Inside the fascinating world of ‘Stranger Things’ costume design

First, Parris’s team block printed the symbols, pressing them onto the yellow fabric like a stamp. Then, the triangles and tribar symbols were added as a subtle “easter egg,” alluding to the character’s sexual orientation. Once a sample swatch of fabric was block-printed, it was scanned and sent to a printer to re-create the fabric in mass. The fabric was then sent to Jaime Cockerham, head of the “Stranger Things” tailor shop. Cockerham cut the fabric and built a prototype of the shirt.

The shirt then needed to be duplicated because, as Parris explained, for TV and film, every costume generally needs multiples for scene doubles, stunt actors or because the costume is physically altered by some action in the show — for example, a character running through the woods. Once the multiples are made, they are passed to the show’s breakdown artist whose job it is to make the costume more believable.

“[The costume team] will come into the shop with an idea: ‘Can we break this down to make it look like this person wore it for this long, or they’ve been wearing it every day for two years, or something like that,” explained Tavares Ingram, season five’s breakdown artist. “I make it look authentic to really help push the story forward.”

Ingram might use chemical processes to age a costume, or he might paint, dye, dirty, burn or stain it — whatever the story calls for.

For one of Eleven’s costumes in “Stranger Things,” Parris’ team threw an actual milkshake at a dress. Artists then had to paint the duplicate dresses, copying the milkshake splatter exactly.

“Stranger Things” assistant costume designer, Kristin Garaventa, recounted a time on set in Lithuania when the breakdown artists were too busy aging a set of prisoner uniforms and she had to step in to do some impromptu breakdown artistry. Hopper, played by David Harbour, had to appear to be walking barefoot on icy ground. When some prosthetic feet he had counted on didn’t pan out, Garaventa had to problem-solve quickly. She used the rubber toe shoes from the bottom of the prosthetics to create fake feet socks for Harbour.

“I went to the art store down the street, got acrylic paints because that was the only thing they had, and painted those in my hotel room at night,” Garaventa laughed. “I had to touch them up every morning. As he continued to run barefoot throughout the snow, his feet bruised. So then I had to paint the next level of bruising.”

Credit: Raftermen Ben Dashwood

Credit: Raftermen Ben Dashwood

Stories such as these illuminate only a small fraction of the mishaps, methods and considerations costume designers like Parris must think through. While presenting at SCAD, Parris described some of the steps in her artistic process.

“I start by reading the script and on the first pass I just make sure I enjoy it,” said Parris. “The second pass you start to clock in how many [costume] changes that might be, and then you kind of make mental notes about questions you’d ask a director. You’ll have time to talk to the showrunner and the director. … They give you insight as to what they are imagining these characters look like.”

Next comes research. Parris pulls inspiration from myriad sources. In the case of “Stranger Things,” Parris found a book by photographer Michael Galinsky called “Malls Across America” for which he drove across the country documenting mall culture and fashion in the 1980s. The book, combined with dusty high school yearbooks, old family photos and ‘80s movies made up the bulk of imagery Parris collected to create an inspiration board, which she presented to “Stranger Things” directors Matt and Ross Duffer.

Parris created differing color palettes for specific locations to create appropriate moods, and so that viewers were aided with a visual cue to orient themselves as the show shifted quickly from place to place.

Just as place changes, characters evolve throughout a show, too. Their clothing must visually represent the character’s transformation. In this sense, costumes can be as much of a storytelling device as anything else. Sometimes it is a change of style or color. Other times, it might even be symbolic. Parris shared another “easter egg” from one of her costumes: Dustin’s lone-wolf T-shirt.

“I felt like this graphic was Dustin at the end of last season after his friend Eddie had passed,” Parris said.

A few more considerations Parris takes into account: the sketches of settings provided to her by the production designer and how her costumes might look in the space; the fabric stiffness and how it operates; the lighting, which can sometimes alter the pigment of a fabric on camera; the era; how the costumes juxtapose with other characters in scenes; and the balance of styles in the big picture, which could include hundreds, if not thousands, of background characters.

“We photograph everybody. We look at it as a whole. We make sure there isn’t too much of one color, or too much of one style, because you never know where the camera’s going to catch,” she said, showing a slide of a board tacked with hundreds of photos organized by social groups represented in the scene — mean girls, preppy kids, class clowns, jocks.

If one thing was clear after listening to Parris and her team, it was that costume design is far more complicated than meets the eye. Like a trick, when done right, one might not even take notice of the details, yet find themselves utterly captivated and immersed in a world other than their own. Parris was like the magician demystifying her signature trick by sharing just how she pulled it off.

HAPPENING NOW

If you want to learn more about costume design from another legendary designer, Sandy Powell, SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film has a new exhibition for you.

“Sandy Powell: Dressing the Part” opened on Oct. 10 and showcases the work of Powell, who has earned three Academy Awards for her achievement in costume design. She has collaborated with some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Martin Scorsese, Todd Haynes, Neil Jordan, Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton and Cate Blanchett.

The exhibition is curated by Rafael Gomes, creative director of SCAD FASH museums. It’s free, open to the public and runs through March 16. For more information visit scadfash.org.