Hollywood Costume Designer Arianne Phillips On Fashion And Vogue World

If the name Arianne Phillips does not ring a bell immediately, it is rather guaranteed that you know her life’s work. Born in New York, the celebrated costume designer has continued to make an indelible mark on Hollywood films, the entertainment industry as a whole and around fashion trends within our everyday lives.

Known for bringing her iconic cinematic creations to films like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, A Complete Unknown, Joker: Folie à Deux, A Single Man and Walk the Line – just to name a few – Phillips, 62, has effectively enhanced on-screen storytelling with her bold ideas and her carefully crafted designs. The 4-time Academy Award nominee is now being honored for her many fashion achievements, as Vogue World comes to Hollywood for the very first time.

Taking place on October 26 at the Paramount Studios lot, the filming location of some of the most beloved films of our time – from Sunset Boulevard and Psycho to Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Indiana Jones, Vogue World first began three years ago in New York as an open-air runway in downtown Manhattan. In 2023, Vogue World moved to London’s historic theatre district – and last year, it took over the Parisian streets. Now, Vogue World: Hollywood will celebrate the rich conversation between film and fashion, where high style, high drama and special performances from Doja Cat and Gracie Abrams are expected.

One hundred percent of ticket proceeds will go to the Entertainment Community Fund, a charity that supports actors, workers and other creatives in the film industry. With the LA wildfires that occurred earlier this year in mind, there will also be a special focus on upcoming job opportunities for costume professionals, with Paramount Pictures also pledging a donation to the Fund. For those not attending the Hollywood one-night-only show, you can tune in to this year’s livestream at Vogue.com at 6pm PDT.

Phillips will be recognized at Vogue World: Hollywood alongside her fashion industry peers Colleen Atwood (Edward Scissorhands), Milena Canonero (Marie Antoinette), Ruth E. Carter (Black Panther), Catherine Martin (Moulin Rouge!), Sandy Powell (Shakespeare in Love), Jacqueline West (Dune) and Shirley Kurata (Everything Everywhere All at Once) – with each of them featuring their work on-display for guests to have the opportunity to marvel at, up-close and personal.

Speaking with Phillips just before Vogue World: Hollywood kicks off, she is well-aware of how costume designers play a pivotal role in helping properly bring a narrative to the screen.

“As a costume designer, my job is not only to help, it’s part of world-building in partnership with the director, the production designer and the cinematography as a contribution to a world, when we are creating a story and a time and a place. Then, of course, collaborating directly with actors, in terms of helping create the character. There’s a real tactile aspect to costumes that can really evoke a feeling and underscore a mood and a tone. We do that with color. We do that with textures. How a costume fits an actor tells you a lot about who that character is.”

Phillips went on to discuss the unique trust that must be built between an actor and a costume designer. “We are the only department in film when we meet an actor, we’re like – Hi, nice to meet you. Take your clothes off. I mean, it’s really very intimate.”

As for her being included in Vogue World: Hollywood, Phillips speaks highly of her fellow costume designers being honored, saying they all have “inspired and informed me” – adding: “I have to hand it to Anna Wintour and Vogue and all the incredible people at the magazine who have supported this idea and made it – opening the conversation on the Vogue platform in this really beautiful way with a live event and embracing the work of myself and the other costume designers. It’s thrilling and I think a long time coming.”

Looking beyond Vogue World: Hollywood, stay tuned for more costume creations ahead from Phillips for the big screen, as she has already started preparing for her next film with Colman Domingo directing, titled Scandalous, about the love affair between Sammy Davis Dr. and Kim Novak.

Phillips concluded our conversation by saying about Scandalous, “I am really excited about working on a movie about Hollywood, set in the 50s – a very, very different time. I think every film, I have an opportunity to work with new people and be inspired – not only by other department heads and other people on the set, whether it’s a prop master or assistant director or an art director who works as a production designer, but also with my own crews. The costumes really play a role in underscoring the feeling that you want to evoke with the actor, with the director – for the audience.”