 Hello, and welcome to Release Date Rewind. My name is Marc J. Parker, and I am a film lover, filmmaker, film celebrator. And normally this is an audio podcast, wherever you get your podcasts on your favorite apps. But thanks to Portland Media Center, you are about to watch the video component of this show where I celebrate movie anniversaries with my friends. Each month I usually talk about two different movies that I love with different friends, and we talk about the making of the movies, trivia, any fun memories associated with them. So I hope you enjoy, because now it's time to rewind. Thank you for joining Release Date Rewind. So this is a podcast, and as you saw on Instagram, which was so amazing that you reached out and commented, and it seems like you're very active with fans on social media. Very active. Yeah, how does it feel to have such an amazing career with these iconic movies like Romeo and Michelle, which just turned 25 years old? How does that feel that your work is still so beloved from 25 years ago? It feels amazing and shocking and surprising. And when you make the movies, you never think of, okay, I'm making the biggest hit. You're just making the movie. You're just rolling up your sleeves and trying to figure out how to create these characters and serve the script and serve the director and the actors and make it on time and budget. And when something lives like this, I mean, I don't know. It's really beautiful in a way. I mean, it's really fun to see all the different generations of women responding to this material from women who were young when they saw it to now their children and now kids who were not even born when the movie came out. So it feels great. It feels great to have this career too, to inspire women and to inspire people. I mean, I get a lot of DMs or on my website where people say, I became a costume designer because of you and you inspired me to go into fashion. That means a lot. Absolutely. Because when we are writers and where we are, any kind of, I think, creative people, we hope that our work touches others in some way. Oh, absolutely. I mean, that's kind of the goal, that there's some emotion that comes from our painting or a story that we write or questions that I can, yeah. Oh, for sure. Absolutely. And I mean, as a fan, I mean, this is just amazing that I'm getting to chat with you for a few minutes because your visions, your designs are some of the most at the forefront of pop culture and films, not only from back then and now, because I know you've done everything from Romy Michelle and Clueless to the wedding singer to Enchanted, which was huge, and even more, but then it must be so cool for you to see your designs come back. There was that Iggy Azalea video a few years ago. Oh my god, yes. Right? What was that like? And what is that like seeing people dress up in your designs for Halloween and all these cool things? That must be so amazing. It's crazy. I mean, it's crazy to be on the streets on Halloween and see Romy Michelle or the Clueless plaid and I mean, it's fantastic. I mean, when Iggy Azalea did that, I mean, they didn't even contact me and they did such a good, beautiful job to really serve this, I mean, they really, to the tee is just really beautiful. Absolutely. But I think as much as I see that, I think also what's really cool is like how the fashion inspires and, you know, when you're looking at fall 2022 runway shows, you know, how much blood is there, how much kind of that aesthetic is there, you know, not only because the 90s are back, but I kind of this feminine aesthetic, you know, and I loved that it actually came from the plaid skirt where everything kind of started for us because it was, you know, when we thinking of school and, you know, what kids wear to school in uniform and, you know, Catholic skill girl uniform, the plaid skirt, you know, but then how would Cher do it, you know, in Beverly Hills, you know, with money and kind of, you know, probably she goes to the runway shows in Italy and, you know, she can pick anything she wants. So it was kind of our version of that, you know, and how that can get spinning. I think how kind of that sensibility or style is beloved too. I think it's kind of quintessential girly and, you know, it's the bad girl and it's the good girl, you know, it can be everything kind of in it, you know, so it's fun. And I think that was our goal, kind of that what we were creating with Clos, you know, was this very fantastical world of high school, you know, where everybody was super rich and they had the means to do it, but also they had a lot of fun with the clothes, you know, when I worked with Amy Heckling, when, you know, we started talking about the script, you know, what was really important, that whatever fashion that I bring, because the fashions at the time did not exist. It was all grunge, you know, so people were wearing big, baggy clothes when we went to high schools, you know, it was just like sea of boys and girls looking the same. So the goal really was kind of to bring the fashion and really kind of bring the girliness back, you know, to kind of really make it very feminine. And, you know, the times are much more innocence than now. So it was more innocence of, you know, in the clothes as well. And my, you know, important kind of focus was on this too, that when I was bringing the fashion from the future, you know, from the runaways, from London and Paris, you know, and kind of now trying to sort out what could really live and what could be right for these girls, the young girls, you know, because we had to incorporate it into the young girls world of high school, you know, Amy Heckling specifically really didn't want like girls running in high heels and, you know, with the midriff showing. And maybe it would be a different story now. But I think kind of that beauty of, you know, these kind of really innocent girl, you know, I mean, some of them had sex, some didn't have sex, you know, but it was really kind of that quintessential feeling. And I think that lives. And I think maybe that's what still inspires. And that's what kind of like, it's really a sweet spot for everybody when you watch the movie, you know, because we, I think we long for this more than ever now with COVID and everything else for kind of those times where, you know, there were simpler times that nostalgia, you know, pretty nostalgia, I miss those times, you know, myself. So it's fun. I mean, the whole revival is fun. It's fun to be part of it, to talk about it still, you know, to be able to inspire people. I mean, all over the world, you know, I mean, it's really such an amazing global phenomenon. I mean, really, for sure, it's, it's, it's, I don't think that any other film really in the history, I mean, I mean, there's seven-year itch or, I mean, there's few. But I think for costumes, you know, it's really something extraordinary, I think. Absolutely iconic. Yeah. So tell me, I'd love to know more about you, Mona. How did you get into costume design? Did you know when you were a little girl, you know, that you were going to go to Hollywood and do this? Or did you sort of fall into it? Tell us, tell us about your, your youth and how you got here. I mean, I grew up in Europe. I was born in India. I grew up in Poland and Germany. I mean, but I was the kid who was into fashion. You know, I was always drawing the princesses and making them collections and telling mom what to wear and all the friends. And, you know, and I was a funny kid. I didn't really like pink anything. And I was more like black and red, you know. Sophisticated colors only. And I mean, in Poland, my dad's parents were Catholics. I had to go to First Communion and I actually demanded that I wear a pants suit. Oh, wow. You know, I was like, that's a business woman special at a young age, right? I was like, I'm not going in this puffy dress. I have to look good. So, you know, I think from beginning somehow I had it inherently in me. So I studied fashion and really that really was my love. You know, I studied in Europe. I went to New York and I ended up in LA in Fashion Institute. And when I was here, you know, I had a bunch of friends. How you are when you, you know, in college hanging out with film gigs and from UCLA and USC. And they said, Hey, you know, we're doing a little thesis film. You in fashion, can you get us some clothes? You know, and that's kind of how it all started. I got, you know, first script, little script, you know, short film. And I read it and I met with the director and I had to create this world and the character and really got into the psychology of the person. And I mean, I was just hooked, you know, immediately. It was just more than a fashion to me. I mean, I love fashion, you know, I think now question design and fashion are my two loves, but how I was able to kind of blend it together. And then, you know, I did, there was MTV times and, you know, I did like music videos run DMC and, you know, silly skit shows, just say Julie. And, you know, I started meeting people and we actually met with Amy Hegling on the pilot. The pilot never got picked up, but we formed this really great bond. And, you know, she, she's an incredible visionary. You know, she herself really is just into fashion. And, you know, in a day, there was no computers. People have to know we were like bringing tear sheets from magazines, you know, and really the way that you had to research this stuff was very different to just having the click now. But, you know, she hire, she wrote Clueless and she called me. She said, you're really the perfect girl. Because I want this to be very fashion oriented. This is movie about fashion. You know, you have the background, you also a costume designer. You know, we want a really kind of the exuberance of colors that I always had that's kind of signature to her. Me, you know, she really wanted to, you know, it was a very specific color, color palette that we used and kind of the rest is history. You know, we, she's, she's just a really great leader. I think, I think partially the movie is so good, not only because she wrote and directed, but I think she is a visionary. You know, she really can show kind of the future. She knows how to lingo, you know, she also hires the right people. And then the people, she lets them do their job. You know, like, I was, I'm always into hats and wearing hats. And she's like, I love hats too. So let's do a lot of hats, you know, which director says that? No one, you know, yeah, you know. And speaking of directors, tell me a little bit of your process and anyone who's listening, who maybe wants to get into costume design, you know, and I'm sure every film is different every show, because I know you also worked on The Clueless Show and lots of Disney Channel stuff too, and Lifetime, all sorts of great stuff you've done. What's the process like? Do you normally get a lot of time to prep and find things? Never enough time. Never enough time, never enough time, never enough money, never enough assistance, you know, I mean, I mean, the process really is, you know, it's all about the script. It's really about the script. So the script is the blueprint for everything, you know, you get the script, you meet with the director, you figure out what the story is that they're trying to tell, you know, a different director of Clueless would be a different story, you know, so each director has their own vision that we are as the people that he hires, you know, for the different department heads support it, you know, so then I kind of download his information, then I can go scratch my head and think about, you know, how I can interpret that in my way and how I can bring to the table because, you know, like Amy, for example, is a great fashion person, but then, you know, Romy and Michelle director knew nothing about fashion, so he was like, he relied on me, and we worked together on a show called The Edge, which was like a skit comedy with Jennifer Aniston and a bunch of people, Julie Brown was in it. It was kind of like in living color-ish, you know, living color kind of that kind of lived one season, but he knew me. And again, he was like, I want you to do it, you know, and I want your fashion expertise. And, you know, he was a different kind of carte blanche because he was like, do it. All I want to approve like how I feel about it, but he doesn't know that it's an A-line skirt or a, you know, cup sleeve. So it's a different process with different directors, you know, how do you explain the language of costumes, but they know instinctively the directors what they feel about this character, you know, is it too much this way or too much that way? So they don't need this language in a sense. I'm the one to translate it for them, you know, so we get that done. And, you know, once I kind of have his vision, I download my, you know, we start melding it, then we get the actors involved, and they get their kind of, you know, input because they feel, you know, they have their ideas of the backstories. And, and also then you have to think of the actor's body, you know, how that kind of represents. And then I, you know, once I have like the visual boards and sometimes sketches like we're enchanted or just, you know, cutouts from magazines are now, you know, online visual boards from there. That's the plipper now for me for the actor for my team, because I have a big team, you know, wardrobe team who was like, you know, I have a supervisor who runs the department. And I have the shopper assistant designer who helps me in fittings. And I have shoppers, you know, when I'm making things, I have seamstresses, pattern makers, bootmakers, I mean, and enchanted, we made everything the metal stuff for, you know, quinoa, risa, the fabric was made, you know, embroidery, the leather, I mean, you know, that probably was the longest prep I ever had, which was about seven months, but usually it's about two months, you know, for everything. It's fast. And, you know, my shows are very wardrobe heavy. I mean, Alicia had 60 changes, you know, Rami and Michelle, 40 changes. I mean, House Bunny, you know, seven girls, 30 changes. Oh my gosh. You know, so I'm kind of like the queen of that. And I guess I just my mind can work this way and can figure it out, you know, how to do it. I don't even know how I figure it out. It's just you're a magician. It's amazing. Wow. I think about this magician, I have to say, yeah. Yeah, all those changes. So yeah, like you said, you're known for this almost like fantasy meets reality, cut those beautiful bright, bold colors. But you've challenged yourself. And some of your films are darker, a little scarier, like eight millimeter incarnate. Even I know you've worked with Alicia a few times. Even it looked like Last Survivor is a recent film, dark and gritty. So, so how does that compare? Is that easier or just as hard? What's that like? The more dark stuff? To me, it's just the process. It's just the script. So now the script calls for this. So where do I have to go in my mind to kind of get there? I mean, you know, definitely with eight millimeter was a little scary world that we had to enter of snap films. And you know, you kind of you look at the research, you go, Oh, God, you know, Oh my gosh. But it's fun. I mean, it's nice to, you know, I think for any artist, like if you're writing something, you're writing about, you know, comedy, but then you have to the drama or if an actor to be comedic actor and get to the dramas, it's kind of same for me, you know, where you get to really challenge yourself and go into places that maybe don't usually go, which is fun. I mean, for Last Survivor was really cool because I got to kind of combine military clothes that I cut up with modern clothes and kind of like they had this stuff from, you know, far back, but they live in this very cold environment. So it had to be functional. You know, you always have to think of how actor is going to move in it. Can they do this movement? And I mean, he was had to go like through snow and, you know, I mean, even like night and drugs variety, you know, they had to always move and do the crazy moves. How do you always design in the mind to make the actor's job easier? You know, so many elements that I think you have to think of when you when you're doing it, but, you know, it's such a fun and crazy job because we truly, you know, when we dress actors and we create that character, when they come on a screen, within 10 seconds, you know who they are, they don't have to have to say their lines. Right. I mean, just by the clothes, are they rich, are they poor, are they, you know, in a good mood, bad mood, are they depressed, happy, fat, sexy, not sexy, you know, every all that information is there. Right. And I find that fascinating, you know, and kind of the process getting to that character, which, you know, as I said, a little bit about my process, but I didn't mention that I think the most important part of the design process happens in the fitting. Because you can talk about it and you can have the meetings with the director, you can have the boards made, you can sketch it, and not really till the actor gets in the room, and then we start putting the clothes on and you were like, oh, that mini skirt is going to look so great, and then they don't have great legs. Yeah. Oh, that's not going to happen. The moment when in a fitting it happens and they find it, it's palatable. I mean, it's almost like, you know, you get little goosebumps. Oh, yeah, I bet. And that's the best moment, you know? Yeah. It's the best moment too. And speaking of fittings, it seems like you've worked, like I said, with Alicia Silverstone a lot, with Drew Barrymore a lot. How important and nice must it be to have a connection with a star that you want to keep working with them and dressing them in all your different looks? What's that like through the years, you know? I think it's the same for directors, you know, because basically what you do, you have a shorthand. So they know you, they trust you. They kind of, you know, like with Emmy Hickling, I've done many movies with directors and it's like they don't, they know what you can bring to the table. They kind of know your sensibility, not too much, not too little, that, you know, we already have a language that we've developed and I think same with an actor because they know how I can treat their body and how I, what I can do with it and I can help them hide things or expose things or, you know, we already have, the trust is really important. I think kind of the trust that you really have that you're going to walk into the fitting room. I mean, I just worked with Gina Davis after so many years up there. We just did a pilot together and after so many years, you know, since Stuart Little, she was so happy to see me. You know, we were shooting in Vancouver and she flew there and, you know, she walked into the room and it was beautiful, you know, there were great films, everything fit her. You know, I know that she's six feet tall, I know that she's size 11, I know what her body is like, you know, so there's no, she knows it's going to be great. Yeah, yeah. Oh my god, I'm just going to have the best time, Mona is there, you know. Great, yeah. That's what's the fun part and I think we drew and, you know, especially with these girls and Alicia, you know, I've done, I think five movies now with Alicia. Yeah. It's really great because it's like, you know, we, it's not just we are old friends, but we just really know each other, you know, and we, the expectations, you know, there's not like, oh my god, what's going to happen and, you know, I, you know, I have this weird thing and they're not going to know about it and they're going to have all their own clothes and, you know, understanding how they work, so kind of like bringing extra things and having, you know, funny stuff, like out of the box too, you know, I mean, Drew is like that, she's very involved, she sometimes goes and, you know, shops with me, I mean, not so much anymore, but in the old day, she was go shopping with me, you know, I mean, Alicia does that too, we did a movie a few years back and she, she went thrift store shopping with me because we can't return at thrift stores, you know, and then here we are, you know, then we are eating the vegan food with her, you know, she's so great. Oh, yeah, that is so, oh, you have so many great stories, that's amazing. She's the best and, you know, I'm very lucky, I think, in my career because I am, you know, working lots on women-centric films and really able to kind of, you know, I think help young women to feel good about themselves, to interskins, you know, I mean, I love that scene in Rami and Michelle when they finally come out and there's, you know, pink and blue dress, this is us. Iconic. And then you have never been kissed and the end scene when she's in a pink dress, so you can be kissed, you know, it's like, those are the moments, I think, that kind of like, why I like to tell the stories and be part of these films because this is what we need to give these young girls, you know. Oh, absolutely. Just being you is better than anything that you're pretending. Yeah. And, you know, enchanted too when it was the first time in Disney history that the princess saves the prince. Yeah, that's true, yeah, that's amazing that you are luckily able to work on these projects that not only look great but truly have some meaning and shift things a little bit, right? Now we're changing the story and moving forward, that's amazing. Yes, yes, and I love that. I really, that means a lot to me because I think as a young woman, I want to, I want to have them fun, you know, I mean, fashion is fun and I think it can, you can express so much that way and not be afraid of, you know, I think things are changing in the world too, where now, you know, the crummy bodies are good and kind of showing the skin maybe not too much but, you know, just enough and being able to be yourself, you know, and I think that's really because in the 90s wasn't like that, you know, it was really hard to change the word. I mean, Drew was really like a break through person who was who she was with the body that she is without having to be the fake or the skinny or whatever. It's funny how back then there was such a, you know, those are the studio norms too that we are breaking, you know, with all of that, which is, which is awesome. So I'm, I'm very lucky to be with these ladies, you know, and kind of have that, have that reputation and have kind of, you know, supported with my talent and help them and make it, make it easy and fun too. I mean, you know, movie making is very difficult. It's very fast. It's time consuming. We are away on, from our families and location for many months and, you know, we form very close bonds, but we have to help each other. You know, we have to really kind of be there and, I mean, this job I just did with Gina was fast and furious, you know. It was just like a crazy, crazy time. And, you know, I'm so glad I was there for her to support her. So it's, it's, you know, I'm very lucky person. I have to say I'm very lucky because it's not easy to break through. And I think for anybody who's trying to break through, you know, it's just now you have more opportunities with your Instagram, you know, to really show who you are, to really show your talent, you know, show your knowledge. I think being very interesting in what you do, I think that being as much yourself and, and building that, you know, and I don't want to say the word brand because I, I think it's just overused. And that's really not, because brand comes to me from outside. I have to be a certain way to make the money and it's about the money. I think that, you know, as an artist, you have to develop who you are, because each of us have a unique point of view on the world. And if, you know, if you can get that out, what that is for you, then it's beautiful to share and maybe interest about to others, you know. Absolutely. I mean, I love hiring people with like really interesting visuals and, you know, people who bring something to the table and teach me about new designers, local designers or something, you know, and that's really fun. So when I'm interviewing people, I really want to know what they into. Yeah. What they're waiting, what, what, what, you know, latest collection is their favorite. Who is their favorite designer, you know, are they drawing, are they making collages, are they sewing, you know, like, I mean, I didn't have Instagram when I was, you know, breaking into the business, so they have some better tools now. Right. Now, now it's maybe easier, but also I'm sure harder. There's a lot more, you know, competition, but yeah, now I mean, imagine if you had Instagram back then and you had all your awesome designs and pictures. I mean, I'll have millions of followers. You'd be somehow even, even bigger and you're already huge. It's amazing, right? So I'm kind of, you know, I'm huge, but I'm also a little good secret, which I like it that way, you know. That's a good way to put it. It's fun. It's fun. I mean, I really, you know, I really want to teach kind of my next, next thing. It's, you know, I want to do a book and teach and talk about my process and, you know, inspire young minds. I mean, it's like, you know, if I can do it, you can do it. It sounds like you made those iconic dresses in Romeo and Michelle at the end, right? I did. I did. And I love that I had heard Mira Sorvino really is a Star Trek fan, and so the rumor is true, right? That really is the start. Oh my, see that's so cool that you heard that and you incorporated that into, right? That's very special. You know, that's really kind of working with someone, hearing them. But, you know, funny story, something we were talking earlier, like the dresses, the two dresses, didn't come the way right away. I designed the Mira dress and I designed Lisa's dress. And it was a little bit different. It was like chiffon and painted and kind of I was wanting to be very artsy and, you know, we were making the dress already. We had the final fitting with Lisa and she was like, you know, it's very pretty. But like, what is Mira wearing? And I showed her the dress and we started discussing and she was like, you know, I really want this to kind of be like the Mira image of each other, that they are now really came together as best friends. It's the friendship that's solidified. It's like, here we are, you know, we are almost the same but different. And in the last minute I changed the design to make it out of also spandex and kind of the same exact A-line, you know, empire dress. And that's how it became because of the discussion. I mean, and it's not easy to change something last minute, you know. Right. Right. But it was right. And again, I think as an artist and maybe as a costume designer, you have to kind of go with the flow too. You have to be open up. It can't be so, this is my idea, this is how I want it, you know. I mean, film is very collaborative. It's just all about the time, you know, and things are changing. So you have to go with it. You know, I mean this to the moment of actor could be walking onto the set and they just like, I just hate this. I'm not feeling great and you have to run back. Tell them, hold on and then find something else, get them ready and, you know, take back at it. Have all your backup plans, right? All your backup ideas. A couple of the backups. Well, my last question for you is, it's a two parter. Yeah. Would you want to work on and see a Romeo and Michelle sequel? Because it seems like there's a lot of interest and besides Romeo and Michelle, what's another movie you've worked on that you would happen happily do again? Maybe a sequel or a reboot or something? So first up, Romeo and Michelle, would you do a second one? Hell yeah. Yes. What do you think the odds are of that happening? Do you know? It's, it's, they pushing. I know that the girls wants to do it too. So I think if they have, I mean, they huge, huge, huge names now. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah. That'd be great. Hopefully whoever has the rights is smart. That's all I have to say. Right? Absolutely. And then, yeah, so then any of your other amazing things, what would you like to go back to? Do you want to do a sequel to Never Been Kissed or Clueless or Night of the Roxbury? What would you love to go back to? I'm looking at my, my own resume. Yeah. It's long. You even did the Haunted Mansion. You've done so many amazing things. Oh my god. Oh my god. I mean, House Bunny could be kind of funny. Yeah. That would, and I'm, a lot of the writing. Would it happen to them? With the different women? Yeah. Grown up now. Would it happen to them? I mean, it would be a lot of work, but I think it would be really fun. You know, I really had a nice mind doing the American Reunion because it was kind of like, it was them years later. Yeah. That had to be so interesting for you to come into a franchise because I believe that was the fourth movie. Yes. So you didn't work on previous movies in that franchise. So that must have been kind of a little weird and cool and a little bit of a challenge. It's cool because you kind of, you know, it's challenging. How do you now, you know, the same people years later? How do you retain their characteristics without being, you know, over the top? Or I mean, it's hard. I mean, look at Sex and the City. I think it was hard for them to do it. You know, it's not an easy thing. How do you move at the times? How do they change? You know, do they stay the same and wear the same crazy things or they actually evolved in some different way? You know, so again, those are kind of the cool things you talk to the director about. You talk to the actors and, you know, everybody has their little idea how to formulate it. And then really, when you step into the fitting room, again, things really come together. You know, that's amazing. Well, Mona, thank you so very much for doing this. This was an amazing chat. Thanks so much for watching. Next time, there's going to be a new movie that we'll talk about. So stay tuned. And please follow Release Date Rewind on Instagram for updates. Bye.