look and in some cases, can even serve to drive the film’s narrative. Working in the wardrobe department of a film is more than just styling too — it’s basically up to the team to craft a character’s identity through the clothing he wears.

Here, we recognize two wardrobe stylists from the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival who gave the care and attention to detail that their respective films deserved. Mikey Red, an art director and filmmaker by profession, worked on the retro-futuristic look of Kamera Obskura, a meta-film set in the 1920s to 1930s. Directed by his uncle, Raymond Red, for the Directors Showcase, the period film integrated the concept of futurism, which made for interesting visuals. Mara Reyes, on the other hand, styled for Marie Jamora’s Ang Nawawala, which fell under the New Breed category. In contrast to Kamera, the look of Ang Nawawala is very current, featuring characters (and real people playing themselves) in the indie rock scene who may dress like you, or somebody you know. 

Mara Reyes, 26

How did you become involved in Ang Nawawala?

I’ve been working with Marie for her music videos. Last year, during the Christmas season, I got a text from her asking if I wanted to do wardrobe for her film. I was thrilled! What made me agree to do it? Hello, Marie Jamora! Who says “no” to her?

I guess if there’s anyone who knows my style that’d be her; I’m guessing she trusts me to work on what she wants and that I understand where she’s coming from. Like, hello, not everyone knows who Graham Coxon or Rachael from Blade Runner are or watches a lot of Wes Anderson and all those costume-driven, f*cked-up films.

When coming up with the looks for each character, how much input came from you and from Marie?

I guess it was 50/50. For our first official wardrobe meeting Marie was prepared like a soldier with bullet points, a PowerPoint presentation with complete looks, character bios and inspiration, explanations, and every single thing that could make me read her mind on what she wanted for her characters. It was amazing! That’s what I love with her; she’s so into defining every character. So I worked with that and then twisted it a bit, injected my personal style, and edited a few in a way to make it more workable.

How important is wardrobe to the film?

A lot! And that was the first thing Marie told me during our first meet, which hella scared me. The style of each character basically defines them. And I love how Marie takes clothing as a big part of her film because not every director gives that much attention like she does.

Did you have specific pegs?

Marie provided the first pegs, then I provided the second batch, then we married both our ideas.         The peg/direction for the whole film was French New Wave-meets-British New Wave. Taking inspiration from Wes Anderson and John Hughes films where every character’s personality shows through their way of dressing and if you wear it for Halloween, people will get which character you are.

How chaotic was it to keep track of what each character had to wear for every scene in the movie? What was your system?

Chaotic enough for me to cause delays on set. I had no system, I was so disorganized and felt how much everyone hated me every time I f*cked up. (Laughs) We tried getting people who make systems but they all pretty much f*cked up too.

Out of all the characters, which one was your favorite to dress, and why?

Everyone, ‘cause each character was different. Esme’s was old-school florals, Cory’s was Zooey Deschanel-ish; I like how Wes can wear odd-looking ties and vests even if he’s in the Philippines, how Gibson always wears long-sleeves because Dom Roco has tattoos all over… I like how each character was well-defined with the clothes they wore. I think the only one who I allowed to put that much into her wardrobe was Ms. Dawn Zulueta, because she’s Dawn Zulueta.

Was it your first time working on a film set?

Yes. I’m used to working for TVCs, print ads and magazines. I like how you have to bring your own mug/cup; everyone who works for indie and movies tells me that — so it’s true! It’s hard how you have to work on a tight budget — indie films in the Philippines, I think, define how our country works. I’ll leave it at that.

Mikey Red, 26

How did you become involved in Kamera Obskura?

I contacted Tito Emon (Raymond Red —ed.) to ask if I could be part of the project. Since my dad, Jon Red, and uncles, Raymond, Danny and Roy, have always been my mentors, I make sure I am part of their personal projects, especially since I plan to make my own films as well.

Are you a stylist by profession? If not, how did you end up doing the wardrobe for the film?

I’m not a stylist at all, actually. But since wardrobe is a big part of (art direction), there are times when we prefer doing it ourselves. Not to mention we were working on an independent film with a limited budget, and collaborating with family, (so) it wasn’t much of a big deal to multi-task.

It was a bit of an adjustment for me because costuming deals with the actors. You’re actually designing people. While art direction concentrates more on designing the look of the sets, the locations and the props. But of course costuming as well as art direction is what makes up the production design.

When coming up with the looks for each character, how much input came from you and from Raymond?

Tito Emon and the production designers Tito Danny and Cesar Hernando already had the designs in mind that I helped execute. The costume designs were decided based on the 1920s to 1930s period, but we got to play around with a few pieces since the film (that was within another film) had a futuristic concept for that decade. We kept track of each character’s costume based on their social class. 

During pre-production meetings, we’d discuss the specifics with the help of old photos of different people in Manila during the American occupation provided by the filmmaker and the production designers, and the Internet.

How chaotic was it to keep track of what each character had to wear for every scene in the movie? What was your system?

 We took photos and took down notes. And thanks to the technology, we could play back any time.

Where did you source the clothing used in the film? After the film wrapped up, where did all the clothes go?

When the design was decided, we borrowed/rented the costumes from Filmex Inc., a production house that also produced the film, some theater groups, and some actors themselves. We just had photos to guide us.

Since doing wardrobe for Kamera Obskura, do you find that you’re much more particular about what your characters will be wearing when you make/write your films?

Particular, but not meticulous. At least for the short film I just did. When making your personal work, multi-tasking becomes a normal thing, especially if the expenses are coming from your own pocket. I guess I could say that I also did the wardrobe for my own short film, but with the help of close friends; they retained what I had visualized until the end.

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Mikey Red’s first short film titled 50/50 is part of a multimedia group exhibit called “Analog Signals” on going until Aug. 3 at the Nova Art Gallery, La Fuerza Compound, Chino Roces avenue, Makati.