Few people know that my first career was as a costume designer in theater, film, and television.  I studied theatrical design at university, and, thanks to a very lucky break, slid into the business and worked in that position for a few intense, fun years.

For my taste, Eiko Ishioka was the greatest costume designer in the world.  She certainly changed my world with her exquisite costumes for Francis Coppola’s’ Dracula.  I was always a “Francis Freak,” but it was Ishioka’s shockingly vibrant, wildly dramatic, luscious wardrobe that jettisoned me into Coppola’s Gothic fantasy and made me want to stay there.  Forever.  The reds were not incarnadine but blood itself.  The juxtaposition of bridal white against the ruthless horror of an undead bride seared my imagination.  The bizarre confluence of Japanese discipline, Victorian excess, unbridled sexuality, and sheer theatricality stunned me.  I couldn’t get the images out of my mind.  For decades. ... Read more.