I used to be rummaging by the five-dollar trash can in a downtown style showroom when I discovered it: the proper piece for Sarah Jessica Parker to put on within the opening title sequence of her new present on HBO.
Within the field of clearance garments—tendencies from previous seasons dying on the vine—a white tulle peeked out just like the frothy crest of a wave in a sea of throwaways. I pulled it and a few form of fancy white tutu got here out. I envisioned pairing the brief, tiered tulle skirt with somewhat T-shirt or tank prime for a glance that was each up to date and funky. I additionally thought Sarah Jessica might relate to this loopy skirt due to her background as a ballet dancer. However simply as importantly, the tutu-style skirt was whimsical, adventurous, and surprising — form of like this present, Intercourse and the town.
Sarah Jessica instantly cherished the tutu. That made me pleased, partly as a result of she was the one who bought me the job. We had met a couple of years earlier Miami Rhapsody. I used to be employed as a dressing up designer by the movie’s director, David Frankel, for the romantic comedy, which additionally starred Mia Farrow and Antonio Banderas. Sarah Jessica and I clicked straight away as a result of our tastes have been congruent. For that film, she needed to put on the tight, skinny T-shirts that hit proper on the waist and have been all the craze within the Nineties. David did not just like the T-shirt, however Sarah Jessica knew what she was speaking about. She ended up profitable the argument and looking out nice.
There had been a special costume designer again then the pilot earlier than Intercourse and the town was shot in June 1997, however nobody had been pleased with the garments—particularly not Sarah Jessica. Within the present’s first episode — loosely based mostly on a newspaper column by Candace Bushnell about her personal adventures in New York — Sarah Jessica’s character Carrie faucets out her column from mattress in a sloppy outsized button-down and sloppy sweatpants. It was an outfit I would not put on at dwelling, not to mention on TV.
“That’s what Intercourse and the town was about: ladies with opinions, who weren’t afraid to specific them.”
Sarah Jessica approached present creator Darren Star about my acquisition. Darren – who had a profitable profession in Hollywood, making hits like Beverly Hills, 90210 And Melrose Place – knew the pilot’s costumes weren’t on top of things. To start with, Darren needed to convey a brand new particular person with whom Sarah Jessica had labored and felt comfy. However he additionally needed to really feel comfy with me.
Sarah Jessica Parker known as me to see if I would be curious about assembly Darren, and subsequent factor I knew I used to be in Lengthy Island Metropolis at Silvercup Studios, shaking palms with the creator and showrunner. I had no script, only a fundamental understanding of the present, which adopted the lives of Carrie and her three pals, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda. That was sufficient for me to get some concepts. I’ve no drawback going into chilly conferences as a result of I all the time have a powerful viewpoint – which Darren, it turned out, appreciated. In spite of everything, that is what Intercourse and the town was about: ladies with opinions, who weren’t afraid to specific them.
In his workplace, I confirmed him a e book of images and illustrations by Bettie Web page that I had introduced with me for inspiration.