Tales From A Costume Designer

This week's episode features the iconic costume designer and artist Debra McGuire! We chat about her book that just came out last week called Dressing the Story: The Art of Costume Design and tales from her initials beginnings in the world and stories from incredible career thus far. Make sure you order the book from the links below! 
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If you want to support me and this podcast, please subscribe to the Patreon - we have tiers starting at just $3 and you will get access to extended cuts of every episode with more even more stories. I have the Patreon on hold for the time being while I design my current project through September 2026, but if you subscribe now, you'll still have access to all the previous extended episodes! 
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Costume Designer Debra McGuire
Credits include: Friends, Freaks and Geeks, The Morning Show, Anchorman, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, Walk Hard
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Debra McGuire is an award-winning fine artist, fashion designer, and costume designer whose work spans film, television, and theatre. She is best known for her ten seasons designing Friends and for her long-standing collaborations with David Mamet, including the Emmy-nominated film Phil Spector, which earned her a nomination for Best Costume Design.
 
Debra has designed for many of Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan's projects and currently designs for Jennifer Aniston on The Morning Show (Seasons 2–5). Recent work includes the international feature film Mayday, starring Kenneth Branagh and Ryan Reynolds and premiering in May 2026, and Super Troopers 3, due for release on August 7, 2026.
 
Her theatre career began in Paris in the early 1980s, leading to an Ovation Award nomination for Boston Marriage and an NAACP Award for Atlanta at the Geffen Playhouse. She later designed the period musical I Only Have Eyes for You, which received multiple Ovation Award nominations.
 
A fine artist at heart, Debra began as a painter in the Bay Area before expanding into jewelry, accessories, fashion, couture (including a decade running her boutique in Pacific Palisades), and ultimately costume design. She has spoken and presented at galleries, art institutions, and festivals around the world—offering Master Classes at the Visegrad Film Festival in Bratislava and, most recently, at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia, where she also served as a juror and presented the Best Actor and Best Production Designer Awards.
Throughout her career, Debra has been driven by imagination, collaboration, and deep respect for the creative process. She credits her loyal and dedicated crews as essential partners in bringing each visual world to life.
 
Her book "Dressing The Story: The Art of Costume Design" with producer Jim Stark was released in May 2026.
 
Debra McGuire Links:
Website: debramcguire.com
Costume Design Instagram: @bydebramcguire
Art Instagram: @debramcguireart
Jewelry Instagram: @debrafineyohai
IMDb: Debra MaGuire
Order Debra's book Dressing the Story!
Order Dressing the Story at B&N
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TFACD Links:
Patreon: Tales From A Costume Designer
Instagram: @talesfromacostumedesigner
Twitter: @talesfromaCD
TikTok: @talesfromaCD
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Whitney Anne Adams Links:
Website: whitneyadams.com
IMDb: Whitney Anne Adams
Instagram: @WAACostumeDesign
Twitter: @WhitneyAAdams
TikTok: @waacostumedesign
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Union Links:
Costume Designers Guild IG: @cdglocal892
United Scenic Artists Local 829 IG: @unitedscenicartists
IATSE IG: @iatse
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Today's episode features NYC Costume Shopper, Costume Designer, and author Sara Hinkley! We get deep into the details of what it's like working as an Costume Shopper in New York City, her previous work as a Costume Department Coordinator and her upcoming novel The Red Sacrament which you should all pre-order at the link below!
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If you want to support me and this podcast, please subscribe to the Patreon - we have tiers starting at just $3 and you will get access to extended cuts of every episode with more even more stories. Sara's Patreon episode is 30 minutes longer!
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Assistant Costume Designer/NYC Shopper, Costume Designer, Author Sara Hinkley
Credits include: The Off-Weeks, Law and Order: SVU, Law and Order: Organized Crime, The Blacklist, Monsterland, Crashing, Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens.
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Sara Hinkley is an author and costume designer living in Brooklyn, NY.  Her debut novel, historical vampire horror The Red Sacrament is out July 2026 from Titan Books. Her costume design work has included film, television, theatre, dance, and opera, and she currently working as Assistant Costume Designer/Shopper on The Off Weeks, a forthcoming project for Apple TV. She is a proud union member of USA 829 IATSE. Her literary representation is Isabel Kaufman at Fox Literary.
 
 
Sara Hinkley Links:
Website: sarahinkley.com
Instagram: @sarahinkley.jpg
Twitter: @boneysoups
Bluesky: @boneysoups
IMDb: Sara Hinkley
Preorder The Red Sacrament!
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TFACD Links:
Patreon: Tales From A Costume Designer
Instagram: @talesfromacostumedesigner
Twitter: @talesfromaCD
TikTok: @talesfromaCD
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Whitney Anne Adams Links:
Website: whitneyadams.com
IMDb: Whitney Anne Adams
Instagram: @WAACostumeDesign
Twitter: @WhitneyAAdams
TikTok: @waacostumedesign
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Union Links:
Costume Designers Guild IG: @cdglocal892
United Scenic Artists Local 829 IG: @unitedscenicartists
IATSE IG: @iatse
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This week's episode features my very talented and amazing friend and collaborator Elizabeth Lail! We met when we got to work together on Five Nights at Freddy's 2 and had an absolute blast. Come listen to us chat about all the things: Vanessa's sequel looks, likening an audition to the "first pancake" of the batch, being her own costume designer for her self-tapes, the vital necessity of self-care while working, advice for aspiring actors and filmmakers, our love of Britney Spears, and so much more! If you want 10 more minutes of our conversation, be sure to join my Patreon for the extended episode!
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If you want to support me and this podcast, please subscribe to the Patreon - we have tiers starting at just $3 and you will get access to extended cuts of every episode with more even more stories. 
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Actor Elizabeth Lail
Credits include: You, Five Nights at Freddy's 1 & 2, Gonzo Girl, Mack and Rita, Countdown, Once Upon A Time
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Elizabeth Lail is an actress from North Carolina. She studied at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and will next appear in Season Four of the Night Agent on Netflix. Recently she was seen in Blumhouse's Five Nights at Freddy's 2 and Tennessee Williams' Not About Nightingales at the Williamstown Theater festival. She is most known as Guinevere Beck in Netflix's hit thriller You, and for her breakout role in Once Upon a Time as Princess Anna. She enjoys bird watching, long walks on the beach, and is a recent convert to pistachio matcha lattes.
 
Elizabeth Lail Links:
Instagram: @elizabethlail
IMDb: Elizabeth Lail
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TFACD Links:
Patreon: Tales From A Costume Designer
Instagram: @talesfromacostumedesigner
Twitter: @talesfromaCD
TikTok: @talesfromaCD
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Whitney Anne Adams Links:
Website: whitneyadams.com
IMDb: Whitney Anne Adams
Instagram: @WAACostumeDesign
Twitter: @WhitneyAAdams
TikTok: @waacostumedesign
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Union Links:
Costume Designers Guild IG: @cdglocal892
United Scenic Artists Local 829 IG: @unitedscenicartists
IATSE IG: @iatse
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This week's episode features the wonderful costume designer Bernadette Croft! We first met 15 years ago while working on The Great Gatsby together in Australia and it has been so amazing to follow her career since then. Come listen to us chat about her work and her process as a costume designer. 
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*A note that my intro for her in the episode is now *wrong* as she won two more CAFTAD Awards in the time since we recorded!
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If you enjoy the show, please consider helping others find it by writing a five star review on your podcast app of choice.
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If you want to support me and this podcast, please subscribe to the Patreon - we have tiers starting at just $3 and you will get access to extended cuts of every episode with more even more stories. 
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Costume Designer Bernadette Croft
Credits include: The Copenhagen Test, Ginny & Georgia, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
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Bernadette Croft is an award winning Costume Designer based in Toronto, Canada. She has recently wrapped on the fifth and final season of the Star Trek Series, Strange New Worlds for Paramount+ as well as Simu Liu's contemporary Sci-Fi thriller "The Copenhagen Test" for Peacock. Bernadette and her Trek team have won 6 CAFCAD Awards for Design, Textile Art and Building. Bernadette describes Costume as a powerful story telling medium and she loves to enhance and inspire any narrative with her contribution to real and imagined world building.
 
 
Bernadette Croft Links:
Website: bernadettecroft.com
Instagram: @berncroft
IMDb: Bernadette Croft
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TFACD Links:
Patreon: Tales From A Costume Designer
Instagram: @talesfromacostumedesigner
Twitter: @talesfromaCD
TikTok: @talesfromaCD
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Whitney Anne Adams Links:
Website: whitneyadams.com
IMDb: Whitney Anne Adams
Instagram: @WAACostumeDesign
Twitter: @WhitneyAAdams
TikTok: @waacostumedesign
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Union Links:
Costume Designers Guild IG: @cdglocal892
United Scenic Artists Local 829 IG: @unitedscenicartists
IATSE IG: @iatse
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This week's guest is Intimacy Coordinator & Costumer Annie Spong! We had a fantastic discussion all about Intimacy Coordination: the origins, the nuance of the job, the process, the intersection with costumes, intimacy riders, different types of modesty garments, and so much more! Annie also co-hosts a fantastic Intimacy Coordination podcast called Romancing the Screen - check it out through the link below. There's a LOT of great links in the show notes today, so be sure to take a look. 
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If you want to support me and this podcast, please subscribe to the Patreon - we have tiers starting at just $3 and you will get access to extended cuts of every episode with more even more stories. If you enjoy the show, please consider helping others find it by writing a five star review on your podcast app of choice.
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Intimacy Coordinator Annie Spong
Credits include: The Patient, Beef, Saint X, Dave, Rebel, Perry Mason
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Annie Spong, MFA (Pratt Institute, NYC), is an Intimacy Coordinator for television, film, and advertising, bringing decades of award-winning experience as a costume designer and wardrobe stylist. Her seamless transition into intimacy coordination is rooted in years of firsthand advocacy for on-set safety and talent support. Often the first to respond to unspoken needs in production, Annie naturally stepped into the role of safeguarding boundaries long before the industry formalized the position.
With a reputation for professionalism, emotional intelligence, and creative problem-solving, Annie collaborates with directors, producers, and performers to choreograph intimate scenes with integrity and care. Her production fluency and deep commitment to consent-forward storytelling make her an invaluable asset on set. She is passionate about cultivating a safe, inclusive, and dynamically creative work environment for all collaborators.
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Annie Spong Links
IMDB: Annie Spong
Instagram: @annie__intimacycoordinator
Website: AnnieSpong.com
Podcast: Romancing the Screen Podcast
Website: Annie @ IntimacyCoordinator.me
SAG-AFTRA: Intimacy Coordinator Resources
SAG-AFTRA: Sex, Nudity and You PDF
SAG-AFTRA: Quick Guide for Scenes Involving Nudity and Simulated Sex PDF
SAG-AFTRA: Recommended Standards for Qualifications, Training & Vetting of Intimacy Coordinators PDF
SAG-AFTRA: List of Certified IC's
Website: Intimacy Directors & Coordinators
YouTube: Annie's Intimacy Coordination Class at the CDG
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Modesty Garment Links:
Covvier
Intimask
Unclockable
K-Tape
The Costume Source
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TFACD Links:
Patreon: Tales From A Costume Designer
Instagram: @talesfromacostumedesigner
Twitter: @talesfromaCD
TikTok: @talesfromaCD
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Whitney Anne Adams Links:
Website: whitneyadams.com
IMDb: Whitney Anne Adams
Instagram: @WAACostumeDesign
Twitter: @WhitneyAAdams
TikTok: @waacostumedesign
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Union Links:
Costume Designers Guild IG: @cdglocal892
United Scenic Artists Local 829 IG: @unitedscenicartists
IATSE IG: @iatse
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