NYWIFT Blog

NYWIFT Member Spotlight

Behind-the-scenes with Costume Designer Ornella
Chiossone

 – by Margarita Cortes

 

Through the power of social media, I was contacted by an up
and coming costume designer, Ornella
Chiossone
, who was working on a film project in
Brooklyn. She met me on the first day of production inside the trailer, nestled
between the wardrobe she coordinated for an independent feature film production
in Williamsburg. There we began our conversation on her creative process, her
favorite projects and her international fashion background.

Ornella’s journey to Brooklyn as a costume
designer was an interesting one. Born in Venezuela, Ornella says she always
loved fashion and film. She lived in
Paris and Madrid for 5 year prior to coming to America. Overseas she worked in
photography, advertising and PR for fashion.
She also worked for the Spanish fashion designer, Agatha Ruiz de La Prada. “Her
designs are very bright, fun and very elaborate.”
Boy, she wasn’t kidding –
check out these incredible runway shots from 2015.

image

Ornella found herself wanting more and after exhausting all
of her resources in Spain, she flew across the ocean for the big apple. “I love Brooklyn, there are always things
going on!” 
She quickly landed a fashion PR job in NYC and was sent to a
film shoot, where she found herself immediately drawn to the wardrobe
department. Surrounded by amazing costume pieces, she found her calling to work
in fashion, costumes, cameras and behind the scenes.

Ornella contacted the Director right away and asked if she
could help in any capacity on the film. Eventually she stayed working as a production
assistant and helped out in the wardrobe department. Her ambition grew fast and
after a couple of production assistant jobs, she was signed on as an official
costume designer. “That’s what I love
about NY”
she gleefully shared with me, “everywhere
you go on a film shoot, you meet people and then from there, you just get
started.”

After meeting with the film director and reading the script
Ornella says she gets her best creative ideas while riding the MTA subway
lines. “I took a picture of a character
on the subway and then showed the look to the director and we worked from
there.”
All together, it took about two weeks for the creative process and
one week to pull clothes and after 20 days of shooting she’s off to her next
project: “I’ll be working on a television
pilot in Long Island!”

Through our conversations, I introduced her to New York Women in Film & Television
and she joined right away in hopes to continue building her career among a
network of industry leaders..

She was excited to hear about the workshops, programs
and the Designing Women Gala, which
honors women in her field. “I can’t wait to celebrate a fantastic evening among
my new fellow NYWIFT members!”

Ornella joined NYWIFT in May 2015, just wrapped up an
indie film project and available now for your next project. She can be reached directly
on Twitter @ornechio and Instagram @ornechioss.

 




 

*NYWIFT Fall Membership
drive has begun! Join New York Women in Film & Television now and take advantage of all the benefits. From now until
Dec 1, take 50% off the initiation fee. 

Apply here: https://www.nywift.org/join

PUBLISHED BY

Margarita Sophia Cortes

Margarita Sophia Cortes For more than 15 yrs, Margarita has worked on countless PR campaigns including independent feature films, documentaries, foreign language and arthouse indies, not to mention festivals and television, music, art and events. She currently serves on the board of directors for New York Women in Film & Television. See more at www.MSophiaPR.com

View all posts by Margarita Sophia Cortes

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

*

Related Posts

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Amanda Bujak

Welcome to NYWIFT Amanda Bujak! Amanda Bujak is a make-up artist and Emmy-nominated film and tv costume designer based out of New York City. Born of Mexican American heritage, she has been working professionally since 2006. She has worked on TV, film, opera, dance, Broadway, commercials, award shows, and music tours. Amanda’s costume design film credits include The Unheard, Marvelous and the Black Hole, It had to be You, and So You’ve Grown Attached. Some of her TV credits include projects on NBC, Shudder, Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, FX and Apple TV. She holds an MFA from NYU Tisch’s Department of Design for Stage and Film. Amanda spoke to us about what drew her to the art of costume design and her favorite collaborations.

READ MORE

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Rosemary Lepre Forman

Let’s welcome Costume Designer and Wardrobe Stylist Rosemary Lepre Forman to NYWIFT! She has contributed her artistic vision to a myriad of projects such as Woody Allen’s Deconstructing Harry, Spin City starring Michael J. Fox and Heather Locklear, Sex and the City, Law & Order: SVU, Friends from College, Red Oaks, Darren Star’s Younger, and the film Summertime. After many years of dedication, Rosemary received the NYWIFT Designing Women Award in 2011 for her contributions to the TV show Nurse Jackie and later earned the title of Head Costume Designer. When she is not working, Rosemary enjoys playing ukulele and is an avid runner. She is also a devoted mom who divides her time between Manhattan and Windham, New York. Read more about Rosemary as we discuss the importance of persistence, her flair for vintage clothing, and the legendary and multitalented Oscar-winning performer who she would relish being able to design an outfit for!

READ MORE

What’s in Your Toolkit: Naomi Wolff Lachter

NYWIFT and USA Local 829 member Naomi Wolff Lachter has designed the costumes for feature films, dozens of plays and musicals, and assistant designed on several major TV series. Every day she is on the job, Naomi posts a motivational saying from her whiteboard on her Instagram account, @wolffie78. She offered us insight into her philosophy – and why good vibes are contagious.

READ MORE

Partner Post: Universal Production Services Costume Department- The newest option in costume rentals in the city

Our friends at Universal Production Services Costume Department in NYC offer a look at their services.

READ MORE
JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER
css.php