Telling yarns with cloth and thread
Natalie Lundon is a costume designer for the soapie Generations and has been the creative force behind some of its most stylish outfits. She tells Margaret Harris that, even as a child, she enjoyed designing costumes. In fact, her Barbies must have been s
How did you find yourself in this job?
After studying fashion and textile design, I started my career as a junior designer, or pattern cutter, for the Franz Marx production Egoli.
I worked under a British designer who taught me every “construction trick” in the book and, after four years, I had mastered pattern cutting. From there, I went on to work as a pattern cutter and junior designer for a Welsh film company called Peakviewing Transatlantic.
There, South African costume designer Pierre Vienings taught us the ropes of designing for every movie from period pieces, which required millinery and vintage cutting, to futuristic interpretations of sciencefiction films.
I was particularly proud of being in the costume department on the movie Hotel Rwanda.
The next big step for me was as costume designer for the television drama series Backstage. There were several other television drama series after that, including Mponeng, Muvhango, Soul City and Mtunzini.com, and movies such as Death of a Queen, Elelwani and Jerusalema.
I joined MMSV Productions after I had finished Jerusalema in 2006 and have been designing for Generations since then.
What are the tools of your trade — the things you need to do your job?
My job starts with the script — the story is the beginning, the first building block. I then translate the scripted wardrobe requirements into the garments we require to tell the story.
Fabrics, trims, beads, fabric dyes and equipment such as cutting tables, pattern construction equipment, sewing and pressing machines are required.
I could not manage without my computer to plan deadline schedules, manage budgets and do the necessary research.
A good camera is also essential to capture everything that inspires me, but also as a source of reference to continuity.
What training and qualifications do you have and how do they help you to do your job?
I have a BTech degree in fashion and textile design. This qualification is essential not only in understanding trends, silhouettes, colour, textures and prints, but also body shape and structure. I think it is essential to be creatively talented, but it is equally important to have the construction abilities to turn a two-dimensional paper pattern into a stunning, threedimensional garment.
Generations is an aspirational and fashion-forward brand, so my training as a fashion designer keeps the show fresh and on the pulse on the latest looks.
Did you want to do this type of work when you were a child?
As I a child, I dreamt of being a contemporary dancer — music, rhythm and dance were my life. I always loved the different costumes involved in performances and always contributed ideas and found ways to “jazz” up my ballet costumes.
I don’t think I realised it at the time, but in retrospect I was always involved in painting and building things — and my Barbies were certainly the best dressed in all the land. I was also drawn to architecture because of my love of construction, shape, form and light.
When I got to high school, I discovered a love for maths and, to my surprise, I was pretty good at it, so architecture was appealing because it seemed to be the perfect marriage between maths and art.
Which outfits have you most enjoyed designing?
I really enjoyed designing Dineo’s traditional Tswana wedding dress as well as the bridesmaids’ and flower girls’ dresses, which were created for Dineo and Phenyo’s wedding in Generations .
It was the perfect opportunity to marry our local Tswana inspiration and contemporary cutting with an authentic South African cloth — Da Gama’s shweshwe fabric.
I am sure you are under huge pressure to meet deadlines. How long do you need to create one outfit?
Deadlines in the film industry are very tight and we put in long hours when we need to meet the necessary deadlines.
Depending on the complexity of the design, we are able to create a garment for set within hours.
All the costumes we used for Dineo and Phenyo’s wedding, which included the bridal retinue, all the lead and guest cast, traditional dancers and guests, took one month of hard work and many gruelling hours to create.
There must be plenty of last-minute wardrobe crises. Can you tell me about a few of them?
No matter how well one prepares or plans, every day in the film industry is a different — no two days are ever the same!
I’ve learnt that the only thing that matters is finding the quickest solution in the shortest time possible to ensure the camera keeps rolling.
We once manufactured a beautiful silk skirt for an actress, but when she bent down in a scene, the strain on the delicate cloth caused both side seams to split open simultaneously.
We had to think quickly because there was no time for repairs — and used clear packing tape on the inside of the skirt to hold the garment together for the duration of the scene. It was quite stressful.
We also had the beads of a delicate bridal bangle catch on something on set during Karabo Moroka’s wedding to Tau Mogale, also in Generations . The beads exploded with force and, after scrambling around to collect them, we kept them on her arm using double-sided sticky tape, as there was no time to restring the bracelet.
What qualities do you need to
do your job?
Creative talent, technical understanding and a love for telling a good story. One also needs a keen eye with attention to every last detail, especially with regard to creating the prettiest picture within the frame of the camera.
As a costume designer and the head of the costume department, one also requires people and management skills as well as a level head for budgets and research work.