Costume designer extraordinaire – not to mention Oscar nominee, BAFTA award winner, and chairman of this year’s 86th Academy Awards Governor’s Ball – Jeffrey Kurland is one of the many people who work behind the scenes on some of your favorite films. But while all of the grips, best boys, and cameramen are undoubtedly important cogs on the filmmaking wheel, Kurland has become something of a standout in his field, garnering plenty of attention and kudos for his designing talents.
Without Kurland, Radio Days may not have so perfectly captured the 1940s, the Ocean’s Eleven cast may not have been as dapper, and Julia Roberts’ and Cameron Diaz’ clashing characters in My Best Friend’s Wedding may not have been so distinctly defined – but Kurland actually almost ended up on the screen instead of designing clothes for it. While the world would’ve gained a dapper and poised actor, they would have certainly unknowingly missed a man with a remarkable eye for costumes and clothing that translate perfectly to their respective film storylines.
Once Kurland got into films, his costume design work started to take on a pattern of its own.
Once the film’s director approves the sketches, Kurland takes them to the actor, and the two sit down and talk at length about who is being portrayed and what the visual impression of the character is meant to convey.
Two of our favorite films that Kurland has costume designed are the cowboy-meets-Arabian-desert epic Hidalgo, starring Viggo Mortensen, and the mind-bending Inception with Leonardo DiCaprio and Cillian Murphy. We perhaps couldn’t have chosen two more diverse films to ask Kurland about, given the storylines and very opposite settings of each – but Kurland is an expert at capturing the perfect atmosphere, ambiance, and mood for each character no matter how challenging.
The director’s vision for Hidalgo, Kurland reports, was “historical accuracy infused with a painterly romanticism.” Viewing of the film confirms that this aesthetic was perfectly and beautifully executed via Mortensen’s dusty, rakish cowboy gear and the contrasting Arabian garb of Omar Sharif’s horse-breeder, Sheikh Riyadh.
Inception – as might be expected – needed a completely different approach.
Kurland says he found it very rewarding to work with the stars of both of these films, as he found them to be intrinsically interested in their respective characters’ appearances.
Good scripts, such as the ones for Hidalgo and Inception, are the most creatively challenging for Kurland, who also especially enjoys working with a full filmmaking team to make stories of all genres spring to life. Next up, you’ll be able to see his costume work in the post-apocalyptic, set-in-Russia thriller St. Sebastian, and the futuristic George Clooney sci-fi epic Tomorrowland, two diametrically different film “looks” that will surely benefit from Kurland’s visual stamp.