Sarah Evelyn, Trayce Gigi Field, Rudy Mance, Kathleen Felix-Hager, and Natasha Newman-Thomas break down how costume design is shaped as much by budgets and scheduling as by silhouettes and texture—watch the IndieWire Craft Roundtables panel.
There’s a moment that costume designers talk about like a secret they can’t quite unlearn: the day isn’t only for creativity. It’s for the meetings, the timing, the labor, and the budget math that has to work out before a single character steps into wardrobe.
That tension sat right at the center of IndieWire’s Craft Roundtables costume design panel. featuring Sarah Evelyn (“The Beauty”). Trayce Gigi Field (“Spider-Noir”). Rudy Mance (“Love Story”). Kathleen Felix-Hager (“Hacks” and “The Paper”). and Natasha Newman-Thomas (“Euphoria”). Moderated by IndieWire’s Jim Hemphill. the conversation moved through the big visual decisions—color and silhouettes—then drifted into the smaller. more tactile choices that help define a character once the camera is rolling.
Evelyn set the tone early with a blunt wish. “In costume design, I wish we were just designers. But we also do have a big hand in the budget and the labor,” she said. Her point landed hard because it’s the reality behind the craft: even when design is the headline. the work can be crowded by logistics. “Sometimes I feel like ‘Oh my god. I just got to design for 75 seconds. that was amazing!’ Because you feel like your whole day can be taken up with logistics.”.
Field echoed that push-and-pull, describing her role as a constant balancing act. “It’s half organization and half creative. You’ve got to have that brain in order to make sure that everything is gonna happen when it needs to happen. ” she said. She also didn’t hide her frustration with the idea that costume work is only glamour and inspiration. “I love the creative part, if I only had to do the creative part, oh my God!. But that’s not how it works. You have to understand your budget and you have the skills to go talk to a producer about money. I think people don’t realize that that’s part of our jobs.”.
The panel’s emphasis kept returning to the same practical truth as the discussion deepened: the choices viewers notice on screen still have to survive the calendar and the cost sheet. Hemphill guided the artists through both the visible and invisible parts of the process. linking their craft to Emmy-contending television from the year—right down to the moment-by-moment demands of putting costumes in place.
You can watch the complete panel in the video above. IndieWire’s TV Craft Roundtables is now streaming on @PBSSoCal and the PBS App, as well as IndieWire.com and the outlet’s social channels.
IndieWire Craft Roundtables costume design panel Sarah Evelyn Trayce Gigi Field Rudy Mance Kathleen Felix-Hager Natasha Newman-Thomas Jim Hemphill The Beauty Spider-Noir Love Story Hacks The Paper Euphoria PBS SoCal PBS App