At Home With William Ivey Long

I came across the most wonderful interview with Pal Joey Costume Designer William Ivey Long on NewYorkSocialDiary.com. Along with the interesting conversation, the piece includes beautiful pictures of Long’s gorgeous home. Following are excerpts from the article. To read the article in it’s entirety - and you must to see the fabulous pictures - click here and ENJOY!

William in his bedroom

Five-time Tony award-winner William Ivey Long is such a successful costume designer that to list the productions in which he has been involved would read like some kind of history of Broadway over the past 30 years. Suffice to say that if you’ve seen any of the following: Hairspray, Dreamgirls, The Producers, Grey Gardens, Chicago … then you’ve seen his work. He has also designed costume for Mick Jagger’s tours and Siegfried and Roy…

…What’s the process of knowing how a costume is going to move?

Oh, well, actually I ask them to show me what they’re going to do in that scene. Like I was with Stockard Channing yesterday for three hours and we just did a few of the nine costumes I’m making for ‘Pal Joey’. I asked her to go through each of the songs, show me what she’s doing. We mocked up a bed—she sings ‘Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered’—no pressure there—she’s wearing a little teddy and I’m taking one of the fur-trimmed wraps from the previous scene … we’re making it so that it curves around… it also helps protect your …

Yeah, you don’t want a boob popping out.

Oh yes, and your arms, all over …

This is a distraction of mine but whenever I go to the theater, I notice that actors sweat a lot – I always wonder what happens to their costumes.

I have to know about fabrics, I have to know about maintenance. I pick natural fibers and we try not to have them dry-cleaned because it loosens the color and stretches the fabrics. We air them, we turn them inside out, we spray vodka on them.

You spray vodka on them?!

Vodka. Inexpensive vodka. Something in the culture kills bacteria. You mix it with a little water, so it’s not straight vodka, you turn everything inside out and you put a fan on it. I also make doubles. If it’s a dance show I always make doubles.

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