Get ready to be whisked away on a modern musical adventure this December, as Ryan Murphy’s highly-anticipated new film The Prom finally drops on Netflix this Friday. Starring Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Keegan-Michael Key, Kerry Washington and many more, and jam-packed with songs you won’t be able to get out of your head, this star-studded extravaganza is undoubtedly a must-see. Getting excited? We spoke to the film’s costume designer, the 14-time Emmy nominated Lou Eyrich – who has also worked on all of Ryan Murphy’s most successful shows including Glee, Pose, American Crime Story and American Horror Story – ahead of the release. Keep reading to find out about the story behind Meryl Streep’s hand-sequinned jumpsuit, what working with Ryan Murphy is really like and how you might have seen Topshop pieces in some of his shows…
How would you describe the film in your own words?
The Prom is about inclusivity and that all people deserve to be their unique self without judgement. And it’s about these self-important Broadway stars that come in to save the day, when – in fact – it’s them that end up getting saved.
How did you start the process of creating the costumes?
The first step was watching the live Broadway event and really getting caught up in the energy of that performance. I did many years of working on Glee with Ryan, so at first I was like ‘oh I’ve already done this, do I really want to do another musical like this?’ but then I saw the play and I loved it. It was so electric and fun and beautiful and I loved the story. That grabbed me, and then when Ryan announced who the cast was going to be, that added a whole new level of excitement.
What were your main inspirations?
Ryan and I have worked together for 20 years, so we do have a shorthand and he already had a vision for what he wanted. He always does. We start by sitting down together and talk about the tone of the show. He wanted it to be big, bright, beautiful and shiny. The colours were pinks, turquoises, greens and yellows, but then he also wanted high-contrast moments between the Broadway stars and the actual town of Indiana. A tonal shift mostly. When you see these people from New York City come into this town, where people are living their normal everyday lives, it had to be a strong contrast.
Did the aspect of this being a musical have a big impact on the costumes?
Luckily, I had that experience from Glee, so I didn’t make some of the same mistakes I made ten years ago. The big thing were the shoes for Meryl and Nicole, because they needed heels in order to look glamorous and sexy. That was a big starting point. We had most of the shoes made by LaDuca Dance Shoes to make sure they had a good foundation and were built early so that they could dance in the shoes and break them in. The fabrics either had to have stretch or movement, but those are the normal things you need to look out for for any dance show. For this we wanted to disguise it so they didn’t look like dance costumes, it should look like streetwear that they could dance in.
Do any of the costumes signify a character’s journey throughout the movie?
The biggest development was for Kerry Washington’s character I’d say. She wears all pastels and is really put together and matching and very conservative in her dress sense. Towards the final prom, we decided to show her change of heart and how she opens up her mind to her daughter – so we put her in a very multi-coloured rainbow Gucci dress. That was a big shift.
Did you have a favourite character to work with in the film?
I don’t think I could pick a favourite, because I have never experienced such a fun, enthusiastic, collaborative group of actors who all worked their tails off dancing for days on end. Everyone was in it to win it. I was thrilled to be a part of it for that reason. Some projects can seem like one challenge after another, and this movie just didn’t have that. I attribute that to the actors and their love of collaborating and their craft.
Were there any challenges working on this then?
There wasn’t really anything other than a scene that ended up getting cut out of the movie. It was at a monster truck rally and they were dancing on a big mount of dirt. We’d planned all the outfits before we found out about that, so we had to really figure out how to make it happen. I think the biggest challenge was also just perfecting the colour palette, because it meant finding the perfect dress for Meryl, the perfect suit for James and then Nicole’s outfit was the wrong colour, so we had to start over. It was having to pick these four-five colours and making them work in a group scenario. You couldn’t have two people in pink. It had to all be strategically planned and work together.
There are so many sequins in this movie, was that a challenge too?
For Dee Dee, Meryl’s character, Ryan wanted a purple sequinned, flowy ensemble with a nod to the great designers of the old 70s-90s musicals. We just couldn’t find the right shade of purple or the beads were to heavy or it wasn’t shiny enough- so we had to find the chiffon, have it dyed and then have it all hand-sequinned. And we had to have triples made – two for Meryl and one for the body double. We hand-sequinned for four days straight. When you see it you’ll think it’s just an awesome, flowy sequin outfit but so much planning went into that.
You’ve worked with Ryan Murphy for over 20 years now and his portfolio of work and genres is so diverse ranging from horror to musicals – it probably never gets boring working with him, does it?
Never. I have an unhealthy amount of anxiety. But Ryan is also extremely open to our suggestions – if it’s just too much I can say and we can take a shortcut somehow. He’s always willing to listen and collaborate with me on that level. I love to give Ryan what he wants, and it’s never really been the case that we couldn’t do something. You just hire the right team. I’m all about having a good team that backs me up and wants to be here. We take on the challenge and make it happen. Sometimes I am very self-judgemental and I will look back at something and think it could’ve been so much better if I’d had more time. Everything in TV just goes so quickly. That being said, I think if Ryan said we were doing aliens next week, that would throw me off…
What would you say is your favourite decade to costume?
I do love the ’40s, because everyone looks good in it. I love the tailoring. That was Ratched and Hollywood that we did recently. My favourite project I did with Ryan was Running with Scissors, which was set in the ’70s. I’d love to do ’70s again.
Do you have any dream projects for the future?
Now that I oversee all of Ryan’s shows and he’s got so much going on, I think I’m taking a little shift into wanting to help and nurture designers who have a harder time getting into the business. I would love to be more of a teacher and mentor to help others. I’ve got such a beautiful career thanks to Ryan, that I would love to help others to navigate the world of costume design myself.
We love your work, congratulations on another amazing project!
Thank you so much, and we love Topshop! We went there on a daily basis for some of Ryan’s shows, so we really love Topshop.
The Prom is in select cinemas now and on Netflix from Friday
