Tiffany Guo

The film industry generates a huge amount of waste per production. I’m focusing on waste management in the costume department for this project. There are many ways that a film production can obtain their costumes (rentals, warehouses, thrifting, made from scratch). However, from my research I gathered that buying fast fashion in bulk is increasingly used for efficiency on set. Instead of resorting to such practices that are evidently harmful for the environment, I’m proposing to use upcycling as a way of costume design. Taking inspiration from iconic witch cinema, my design is composed entirely of thrifted garments and old garments from my personal closet. For example, the skirt was made from a cape found at Reminiscence (across Parsons) and sewn together length-wise. Most of the excess material that was cut off during the process were integrated into another part of the costume; such as the sleeves of the original top that were constructed into long gloves. Through this example of a witch costume I hope to demonstrate the possibility of reusing materials for film production. I would also like viewers to take this idea and expand on it, such as reusing non-fabric materials for construction.