Located at her featured collection in the SCAD FASH Museum in Atlanta, Ruth E. Carter spoke during SCADStyle about her life as a costume designer, working on movies like “Black Panther,” “Do The Right Thing,” “Coming 2 America,” and her advice for young designers.
Carter was the first African American Woman to win the Academy Award for Costume Design, awarded for Black Panther in 2018. Costume design is the only job she’s ever had. It started back in 1985 when she met Spike Lee. He asked her to work on the set of his directorial debut, Do The Right Thing.
She tells the audience that her process includes a strong emphasis on research, as seen in her exhibit, “Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design.” When it came to her most recent work, African and Indian textiles inspired Coming 2 America. She utilized independent designers from these nations to showcase their works. The team would also send the African textiles to be embroidered in India, bringing both cultures to be celebrated and displayed.
When it comes to Afrofuturism specifically, Carter emphasizes the ideas of culture, family, and how you want your own story to “move on in time to come.” This started on the Do The Right Thing set, where Lee surrounded his stage with Black professionals. “Representation of history and African American history is essential to film,” said Carter in her talk. Focusing specifically on storytelling is what sets the films she works on apart from others.
Carter has only ever been a costume designer and worked her way up to this point by consistently seizing opportunities. In regards to opportunity, she states, “you have to be ready and to be ready, you have to keep going until you find an opportunity.” She works on every set by leading a team, assigning different tasks to each member, however working always as one cohesive group to maintain the overall aesthetic needed to be achieved.
Currently, Carter is expanding into the costume design space with innovation and new design methods. 3D printing caught her attention. Many of the plastic accessories and pieces for films such as Black Panther or Coming 2 America needed the precision that 3D printing would allow. She collaborated with a lab in Los Angeles, where they were filming. Collaborated with designer Iris Van Herpen to create 3D printed garments. No one had ever been seen this before in costume design. Flash forward to today, she has her own lab with 3 printers that they can use for films to come.
Inspired by the “heart and soul,” Carter’s exhibit showcases excellence in costume design spanning decades. When asked about her future plans, or the potential for her own fashion line, she says, “fashion is fashion, and the costume is a costume.” Telling us that she’s going to focus on the craft she’s mastered.
Words by Olivia Hawkins.
Graphic by Emily Tobias.