FEI YIMOU
Desert Foxes
Photographer
Why I chose to make this costume:
This gallery contains photos of two of the collection of costumes I am designing and creating for an upcoming TV Show project to be filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Director and Cinematographer Jon Bickford approached me right around December 2007 about the job of Costume Designer for a new show he created. Tentatively it is called "Desert Foxes" and it is an Action Fantasy Western with five female characters from very different backgrounds trying to survive in the mid to late 19th Century Wild West. The show is geared toward families and a younger audience, which promised lots of fun costume ideas!
Of course I jumped at the opportunity and took on the daunting task of designing 12 costumes. Thanks to Jon's detailed character description and after talking to him for hours about what looks he wanted for the show, I created fully colored individual design sketches with multiple outfit possibilities and accessories for each of the 5 main girls, and 2 villain designs. This gallery showcases the character Fei's costumes.
How I made this costume:
I made an epic fabric shopping trip to the L.A. Garment District and bought materials for all 12 costumes. You should have seen the insane amount of bags filled with fabric me and my friends had to drag around. For Fei's "escape outfit," I chose a coarse linen and made a pair of pants and matching jacket, as well as a silk undershirt and sash. Heavy distressing was done to the finished garments
I loved creating Fei's "hero outfit," which based on Jon's description needed to be elegant, sexy and mobile for action. I researched Qing Dynasty fashions which were extravagant but shapeless boxy robes, entirely unsuitable for the theme of the show. So while keeping the important Asian elements intact like the sleeves, collar, closures and color scheme, I made a somewhat westernized costume incorporating a corset and boots as well as pants for fighting and horseback riding! I already owned the sword which worked out wonderfully for the photoshoot.
Thoughts on this costume:
I really love and appreciate this project and will post more photos and info about the show soon! As you can see, I am modeling both outfits in the photos. Jon Bickford also talked to me about playing the part of Fei, who comes from a Chinese background and will have some lines in Chinese on the show. While the costumes are the most important aspect of the job for me, I couldn't pass up the chance to play one of the characters as I loved the show idea and the script for the first 4 episodes! Besides dialog scenes, I will have fight scenes, do stunts and ride a horse on camera!
