Inside the fashion world : with Richard Bloore, Costume Designer for Santa Barbara
By Susan Morse, Soap Opera Digest, 1987	Home   Cette page en Français

Background : Thirty-two-years old, single... Originally from Santa Ana, California... Attended Cal State Fullerton and Northwestern University... earned B.A. in theater design and technical theater.

First job : Assistant to Bill Whitten, costume designer for musicians such as Neil Diamond, Lionel Ritchie, the Commodores and Michael Jackson. Worked on Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor variety shows.

Basic routine : Bloore's duties include :
(1) going over breakdowns of each day's show and deciding which outfits will be worn in each scenes,
(2) fitting (Bloore has four assistant setting up stockings / underwear with each outfit and attending to steaming and pressing while he and his personal assistant attend to the actual fittings),
(3) alterations (with are then sent over to the main workroom at NBC where all alterations are done for the network's shows),
(4) overseeing dress rehearsal (which occurs immediately after lunch. "That's when I make sure each outfits is correct and I also get input from the actors and directors"),
and (5) shopping for new clothes. "I leave the studio between four and five o'clock and hit the stores. It's typical to purchase between five and six outfits for a new character and then have the actor come in and try them on. Usually one works best. I don't like taking the actors with me when I go shopping. I was hired for my eye and my taste in clothing and it can be overpowering to go into a store with an actor, who goes straight for the things he/she likes to wear. I go keeping the character in mind", says Bloore.

Money matters : "I'm given four thousand dollars a week for twenty-five principals and am constantly juggling the money," admits the costume designer. "The producers want everyone to look like they do on Dynasty but we can't afford that five days a week. For example, this week, each episode is a new day so we have to have five different sets of clothing for each principal. When you divide up the four thousand dollars that comes out to about forty dollars an outfit. So, ultimately, I have to reuse certain clothes. "

Likes / dislikes : Bloore isn't big on picking out a week's worth of outfits in advance because things always come up. "An actress might be feeling overweight and might prefer to wear a skirt instead of pants," he explains. "I like to see how an actor is feeling that day and go from there. I'm not the type to put my foot down and say, "This is what you're wearing today and that's that." I want the actors to be calm and happy so they'll give their best performances. An actor's input is very important."

Trademark : "I guess I'm know as being not too heavy-handed," says Bloore. "I like things to be simple and classic, I don't like a lot of jewelry. I also listen very well what the actors are saying and I'm able to achieve what I want."