How Costumes Are Destroyed For Movies & TV | Movies Insider

[@antowane]

The movie industry has some of the most specific and outlandish jobs. I love how much effort and care goes into film and TV shows.

[@I_WANT_MY_SLAW]

I know right. But they are hard to come by.

[@beardoswaggins739]

Yep, on Jackson’s LOTR trilogy, there was one man tasked with making chain link everyday for like 7 years. He’s quoted as saying: “this was the most amazing experience of my life” 😅

[@healinggrounds19]

We do this for theatre shows too. It's incredible what we do for the quick change costumes needed in touring shows like "Wicked" or especially Elsa's "Let It Go" dress in "Frozen".

[@rebellefleur435]

Another movie/tv set job I learned of the other day is a 'Food Stylist'. Neato!

[@claudius3359]

@@beardoswaggins739 Can't blame him.Guy's probably living his life.

[@antowane]

Its funny how if she does her job well we wouldn't even notice it, but if she got it wrong it would end up in a Watch Mojo countdown video.

[@I_WANT_MY_SLAW]

Yes, the best jobs are supposed to go unnoticed. That's the highest compliment you can receive. They will specifically tell you that. No matter what field it is. Lighting, sound, carpentry, electrical, etc.

[@MaisyahRaniahBratz]

.

[@dragonslayer9844]

@@I_WANT_MY_SLAW Assasin

[@I_WANT_MY_SLAW]

@@dragonslayer9844 why are you being racist?

[@dragonslayer9844]

@@I_WANT_MY_SLAW Why are you being jobist

[@MissMisnomer_]

This along with Foley artistry have got to be some of the coolest and underappreciated artforms in cinema

[@batemon85]

My husband's dream job would be doing Foley work. It's fascinating stuff!

[@TheBiggestMoronYouKnow]

Literally said no one ever

[@BlazerT48]

Foley artist is pretty known by now. The ones that are truly underappreciated is this and the niche props designer for edible/destructive/silent uses. Look it up

[@amomentofzen9961]

Prop masters too!

[@SoLuVaBle299]

And creative prop masters

[@amandasnider2644]

I was in a Fibre Arts certificate course in College and at the time I wanted to further my studies and go into Costume Design after I graduated my first college. For my final projects I decided to explore how realistic Costume destruction can be. I sewed a simplistic nightgown and a wrote a short scene describing a pioneer woman running from her drunk abusive husband in the woods. I wanted to see just how much damage could be done to the outfit. So, I put the nightgown over some ratty clothes, I put some protective goggles and a helmet on and I ran like my life depended on it through the forest around my apartment.... turns out practically no damage whatsoever other than some strains but it actually was difficult for the fabric to catch on stuff and it never ripped. Actually, there was so little damage that I was afraid my teacher would think I didn't do anything to test it so I very stupidly jumped into a bush...what I thought was a regular bush. Turns out there was a massive hole under the bush and I really fell and I gashed my leg badly. The ironic thing is that the broken branch cut me through the fabric... without ripping the fabric. All I had to show for evidence was a little bit of blood present on the fabric (which looked more like a little scab had been picked vs a wound) and the wound on my leg.

[@sarahblostein4862]

This story is amazing lol!

[@randompotato7391]

Omg, that's crazy 😂

[@GrandHighGamer]

As a kid I managed to get a piece of stone stuck in my leg (still have the scar) without ripping my pants. I don't know how it made it in.

[@harveyspecter111]

Things we do for those marks......

[@frosty925]

Wait so the gown you wore actually withstood much of the stray twigs, branches, rocks and etc.? Quite surprising to hear

[@glorygloryholeallelujah]

Dang. My school’s old career counselor really let me down… He never ONCE told me that there was a career path that would allow me to destroy rich people’s clothes for a living!!🤣❤️

[@gothgreenrock]

the ideal career path tbh

[@glorygloryholeallelujah]

@@gothgreenrock right?! Who do I talk to, to get this dream job?! 🤣

[@talb.1805]

It's not rich people's clothes lmao they're curated costumes, so sadly that career path doesn't quite exist yet 🙃

[@astoroidea6502]

@@talb.1805 I mean, some of those outfits gotta be expensive

[@thetree9399]

@@talb.1805 in designer counterfeiting, people cut apart clothes to knock off the patterns to create fakes of them.

[@rafaelperalta1676]

This job and the people who do it are amazing. It requires a lot of knowledge and effort that usually ends up unnoticed by most.

[@cinnamoncigarettes]

I think you mean unnoticed by most or not noticed by most

[@rafaelperalta1676]

@@cinnamoncigarettes thanks. I was gonna put not noticed. I didn't notice it was a double negative.

[@toastthemost2473]

I never knew how much I wanted to be a breakdown artist.

[@sakuraesther6309]

Go for ittttt🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌

[@yokelengleng]

It's very complicated.... You have to imagine how clothes damage in scenarios that rarely happens in real life.... And you need to get the right colour and know the right chemicals to put on the clothes.... That's a lot of knowledge

[@k.5425]

Yhhh...like you cover a variety of topics and knowledge in this job

[@GrayRaceCat]

And, doing it all without making the clothing TOXIC to the wearer!

[@kirstenpaff8946]

That lady must have a very shady looking search history.

[@sarahblostein4862]

Bahaha you have no idea

[@mariefromseier]

“what do whale guts look like”

[@beamanlangit6869]

I'm amused by how great artists they are, they really made every film more lively and worth watching for.

[@nofool9621]

If realistic bullet holes aren't easily visble, then I suppose making it a bit bigger(visible) and more dramatic even though it's unrealistic, would make it more realistic to the untrained eye which is the majority of the audiences. I guess that would do it for many.

[@sh_-nz7qd]

Just shot with a real gun 🤔

[@shayne_has_landed2511]

I remember destroying a thrifted jacket to turn into a zombie costume. I used files and razors to tear the jacket in specific spots, dyed it with watered down acrylic paint, and rolled around in the grass with it to deliberately deliver grass and mud stains. It turned out pretty nice; you can use whatever you have on hand to create something and turn it into your vision.

[@loopilop100z8]

Stains are removed. Paint are washable.

[@JessieorQuinn]

@@loopilop100z8 and?

[@Mrstealth93]

Smart idea making separate damaged parts for a special expensive costume.

[@loopilop100z8]

Stains are washable.

[@theysay04]

This is one of the reasons why i love watching behind the scenes/ making of videos more than the actual movie/drama

[@Pionike]

I could never be able to do this job. Ruining clothes very much hurts my heart 😭

[@healinggrounds19]

I work costumes for theatre. We destroy costumes after profession runs, due to union rules. Most Broadway costumes are never seen again unless an actor is "gifted" it by the designer. The costumes are incarcerated. This hurts my soul so badly. After sewing hundreds, sometimes thousands of hours, on a piece, only to burn it.

[@ara6692]

@@healinggrounds19 what why?

[@rezuanachowdhury6073]

@@healinggrounds19 u people burn clothes? this woman in the video made the dead guy's tuxedo look bad in way so that it can be used again. so.... y don’t u people reuse clothes?

[@healinggrounds19]

@@ara6692 Because the costumes are designed by "professional designers " and they don't want their designs to be copied or sold and copied,copied, copied without recieving credit or money. So it's written into the contract that after a show or tour ends, the sets,props and costumes are destroyed unless other arrangements have been made. Sometimes actors buy their costumes and props or certain set pieces for their houses. This also applies for big ticket concerts too! The sets and backup dancer costumes are destroyed.

[@healinggrounds19]

@@rezuanachowdhury6073 because it would not look realistic if we didn't really put burn marks by bullet holes, etc.. Someday, CGI will replace all of us, actors, costumers, set builders...it will just be programmers.

[@Musty_Moth]

can confirm, bullet holes look like cigarette burns. However, having been shot in my leg at point blank , the entry looked like a bullet hole, and the exit looked like a blown open stovetop popcorn covered in blood. It honestly wasn't too far off from what I saw here This is beautiful work.

[@neon9016]

Why were you shot at?

[@owlislike]

Previous costumer here. I have: Set a dress on fire ( multiple times) Made fake dirt to slather onto props Distressed fabric with sand paper, needles, steel wool, rocks, old screw drivers, palm sanders, and cheese graters ...the list goes on 🤣🤣

[@Jdmenendez22]

This woman should be hired for Springtrap's costume

[@average-art3222]

Yea, like, I would love to see how she would make a suit to have the intestines and guts inside, that are mush and gritted in the gears

[@nav6969]

agree

[@Donteatacowman]

"A lot of the [blood stains] didn't just happen naturally." What a relief!

[@kphoria1009]

i think they said sweat

[@aroojtahira7823]

I love how every artists take part to make it realistic

[@laurenbendik2006]

This is fascinating! The part about when they had to do two versions, one with dried blood and one with still wet, because the filming was out of order is so interesting.

[@ShyGuyShow]

0:50 She casually just has a corpse in her studio

[@LadyJGeek]

My first day in the costume lab while getting my theatre degree, the costume mistress hands me a stack of costumes and tells me to, "distress them." Not knowing what to do I yelled at them, "You're ugly! And no one will ever want to wear you!!!" Turning back to her I asked, "Are they distressed yet?" Yeah, I don't think they ever knew what to do with me. 🤣

[@nana_baby_na]

wow sooOoOoo funnyy

[@gingerdog8203]

And then everyone clapped.

[@andrewgordon235]

It worked for the mood slime in Ghostbusters 2🤷

[@lolrentz]

How did you get into costume designing without knowing what distressed clothes are

[@LadyJGeek]

@@lolrentz I went to college not quite pre-internet, but close.

[@g0d5m15t4k3]

It's a delicate balance between looking real and looking "real" for the viewers. Just like how most cars wouldn't explode in real life like they do in action flicks. It's a fine art to research what real would really look like, and make the executive decision to pump it up a bit for the screen. Also, making the filth and grime from body safe materials is overlooked. An actor could be wearing a costume for hours or days or weeks. Literal actual dirt and oil would be pretty dangerous to coat someone in for extended periods of time. Makeup artists use things like "stage dirt". And when you don't use cinematic safe resources, you turn out like the 1979 Russian film "Stalker" that was filmed in a chemical dump that gives the actors and crew cancer but had really good rad and really real WASTE PARTICLES floating through the air.

[@catto4800]

I never knew how detailed and alot of hard work are needed to make damaged clothes

[@sonikboom007]

I have a couple pairs of breakdown boots and two breakdown philson jackets from man in the high castle. I wear em daily! They look rat bagged but are near new otherwise. The joys of set sales!

[@kelsey2333]

Wow I never knew they sold stuff like that from movie sets. Are they more expensive tho, because they were worn by famous actors and in famous movies

[@sonikboom007]

@@kelsey2333 no the jackets regaail for 350 or so and the bootsarelike 250...i paid 20 for the jacketand 15 bux for the boots

[@Melissa0774]

Such a cool video. I haven't seen anything like this since I visited the studio in Texas, where they shot Dallas and the Problem Child movies, on a Girl Scout field trip in the early 90's. I forget what it's called, but they used to have a big museum there with all kinds of exhibits about how movies are made. It since went out of business and Glen Beck took it over. That's where I first learned about how they use exploding blood packs to do gun shot scenes. I learned so much that day, that I still remember all these years later, but I'm surprised they never said anything about this clothing destroying thing that was talked about in this video.

[@IKEMENOsakaman]

Wow, so much dedication in details. I love it! Shokunin!

[@fynkozari9271]

I would do anything for money too, the root of all evil.

[@sasisaipim]

She did an amazing job with her talented heart. This is new to me as I have never thought of costume designers who creat ruined clothes in movies. Thank you for sharing 💝✨🙏

[@ScripturientMuse]

I’m a breakdown artist for film in the Toronto area too and am very glad I now have an easy go-to video to explain my job when I tell people about it, because boy do they look confused sometimes lol

[@justthatnoodle]

can confirm the cheese grater technique works did it to my thumb by accident and it is indeed shredded

[@andrewgordon235]

I see her as a serious goth girl in highschool and all that artsy weirdness led her to this job right here much to her parents relief.

[@sarahblostein4862]

Haha accurate!

[@andieallison6792]

This is a job I honestly didn't even consider would exist OMG

[@chocomelonsugarhigh]

Ya know the job's well done when you don't even wanna see yourself in those clothes despite it being fake. That's skills right there

[@Robman92]

I had no idea that this occupation existed but it seems so obvious now! Impressive 🙌

[@playlistmusicchannel6731]

i always imagine those wrecked costumes smells bad, like sweat and saliva 🤮🤣. but since it is created in the studio, just imagine how nice smelling it is🤣🤣🤣

[@loopilop100z8]

Stains are washable with clothes.

[@WorldsOnlyBlackStan]

These people don't get enough credit for how a scene is portrayed by the human eye 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@giuliani3570]

That was a great video. Never would have thought of most of those things.

[@rileyjohnson9745]

I am obsessed with this movies insider series. So interesting.

[@joebiglousanchez8266]

Thanks for a great interview, new at this at 55 years, going into a different type of horror show,but you my ideas and sets, design, so forth. Absolutely loved the way you made it seem so easy.

[@johnathonjordon8148]

These guys are up there on the most underrated jobs out there

[@zaimaziz6412]

Respect to those behind the scene never thought of them!!!!

[@megatron8461]

Now there’s a noble thought, making the clothes look distressed yet vintage.

[@lisastenzel5713]

I apologise... for all the movie enthusiasts like myself...for noticing all those details and making that job such a headache. Your work is appreciated deeply❤

[@ojasvigupta2321]

"So there's a nice gross piece up there" LMAO😭

[@browngirl603]

I always notice when the stains change, it’s so funny

[@ItzjustNy]

She does her job so well❤❤❤❤

[@eunicee999]

Wow this is so specific!!! I had no idea so much work went into destroying clothing

[@JenniferPChung]

I don't know much about dried guts but that looks pretty real to me lol. That's pretty awesome!

[@69cheesyfries]

man so many details into movie making I'm honestly intrigued. i might wanna try this out someday

[@Tigris178]

It’s super fun! Takes a lot of patience, but the results look awesome. One of the best places to try it is on Halloween costumes. A generic pre-fab costume from a big box store looks dorky until you hit it with sandpaper and files and grime, and then suddenly it looks brilliant. Try distressing the fabric, then drybrushing/dry sponging, and work back and forth in layers. It’s way fun :)

[@loopilop100z8]

​@@Tigris178Paint is washable with clothes.

[@antararikshakumarsingh1960]

My new found respect for these guys.

[@Ginny855]

As an art conservator I'm so fascinated how this lady's profession is pretty much the opposite of what I'm doing 👌🏻😄

[@filmbuster2619]

Maybe it's just me, but does it really matter if a bullet hole is unrealistic as long as the majority of the audience perceives it as genuine?

[@rodrigo9554]

When something is realistic, you don't notice it, however if it's unrealistic it tends to break the inmersion

[@bifurioussiren]

That's why she says they don't make them realistic, they punch it up a bit so it will be easily understandable to the audience.

[@filmbuster2619]

@@bifurioussiren That's a good point

[@HistoryBoy]

Honored to be one of the first viewers of yet another quality video.

[@kokuhakuqiun4215]

2:35 The Strain from 2014 to 2017? Is that the one featuring an outbreak of an ancient strain of vampirism? If so that’s hype af.

[@shaloamstrooper5081]

I would love this in ASMR, especially the scrapping ☺️☺️

[@DonVigaDeFierro]

This is a job you never even consider, but in hindsight is just absolutely essential... I mean, it's obvious the clothes aren't going to get damaged by _actual_ gunshots or because they were in an _actual_ car accident...

[@semoremo9548]

5:24 omg all that work for a prop that's only going to be seen for a second and not even properly.... Whatever they paid her they should pay her more!

[@jasonlee0290]

Wow the whole time I thought it was real chest and armpit sweat stains

[@laernulienlaernulienlaernu8953]

John McClane's vest "the damage didn't just happen naturally" And all this time I've been thinking he actually got shot, climbed through vents and got cut to pieces with glass"

[@kelsey2333]

Homie I think they meant the clothes didnt get distressed naturally by the actors special effects makeup and the actors natural wear and tear on the garments

[@laernulienlaernulienlaernu8953]

@@kelsey2333 well obviously! Most of the time the actors are just standing around on set and almost all of the scenes where they're seen flying through the air or jumping off buildings it's a stunt double. I didn't think they bought his vest off some old tramp. What they do to make it look that way is really inventive tho. 👍

[@Tigris178]

IMO “Destroy” is a bit inaccurate- “distress” is more specific to these techniques. Destroying a costume makes it unusable; distressing makes the wardrobe pieces fit the environment and patterns of wear. Nitpicky I suppose, but when I read the title I thought the video going to be about film staff sabotaging costume departments 😂

[@sarahblostein4862]

Haha. This is why I don't use fire to do burned looks on clothing, because the fabric becomes so brittle it disintigrates. I find it way more satisfying to create the look using paint and textured medium. That's where the "artist" part of Breakdow/Textile Artist comes in. We are illusionists ;)

[@Boleniana]

...Huh, I'd never even THOUGHT of this. Fascinating!

[@sanchezs7614]

This makes me appreciate movies more

[@pr7ya350]

I really didn't realize how much effort was put into clothes in movies. Most of us (at least me), don't really pay attention to these stuff, so I think it's pretty cool!

[@moseptyagami606]

I’d adore this job. I love drawing damaged outfits, imagine being able to destroy actual ones?

[@Abhiji91]

Beyond Imagination, superB 👌

[@halfblackhalfamasian]

How about cars? Always wondered how cars are destroyed to fit a scene

[@revandenburg]

She would be a cool mom to have to help with your Halloween costumes!

[@tinyfishhobby3138]

This sounds more like marketing for The Boys than anything else.

[@mansvijajal4574]

Great work!!!👏🏻

[@michaelchallis4129]

She must have loved doing The Boys. “What do you mean they crashed into a whale?”

[@vz_only]

- What is your job ? - Ripping clothes. 😅

[@xandergross8474]

Such a cooool job she has!

[@2degucitas]

I like that one container of movie dirt is called "schmeer"

[@imcrazy534]

Hey boss, I figured I’d spend my first day as an intern washing these tuxes I found in the back room. I have no idea how they got so dirty but why not get ahead of the curve right? I also threw out those dingy wifebeaters and ordered fresh ones with the expense account! Thanks again for hiring me boss! I can’t wait to get started on the stuff I saved for day 2!

[@nemesisinferno0180]

How do I start in a job like this ?

[@amberlawson7867]

the fact the tank with the sweat stains made me go daryl dixon right away

[@johnsausage]

That was a great insight! Thanks :)

[@vaibhavpathak6611]

"Marilyn Vance" ~ Vance refrigeration

[@kristypurr]

this looks like such a fun job

[@lisastenzel5713]

Ha!! That shirt was always curious to me.😂 Like...what did he do? Does he get to take that off set and use it?😂 Very good job

[@cokeysnose375]

Was the part about gunpowder a joke, whats on the screen and being said dont match LMAO

[@rithikmadhava6005]

No, it said on screen that she makes the black marks to indicate gunpowder. But she herself said this is not accurate and gunpowder only stick/burns if you're shot from very close range. Hope that made sense :)

[@cokeysnose375]

@@rithikmadhava6005 Thanks for the confirmation! :)

[@rmb206]

0:47 my boy is cheesin'

[@sakuraesther6309]

Love that for her .Goes to show that there is something for everyone

[@lanadelreyish]

“a lot of the damage you see didn’t happen naturally” well I hope not

[@whyparkjiminnotridejimin]

Such a cool job

[@monkeyguy80]

Nice vid 👍🏼

[@laughsingay]

this seems like so much fun

[@fadhilpaten]

How can someone end up having this kind of job? Definitely not common in my country

[@maheshd7796]

Imagine saying to your parents... "I wanna be a fashion designer who basically destroys clothes!🙂"

[@yairamzaleg739]

Please make a video about costumes and tactical equipment for movies and TV

[@gregnulik1975]

For the bullet holes, i'm surprised they don't use a special squib that creates the explosion they want, but leaves behind a smaller hole.

[@loopilop100z8]

Paint is washable

[@HarryAdee]

I need this job so bad.

[@withsmile3437]

Okay this is really a dream job

[@miguelhorne9491]

I've always wondered...

[@Sharksandwichtornado]

THERES A JOB FOR THAT??? I would be a natural as a complete klutz 😂

[@zubairb3747]

This woman knows how to simulate a murder.. 😂

[@deedle6073]

Movie makers hundreds of years ago used real blood.

[@deathbyathousandcats]

People in this type of job, art in shoot, are usually the ones who are sleepless,and the continuity person is so stressed

[@xenaturner1244]

I thought all that sweat was real in movies... i didn't realise most of it was fake

[@Antonio88870]

The scene may represent a character on a run for a while or dealing with high heat ambients when the actor or actress ain't tired at all or ain't even on a hot weather, so they have to simulate it.

[@loopilop100z8]

​@@Antonio88870Paint is washable with clothes.