Beverly Hills Chihuahua - CIA - Thecia

ackyard of Aunt Viv’s mansion and an upscale lunch spot—were actually filmed on locationin Puerto Vallarta.“The movie is very much a love letter to Mexico,” says Curtis. “The Mexican people havebeen the nicest, warmest people that you would ever want to work with. It’s been a realprivilege to be here with them.”Production designer Bill Boes and his two Mexican art directors, Hania Robledo andCristian “Pipo” Wintter, oversaw a team of more than 200 people in creating the look of thefilm, many of whom were local.“There are 107 scripted sets. Only about 15 are built sets, so the rest are locations,” saysBoes. “We just wanted to show the variety and scale of Mexico.”Boes and his team were able to work on a variety of sets, ranging from upscale Rodeo Driveto a rugged jungle environment.“Mexico has such respect for its past,” says Wintter. “You just walk around and you can feelthe magic. It’s undeniable. We have an amazing team of artists in this movie, mostly fromMexico, who created this parallel reality that pays homage to Mexico’s past, while creating aspecial culture for these dogs that makes sense.”COSTUMING CANINESCostume Designer Mariestela Fernández Oufits Human and Canine CastCOSTUMING CANINESCostume Designer Mariestela Fernández was responsible for outfitting both the human andcanine cast.“In the Beverly Hills scenes, we did some designer clothes and some very relaxed L.A.styles. But we mainly wanted to feel the richness of Beverly Hills, compared to the morecolorful and disordered way of dressing in Mexico,” explains Fernández.The costume designer wanted each character’s clothing to reflect the arc experienced in thefilm. “Piper Perabo’s character starts with a lot of designer clothes that are not well puttogether. She has hip stuff—Marc Jacobs, Nanette Lapore, designer jeans. In her journey, shebegins losing her layers, like a little onion, finding her true self. She ends up in a lot ofMexican clothes: beautiful blouseswe bought in the market,” saysFernández. “They’re specialbecause they’re one of a kind, doneby Mexican craftsmen by hand. Atthe end, I think she just has a verysimple but well-put-together idea ofwho she is and she dressesaccordingly.”As the owner of a cosmeticscompany, Aunt Viv, by contrast, isentirely fashion forward, saysFernández. Curtis played the role wearing Marni, Dolce Gabbana, Yves St. Laurent, Gucci andMarc Jacobs.Fernández was up to the challenge of dressing the non-human cast. “I had never dresseddogs before, so for me it was like entering a big adventure: it’s going to be wild, it’s going to22