Being a designer and stylist offers the opportunity (and pleasure) of working on several movie productions, but the set for A Christmas Surprise (BET) premiering December 5th at 8/7c, was such a blessing to be apart of! Many find behind the scenes fascinating because of the magic swiftly created based on need. As a tailor & costumer, I touched every look you see appear on screen and made several looks in a short amount of time. Connecting with a talented wardrobe crew is key.
On this set, I worked alongside Costumer Designers - Gayle Merendino & Rodney Williamson and our costume department’s dope assistant - Caroline Williamson. Working in the costume department is more work than one can imagine; not only do we dress the cast but we are responsible for mood boards, creating character closets, color palettes that won’t clash set design & background and more. The costume department sets the tone.
Photos Courtesy of Designer Tasha
I worked one-on-one with each cast member. My position called for me to set looks in trailers, perform constant fittings, create new pieces if we couldn’t pull them, shopping, altering & tailoring pieces on set between camera breaks and more. I also made other pieces we needed such as spa robes (multiples), Christmas aprons, and wedding attire.
Two of my favorite looks that I made included a color block tunic and wide leg look for Wendy Raquel’s character and a navy blue moleskin turtleneck dress paired with a camel color trench coat made for Keesha Sharp’s character.
My custom dolls that I reStyle (make custom apparel) were even featured in this movie, I am excited about this as well!!
This beautiful Christmas film was directed by the great Terri J. Vaughn and she doubled as a cast member too! Be sure to check out A Christmas Surprise tonight!
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About A Christmas Surprise a BET Original Movie.
Tanya Hamilton (Wendy Raquel Robinson) is an outgoing, self-made businesswoman who is looking forward to spending Christmas with her beloved daughter Brittney (Katelynn Bennett). But when Brittney comes home, she has a surprise for her mother: she’s engaged! Shocked and disapproving of Brittney’s less-than-impressive artist fiancé Amiri (Mustapha Slack), Tanya struggles to accept her daughter’s impending Christmas wedding. To make matters worse, Amiri invites his elitist mother, Demetria (Keesha Sharp), to stay with everyone at Tanya’s house for some pre-wedding bonding. Tanya and Demetria reluctantly agree to help finish planning the wedding, but their styles quickly clash—Tanya prefers a “the bigger, the better” approach, whereas Demetria pushes Brittney toward a more sophisticated, intimate wedding—and chaos ensues as the two mothers refuse to compromise on anything. As wedding planning heats up, will Tanya and Demetria put their differences aside in time to throw the perfect Christmas wedding for Brittney and Amiri?
Cast: Wendy Raquel Robinson, Keesha Sharp, Katelynn Bennett, Mustapha Slack, Will Blagrove, Serenity Meeks, Nicholas Bordelon, Kenja and many more!
Directed by: Terri J. Vaughn
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