COLLEEN ATWOOD

I get more distracted by hair or a really bad wig than I do costumes any day of the week.

I think a lot of young girls go through that period in their life of finding who they are, and at that point, looking good matters the most.

I am always looking for ideas, whether it is in art on the street or in my world travels. It comes to me randomly and unexpectedly.

Every story is different, so what is a detail in one might not be in something else. Diversity is something I embrace and love about my work.

Costume, hair and makeup can tell you instantly, or at least give you a larger perception of who a character is. It's the first impression that you have of the character before they open their mouth, so it really does establish who they are.

I grew up in the age of polyester. When I got to touch real silk, cotton and velvet, the feel of nonsynthetic fabrics blew me away. I know it's important how clothing looks, but it's equally important how it feels on your skin.

My own style is pretty classic; I much prefer to design for others.

I can create clothes for so many different time periods. I've always tried to avoid being pigeonholed. Plus, everything I learn about design and costume from one movie somehow works its way into something else.

Each simian had a much different body suit, so besides trying to define class across species, there was a definite attempt to dress each group in different styles.

Costume design allows you to do a different type of research and create characters, whereas in fashion, you create an image and clothing for the masses.

I love designing costumes that I can actually construct, working to create an environment that people want to be in.

I really don't over-theorize about design. I'd rather feel it than talk it to death. A lot happens as you unroll the design.

I think that sometimes people don't understand that a costume that has to be worn every day and doesn't change the whole movie becomes iconic. It's very important because it requires a different design process, since you have to make something that people aren't going to get tired of looking at.

Some of the kimonos took as long as four to five months to make, with all the layers that go into it.

In real life, a lot of people at that level will have their kimonos made especially for them.

I like the architecture of lingerie.

I always have a moment when I know I'm designing the last costume that gets made for a movie, and it's always been floating up there, but it's kind of the last one. That's always probably the hardest one for me.

I grew up in a small town in Washington State, so I wasn't really aware of costume design as a career growing up, but I loved clothes. I remember I saved all my money, and the first thing that I bought was a white blazer, which was to the horror to my parents. But I have always had a strange connection with clothing.

It's great fun that my grandkids get to see the costumes in 'Alice in Wonderland' or a doll with grandma's dress, but then they also let me know they're bummed I didn't do any of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movies.

I had to work out that it was something that could move, without having everybody in spray painted leotards.

The reward is that you can actually create a world separate from reality with a story, actors, music, and camera design. When it works it can entertain, move people and teach us all.

I don't design my own clothes. It's so not what I think about.

It's often said that costume designers are a faceless group of people. But we can contribute to fashion in a way that might be new and different.

Inspiration comes from everywhere: books, art, people on the street. It is an interior process for me.

When I do period work, I really like to read about the period as much as I like to look at pictures because sometimes the written word is much better at conveying what their lives were really like and how much they had and where their clothes came from. Because, a lot of time, people dressed in their Sunday best to pose for a picture.