The costumes created and hand picked by True Blood’s costume designer Audrey Fisher were once again fabulous in the past season. A particular fan favorite was the stunning and very sexy red dress that Jessica wore during the karaoke night at the Compton Mansion. Cherry Bomb anyone?
Audrey Fisher kindly donated a bunch of special wardrobe posters of the Cherry Bomb dress to The Vault for charity purposes and we couldn’t think of a better day than today to put them up for sale to benefit the Choroideremia Research Foundation.
Today, EJ Scott was supposed to run his 11th marathon of this year (yes you heard that correctly ELEVENTH) in New York City. It was announced yesterday that the marathon has been cancelled because of the devastation hurricane Sandy left the city in. Our thoughts are with all the victims in the area. EJ is determined to fulfill his goal to run 12 marathons this year and flew cross country to be in NY today, therefore he has decided to run 26.2 miles in NY today and will be joining a group that will run around Central Park. Unfortunately this means he will miss all the press, promotion and donations for his cause that he otherwise would have received.
The Vault would like to show its support for EJ by starting the poster sale today and to wish EJ a happy birthday in advance for November 6.
The poster is totally unique and is sold only on The Vault and nowhere else. It is signed by both Deborah Ann Woll and Audrey Fisher. We only have 15 pieces, so hurry over to eBay if you want one. As always all proceeds minus fees will be donated to the Choroideremia Research Foundation.
The Vault has joined E.J.’s team in support of his goal to run 12 marathons in 12 different states of the USA in 2012. You can make credit card donations securely through our action page: http://www.crowdrise.com. All the money raised will count for E.J.’s grand total and your comment will also appear on E.J.’s Crowdrise page. Donations are tax deductible for US residents.
You can also donate directly and safely to the Choroideremia Research Foundation by credit card or Paypal using the PayPal button here below. Donations are tax deductible for US residents.
The fundraising for Kristin Bauer’s anti-poaching documentary Out for Africa continues on eBay with the auction of a 30 minute phone call with Audrey Fisher, the Costume Designer of True Blood.
This is an unique opportunity for Truebies, aspiring costume designers or fashionistas to talk fashion with the lady responsible for all the wonderful costumes you see on True Blood. Learn the tips and tricks of costume design, how the flashback costumes were made, the Pamtastic outfits or where to shop.
The auction ends on October 27. For more info and to place your bid visit the listing on eBay.
Together with True Blood’s costume designer Audrey Fisher (@AudreyFish) we look back at some of the most remarkable costumes of season 5. What did the actors wear, who did they wear and why did they wear it?
Special thanks to Audrey Fisher for offering an insider look at the True Blood costumes and to Lisa for selecting the fashion picks.
From episode 5.07 and 5.08
Arlene the beautiful bride
Because Arlene had to be hugely pregnant on her wedding day, I needed to find a gown that would accommodate a big belly. I decided Arlene would go for a frothy romantic 70s look…and the popular empire waistline of that era that would help with the belly. We found this gown at a vintage shop, and because of the padded bra and belly, the alterations were minimal..and Arlene looked perfectly divine! – Audrey Fisher
Russell is back
I wanted to Russell to be back to his dangerous self, all cleaned up and ready to roll. So I chose a gorgeous black satin jacket by Sand which has beautiful red embroidered blooms scattered on it…and so the oxblood shirt matched those embroidered flowers. It seemed like an appropriately theatrical look for his resurrection. – Audrey Fisher
Tara works the pole
This wonderful vinyl ensemble comes straight from Hollywood Boulevard. We tried on lots of options, but this one was the best for her movement; she needed her arms, torso and legs exposed so she could work the pole, and it’s amazing to see Rutina’s beautiful body showcased in this look. I went for traditional black vinyl to create a strong contrast with Lettie Mae, who basically looks like an Easter Egg in comparison. – Audrey Fisher
Pam the queen of Fangtasia
This was an 80′s flashback look…We went with that amazing lioness hair, and Donna Mills makeup, and she’s sporting a vintage black leather Cavalli dress. Working with Kristin Bauer van Straten is dreamy…effortless, fun and inspiring! She’s the consummate professional, a total joy. And easy on the eyes! – Audrey Fisher
1900s Bill
I didn’t have time to custom build this costume, so I relied on rental pieces that we drastically altered. We did make the collar however, and I think it looks great. Stephen Moyer wears clothes so well, and innately understands how to move in period garments to make them seem totally right. – Audrey Fisher
Sam in plaid
Sam Trammell looks so incredible in blue plaid Western shirts…they are, of course, his character’s signature costume piece, but happily also totally flattering to his eyes, hair and physique! This is by Salt Valley, a brand from Urban Outfitters that I love and use all the time on the show. He’s wearing his trademark Merlotte buckle and Levis. So this is a totally iconic look…and yes he does look totally hot. – Audrey Fisher
Together with True Blood’s costume designer Audrey Fisher (@AudreyFish) we look back at some of the most remarkable costumes of season 5. What did the actors wear, who did they wear and why did they wear it?
Special thanks to Audrey Fisher for offering an insider look at the True Blood costumes and to Lisa for selecting the fashion picks.
From episode 5.06
Swoosh polo Roman
Alan Ball scripted this outfit: Golf clothes. Hilarious! So I just went for Power Golf Attire…Nike. Of course. And Chris is such a hunk, it was a pleasure to encase him in this tight, bright blue golf polo; then of course Nike high-concept fashion golf-pants (charcoal with a white windowpane, very elegant), and the new-fangled Nike version of old school golf saddle shoes. – Audrey Fisher
Faery Claude and Claudette
All the faeries are wearing such wonderful eclectic outfits, a real pastiche of rentals, vintage finds, and clothes and accessories from shops large and small all over LA, and it was such fun to design these looks! Claude is in a hot pink vintage vest rented from one of our local costume houses, along with some vintage and contemporary jewelry, and also vintage blue men’s slacks. I found the wonderful skinny sequined scarf at some store downtown. I love how it sparkles in the light. Claudette is wearing an adorable little red and hot pink striped Moroccan vest that was rented as well; a pink rose cocktail hat with luscious bought at a vintage shop; a mix of vintage and contemporary jewels; a sexy black bra; adorable little black satin tap pants with a little rose pattern from Jonquil; and of course sexy thigh high fishnets, high strappy heels and little mits! – Audrey Fisher
Salome in black
This is a stunning dress from Black Halo. Salome is always aware of her sexual power, so even this black dress has an incredibly seductive silhouette, and emphasizes all of Salome’s assets. I chose black because I felt Salome was showing deference and respect to Roman, who seems to be her lord and master…but dark plans are unfolding…and Salome is deeply religious, but also very political, vampire. – Audrey Fisher
Audrey Fisher, True Blood’s very creative costume designer has come up with a bunch of great T-Shirt designs, just in time for Halloween. You can be part of deciding which of her exclusive designs will be made & sold in limited edition (boys’ & girls’ tees) for Halloween 2012. Click on the image below to go to the One Jackson and pick your favorite design. The one that gets the most votes, will be the one that will be sold.
Together with True Blood’s costume designer Audrey Fisher (@AudreyFish) we look back at some of the most remarkable costumes of season 5. What did the actors wear, who did they wear and why did they wear it?
Special thanks to Audrey Fisher for offering an insider look at the True Blood costumes and to Lisa for selecting the fashion picks.
From episode 5.03
Salome the seductress dressed in black lace
“I designed this dress, and it was built by our seamstresses. It is a black lace embellished with bugle beads, with long sleeves and a full train. Salome is wearing a black silk corset and slip underneath…I thought it looked stunning against the industrial set.” – Audrey Fisher
Jessica looking peachy
“This dress is Bebe. The script descibed a “band aid of a dress,” so I went with this fleshy peach color, and tried to find the tiniest dress I could. I think the color and the style both work to make Jessica seem sweet, sexy and vulnerable when she becomes unhinged by the delicious fairy smell of Claude.” – Audrey Fisher
I had been to see a panel on Friday at Comic Con titled Designing for the Undead which consisted of costume designers guild members Chrisi Karvonides (costume designer, American Horror Story, Carnivale), Audrey Fisher (costume designer, True Blood), and Alexander Welker (costume designer, Grimm) and costume illustrator Imogene Chayes (True Blood, American Horror Story) who talked about creating all those costumes for the great paranormal television characters we know and love.
At the Comic-Con Media, Culture and Design Panel- Friday, July 13, 2012.
Watch the video I took while attending the panel at Comic Con.
I had already contacted Audrey Fisher about doing an interview and after the panel, I went up to her to set a time to talk together. I met with her at her hotel on Sunday, July 15 in the morning and it was a delightful interview. I know I sound like a broken record when I say this, but I found her to be, just like everyone else on True Blood, extremely giving and kind. I enjoyed our talk together and was very flattered that she asked me to her room where I could meet her friends and where she could give me some photos to use for The Vault’s charity efforts.
Below is my interview with the lovely Audrey Fisher.
How did you get into the business? I was just sitting and talking with someone on Friday, at the signing before our panel and I realized that I have been doing this for 20 years. I designed my first show in NY in 1992.
Audrey with some of her True Blood designs on display.
Did you go to school for this or was it something you just fell into? I went to theater school and that’s why I was in New York. I went to NYU, Tisch in the department of performance studies which is this very esoteric major that sort of mixes sociology, theology, and performance, theater studies and everything all mixed together. It’s a very brainy program and a lot of theory and not a lot of theater making. So what happened is that I thought I wanted to be a dramaturge, a German term, or the Germans developed it. It’s sort of like the person in a theater production is kind of like the editor; that’s what I thought I wanted to be.
A dramaturge or dramaturg is a professional position within a theatre or opera company that deals mainly with research and development of plays or operas. Its modern-day function was originated by the innovations of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, an 18th-century German playwright, philosopher, and theorist about theatre.
Obviously it’s an even more specialized field and really, theater in America is very different from theater in Germany. So, I was going to this very erudite program but while I was there, I started needing to do things with my hands and I’ve always done costumes on the side. One of my colleagues was a German woman, and a director, and she did a production of Medea and she saw these crazy hats I was making in an art class and she asked me to do the costumes. It totally made sense because my mom and I used to make things in the garage and I was always sewing and making stuff for my dolls and we were always putting on little shows, so there was this tradition in my family of making things and making costumes, so it felt completely natural and I started doing it then and fell for it, hard.
How did you get the job on True Blood? That was the most amazing situation. I had been working by then for over a dozen years in the industry, doing costuming. I started in New York in ‘92 and I did a bunch of small theater pieces there and then I went to Europe and did a couple of operas and some theater. Then, I came back to New York and did some bigger productions there and then I moved back to LA and became a resident design assistant at the Taper. I started doing various jobs there where I met Merlina Root, she was doing a show at the Taper. She is the designer of “That 70’s Show” and “Twenty Good Years” and “3rd Rock from the Sun.” So I assisted her in theater and she said what are you doing in theater, you should come and work in TV, and I said OK and I hadn’t even thought of it. She hired me on “That 80’s Show,” and I assistant designed with her. Then, she hired me onto “That 70’s Show” and during that show when we were wrapping, Danny Glicker came and wanted to buy the stock for the movie, “We Are Marshall.” He and I totally hit it off and he hired me to be his assistant designer on that movie, “We Are Marshall.” At that time, Danny’s career was taking off and Alan Ball asked him to do “Towelhead” and then asked him to do True Blood. So Danny was the first designer for True Blood,’ he designed the first two episodes. Then, we had the writer’s strike and Danny suggested I take over because he was going to go on to do the movie, “Milk” and no one knew what was going to happen. So, he basically said to Alan and the Producers, “Audrey loves the show, knows the show, I trust her implicitly, she’s great, so what if she took over.” I never thought of it, it’s like a dream when an assistant sort of gets kicked upstairs like that. Now, it’s my baby. The minute I got it I thought, Oh My God, this is my big moment.
Different Sookie Looks
What’s fun about your job?
Everything is fun about it. I am kind of hyper and love everything we have to handle every day. I love the multi-tasking, and I love the pace. Sometimes when I wake up and I’m really tired, and I say to myself, I just can’t, then I remember what I have to do today. Hmmm, I have a fitting with Alexander Skarsgård, I have to outfit a bunch of faeries and then, I have to deal with this huge blood rig and then, I have to see Anna for a fitting, so I say, OK, I’m getting up now. So, even on my worst day, I remember this incredible thing that I get to do and I get paid for it.
Suzuki Ingerslev, True Blood’s set designer, told me that she doesn’t have the incredible pace that you have to deal with; is this true?
It makes sense when you look at the amount of bodies and details on the bodies vs. the production design. They have a set and all the beautiful details, but they have one set and it’s a numbers game. I have to deal with physical people; underwear and socks, and rings, and earrings. And then there are ear allergies and wool allergies and, “I don’t like this neckline” and “I look terrible in this color” and “I like this brand of underwear.” There are just so many details and with production design it doesn’t have that element, so that just adds a lot of time to my docket.
I liked when you said Kristin was your Barbie Doll.
She is. She is physically a dream in terms of putting clothes on her body. That’s pretty extraordinary with the cast; they’re all so extraordinary, they are amazing.
Kristin Bauer van Straten as Audrey’s Barbie Doll
How much advance notice do you have to find items, like finding the Wal-Mart outfit and the onesies for Jason, etc?
The jammies were a total build; we made those from scratch since they just don’t exist.
And they were a huge hit.
Yes, and Angela Robinson wrote that, she wrote “he man onesie” and I was like OK, because I can’t like just call the “He man onesie store” and order it in a man size, we just made it up. Those are challenges that the writers sort of toss up that I’m happy to be able to satisfy.
It just depends, what I try to do is sort of hoard items and if I’m out shopping and I see things I like, I just buy it, I buy six of it. Then, I have it ready to go and a lot of times, that works out. Because I’m always thinking about the color palettes and the silhouettes and scanning out in the world. Even now,when I’m out in the world it’s so hard for me to shut off the shopping because I’m think, “oh, that will be great for this and that would be great for that,” so, I’m constantly thinking that way.
In the beginning of the season it’s best because we get like two scripts and then we get a bunch of synopsis so we try to front load and we see stuff that’s coming up and we can prep for it.
Kristin Bauer van Straten in Wal-Mart Sweatsuit
Ryan Kwanten in HeMan Onesie
Do you get synopsis for the whole season?
No, usually we get 2 – 3 scripts and a couple of synopsis at a time. However, you can’t work too far ahead on a synopsis because things change, so you don’t put too much effort into it. But that’s when my relationship with the writer’s room comes in handy because I can say, “Is this going to stay?”
Have you had that happen where something has been changed radically at the last minute?
I can’t think of something where it’s been that radical, but things have fallen away that we’ve started to prep for, but we’ve sort of hit a balance now where we don’t ever go too far ahead because we don’t want to waste money and time; we don’t have it to waste, so we try to keep it tight.
What costumes in season 5 required the most from you?
Oh, the Faery Club because we had to dress all of them. The same thing with 1905, the whore house, but the faery club took a long time for us to get to the articulation of the design.
By the time we got it we only had two weeks to manufacture all the costumes before it was on camera, so it was really high pressure and went into overdrive. We hired a whole second team of seamstresses, assistant designers, shoppers. PA’s and costumers, so we had a whole secondary costume shop working. We had to fit a 100 people and we had to get two changes on most of them because we knew we wouldn’t have those resources again. We knew we needed to bang it out so we’d be ready for future scenes that we didn’t know about. We wanted to make sure that each faery had a closet that we could rely on so we would know for example, she has another bra, she has another crown, she already has another selection of jewelry so that for the next time around we could pull out something and wouldn’t be stuck.
The Faery Club
It’s amazing too because that scene wasn’t really that long even though a very important scenes.
I think for every department it’s a heartbreak when we don’t have the camera lovingly dwell on each thing, but of course there’s so much packed into each episode, they have to edit so tightly so, those long lingering shots, the wide shots, often end up on the cutting room floor because they have to get to the action. And, people want to see the actors close up and their reactions. I actually was very satisfied with how much we saw the faeries this season.
And Hadley looks so cute in that scene with the little crown on her head.
She’s so adorable and cute.
Hadley – Lindsey Haun
How’s the budget? Do you have to work with little or do you think you have enough to do what you need to do?
That’s one thing about having started from the beginning you can look back. I recently was sorting through some files and found my season 1 files and noticed that the budget has doubled. I was laughing. My first episode that I designed of Season 1, episode 3, the cast list wasn’t long and the budget is half of what it is now. I took it into my supervisor, who is sort of like the project manager, and we laughed so hard because now the cast list is like 20 principles and 20 day players, so we laughed about that.
I’m not interested in wasting money or spending a lot for doing something I could do for less. It’s always a balance between time and money; that’s it. It’s just a continuum. I simply can’t afford very expensive designs, for example, I can’t shop at Saks Fifth Avenue all the time. I can do so occasionally though, if I find something on sale for say, Pam.
But, also it is Bon Temps?
I do have that interesting split and I think that the reason I could be on budget is because half the people’s [costumes], I can get out of Good Will, out of Kohl’s or JC Penney’s which we have done over the years, but then, where I spend the money is on Chris Meloni and Anna. This season, Anna had to have a lot of different options as her pregnancy advanced. As she got bigger, there was a lot of work we had to do to make sure she was comfortable, a lot of different sizes of everything, a lot of different choices. I had to reserve my main funds for the top ten [cast members] and of course, the vampires. Especially this season their clothes were very high end so I had to make sure I had the money for that.
But, still I do a lot of tricks. A lot of the dresses that I find are knock offs of designer stuff, like the purple dress that Salome just wore. That beautiful curvy dress, that’s a knock off of a very expensive designer actually, Roland Mouret and then, Black Halo knocked him off and then, French Connection knocked Black Halo off. So, it looks like a very expensive designer dress, but it’s actually French Connection, which I think was maybe under $200. That’s how I can do it because things are knocked off so quickly now, allowing me to give the impression of a very luxurious costume when in fact it’s affordable for the budget.
We kind of thought that True Blood would go on for another year. I personally would like it to go on forever, but yesterday, at the True Blood Panel, Alan said that it could go on for many years, so I presume you’ll be there until the end. What would you like to do when it does end? I’m just starting to think about it and the future. Obviously season 6 is happening and I’m there, but for me the key is the interesting and amazing scripts. I’d love to travel, go on location, and do a film. The thing I think would be hard for me would be to do something that is really bare bones because that requires so much work on the designers part, it’s like sweat equity. I think that would be hard to do because I’m used to a really logical and efficient way of working. Therefore, I would have to find something that was logical and efficient because I don’t think I could go back to stuff that’s so poorly funded that you’re not really spending the money you really need to make it look right. And that doesn’t have to be a lot, but I feel like I want to work on productions that are smart, savvy and then have an incredible script.
Do you have any aspirations to go back to the stage?
You know the thing about the stage is that I haven’t been able to afford to go back because, at least the productions I used to do, the pay is really low.
Well, that’s fine because we like you in TV and, HBO specifically. It seems they are very supportive, is that true?
Yes, it’s an incredible company, especially when I’m here (Comic con), and I see the way that they support me as a designer representing the show vs. colleagues from other shows. For example, they produced this incredible handout with a sketch of Jessica. I hired a sketch artist, my sketch artist Imogene, and they tiled together some stills and it’s this beautiful 8-1/2 x 11″ and it has True Blood on it and I signed it and Deborah Ann also signed it.
Below is the photo Audrey talks about above. She gave me a small pile from her inventory for use in our fundraising. I so enjoyed talking with her and learning more about the costume designer’s job and the process. I have the utmost respect for the designers and those who work on this show making it even a better experience.
Lynnpd has an avid interest in the entertainment industry from classic movies to all things True Blood. With a background in art, she enjoys creating in Photoshop, running web sites and finds the internet an exciting place to be. Lynn lives in the LA area and attends as many Hollywood related events as she can. She has covered events for the both websites in the LA area; read all about it at http://lynnpdexclusives.com.
One of my favorite things to see on True Blood is all the great costumes that Pam wears on the show. And, it seems that in the next episode we’ll get to see some even more interesting attire on our favorite female vampire, as we meet Pam at the turn of the century.
We have Costume Designer Audrey Fisher to thank because she chooses them all. And, she doesn’t just dress Kristin Bauer as Pam, but also the rest of the cast, too. As a result, she gets plenty of juicy material to work with dressing the characters.
“I have to design all these incredible fantasy scenes,” she says, “and things like the beautiful turn-of-the-century outfit Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten) wears in a flashback create a lot of drama and excitement and intensity in our department.”
Fisher loves dressing Pam because there is a lot of latitude in how she conceptualized the character with creator Alan Ball.
“Pam’s got certain eras she really loves the designs from. She considers herself like a Barbie doll and considers her clothes like costumes. At Fangtasia we’ve had a Lara Croft outfit, a biker bitch outfit, a Barbarella outfit, a black widow outfit. It’s fun for us to come up with a theme for each outfit. … I imagine Pam has shoppers in New York, Paris and L.A. sending her cutting-edge things because she is a diva. It helps to have that imagined back story.”
Fisher describes some of her favorite Pam looks, which she finds everywhere from an L.A. store called Syren Couture and the Beverly Center to vintage places and thrift shops:
“That’s a latex dress from a really wonderful store in L.A. called Syren that I work with a lot. They have an incredible line of latex fashion and designers, and this is one of their staples that I customized and added latex gloves to match. It was featured in an exhibit on the little black dress at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. It’s a very elegant dress that happens to be made out of rubber. It’s so very Pam, and getting it on is not easy. The trick is lube. You have to lube yourself up and slide into it and use lube to keep it shiny. Kristin’s figure is a dream to costume, and we have so much fun. She will put anything on and we’ll just work it out. She is pretty fearless.”
“This is a Brian Lichtenberg dress. I saw these dresses in a window at the store in the Beverly Center. It’s red and glittery and one shoulder and incredible. I just immediately thought of Pam with that crazy shoulder. We call it her Lady Gaga outfit. The juxtaposition of this crazy dress in Sookie’s grandma’s house was really funny. We also used a crystal collar and cuff customized by Marianna’s Designer Jewelry to match the red of the dress. She’s got a store in downtown L.A. She’s amazing, and I’ve worked with her for years.”
“This is a Chanel knockoff that I found in a consignment store for when Pam is trying to be a good vampire. Pam wears an Upper East Side ladylike suit that looks very proper when she is trying to pretend, and it’s usually pink because that’s hilarious. She was being forced to do a pro-vampire ad and doing it terribly, so this was the perfect choice.”
“This is another Syren piece. It’s a really beautiful purple satin and black latex corset with a black latex skirt and black latex gloves. There’s a little lace 1880s-looking top underneath by a wonderful company called Heavy Red that makes beautiful corsets, steampunk (think the 2011 movie ’Sucker Punch‘) and goth. This outfit was designed to replicate the silhouette from the turn of the century to provide a bridge from the turn of the century look to the current look. Pam has a look that she likes and it works even 100 years later.”
“This red one is so good! It is a vintage North Beach Leather dress. North Beach is a really well-known line from the ’80s. I was a teenager in the ’80s and for me it’s such an epic look.Cindy Crawford an Christy Turlington and Claudia Schiffer all did ads. This Glamazon look is imprinted on my mind. I wanted a very special outfit for this episode — especially arch and bitchy and fabulous. I got in my head that I wanted a North Beach look, and I got it on eBay and it fit her like a glove. It was magical like Cinderella’s slipper and she looks fantastic, likeDonna Mills. It’s completely over-the-top ’80s and I’m so proud to be able to rock the North Beach Leather on the show because I am such a fan. I also love her giant hair and amazing makeup. Kristin is our ‘True Blood’ Barbie doll that we get to play with.”
One of the biggest fashion surprises was seeing Pam wearing a Wal-Mart sweatsuit.
“I am wearing a Wal-Mart sweatsuit for y’all. If that’s not a demonstration of team spirit, I don’t know what is.”
But was it really Wal-Mart the Hufftington Post asked Kristin Bauer van Straten?
“[Laughs.] Amazingly, I don’t know. We put this thing on in the fitting — we had a whole bunch to try — and we did not continue after we saw that fabulous shade of yellow. And then Audrey [Fisher, "True Blood" costume designer] dyed the pants to be slightly a different yellow than the top and shortened them so they’d be too short. It’s just genius. I can’t wait to see Wal-Mart — I’m always writing letters trying to get them to stop doing things that they shouldn’t do. [Laughs.] I have this unbelievable karma with Wal-Mart.”
EW.com asked costume designer Audrey Fisher about the already legendary outfit, who told EW via e-mail that she found the top half of the ensemble online (it’s no longer available on the site but this version comes pretty close) and then altered “the heck out of it to fit Kristin.” Fisher also said she shortened the sleeves so they seemed a little too small, though she certainly didn’t do it to make the piece look slapstick. “That costume is funny enough on its own,” says Fisher.
As for the pants, Fisher said she found a well-fitting pair at American Apparel and dyed them to match the top half. But the work didn’t stop there. Since the scene in question involved plenty of dirt (and a stunt double), she also had to create six sets of the same ensemble. As Fisher puts it, “It takes a lot of effort, it turns out, to re-create the Wal-Mart sweatshirt look.”
Have you ever wondered where all the lovely jewelry that Pam wears on True Blood comes from?
In her capacity as True Blood’s Costume Designer, Audrey Fisher combs all over searching out great looks for the cast on True Blood and she found some great jewelry made by a friend.
Marianna Harutunian is a Los Angeles based Jewelry designer, who works primarily with Swarovski Crystals and 24k gold, silver plated metals.
Every season of True Blood Marianna sits down with Audrey Fisher to discuss what she can design for the show. She has primarily designed pieces for Kristin Bauer Van Straten as Pam De Beaufort, and the Fairies, namely Queen Mab from Season 4 premiere, and the Fairy with Sheriff Andy, in which he is captivated with at the end of the Season 4 finale.
Kristin Bauer van Straten says her favorite necklace is the black choker from Season 1 and Season 3. Below are a few designs by Marianna that were used on the show:
Update: In the new edition of Entertainment Weekly, is a photo of one of the jewelry pieces designed by Marianna and worn by Kristin Bauer van Straten, see below:
We asked Marianna to answer a few questions for us about her experience of working on the show and with Audrey Fisher and Kristin Bauer van Straten:
Can you tell us a bit about how your collaboration with True Blood came about? My collaboration with True Blood came about through knowing the costume designer Audrey Fisher. Audrey Fisher was a customer of mine, when I first opened my shop in 1999/2000. Audrey came to me, when she got the position on True Blood, wanting pieces for the show, and the rest is history. Audrey is the reason I have become apart of the True Blood family in terms of adorning some of the shows characters with my handmade jewelry. I owe so much to this talented, beautiful, and lovely lady.
Tell us about how the design process works with Audrey Fisher? The designing process usually starts off with my having a meeting with Audrey, and her coming to me with what characters she needs pieces for. We discuss what the look and feel of the piece should be, and I then proceed to design custom samples for Audrey. Then the samples are refined till the piece is perfect and meets the needs for the character or characters on True Blood.
Is there more we can expect expect from you for season 5? You can expect new pieces on “Pam De Beaufort” played by Kristin Bauer. I love making custom pieces for the character of Pam. The necklace from Season 1 and Season 3, Kristin has told me are her favorite pieces of mine. You can also expect new pieces for the fairies, other new characters, and a main character of whom I’ve never designed for, but can’t reveal who as of yet. All the new pieces I will comment on as they appear in the season via my Twitter.
Marianna will have new pieces on Pam, and other characters in Season 5 and True Blood Fans can buy the jewelry that she has made for the show.
She has her work shown and available in many places online. Go on over to the links below to see and purchase her work:
The Vault has joined E.J.’s team in support of his goal to run 12 marathons in 12 different states of the USA in 2012. You can make credit card donations securely through our action page: http://www.crowdrise.com. All the money raised will count for E.J.’s grand total and your comment will also appear on E.J.’s Crowdrise page. Donations are tax deductible for US residents.
