Rhiwbina Living 61

assistant to buy them and when she
came back. I looked through and
said ‘That’s it!’. Eve tried it on and
Faith was created. She was
comfortable, it was practical – a
mum of three would wear it; it was
believable. It was keeping it real and
she’d ‘pop’ on screen.”
The iconic yellow coat that Eve
Myles wears in Keeping Faith was
recently on display at an exhibition
to celebrate 100 years of the BBC
but is now going to live permanently
at The National Museum of Wales in
their collection. The clothes have
attracted a lot of attention from the
public since the show aired. The
wardrobe of the characters has
attracted so much attention. I've
never had so many people get in
touch and ask where they could get
the same items.”
The dedication and attention to
detail required by a costume
designer helps tell its own story and
gives actors the ability to become
the character they are playing.
Working closely with directors,
production designers, and make-up
artists, and actors is essential to
make it successful, helping bring
the writer’s work to life.
“Everything has a meaning – the
colours, the styles,” says Sarah-Jane.
“We have people we call
breakdown artists who can make
clothing look old and distressed. In
many cases, we have to have more
than one version of costumes as
scenes are sometimes shot out of
chronological order, so we all need
to think ahead.
“It’s like putting a giant jigsaw
together and I know if I’ve done a
good job if viewers enjoy the story.
It’s like special effects. If you know
they’re there, they’re distracting you
from the story. It’s the same with
costumes.”
Sarah-Jane also faces challenges
that affect the design process, as
“there are also other things to
consider - aspects like noisy fabrics
Sarah-Jane sharing a hug
with Rik Mayall
affecting the Sound Department,
whether certain fabrics need to be
flame-proofed to protect actors, or
even getting doubles in larger sizes
to hide harnesses for stunt work,”
she says.
“Actors need to be comfortable
and they need to be believable in
their costume. Some actors say they
don’t feel that they’re the character
until they put the costume on. An
actor sometimes offers their own
little touch of a certain perfume to
help bring a character to life. It
would be like putting a bridesmaid
in a strapless dress when they’ve
never worn one before because
they are always hauling them up.
You can’t have that in a TV or film
production.”
Inspiration comes in many forms:
"There was a period project we
shot in black and white, for
example, and to get textures in
black and white, I did look back at
costume designers of that time like
Edith Head. When you’re doing
modern shows like Keeping Faith,
you look around you for references
based on the backstory of a
character – lifestyles and interests,
where the character lives and
works.”
Set dynamics also must be
navigated, as the costume
department work long hours and
are often the first to arrive and last
to leave each day, working closely
with the actors, hair and makeup
department, directors, and
production designers. Since the
pandemic, they have had to
constantly adjust to maintain safety
as much as possible.
“Working with actors also requires
an element of diplomacy. We also
have to think and prepare for the
next day’s filming, whether that’s
washing or creating items,” says
Sarah-Jane.
“When I worked through Covid, I
often wore a mask and a visor.
When I took a sip of water during a
social-distancing break, actors I
hadn’t worked with before would
say ‘Ah – that’s what you look like!
You’re not just a pair of eyes,’ after
being in their personal space so
much during costume fitting.
Working with famous actors and
designing incredible outfits aside,
clearly a lot of hard work goes into
producing looks for these shows.
“You need to understand fabrics,
construction of garments, have
knowledge of history of fashion and
research skills, be able to work with
budgeting, and running a team.
“I love my job,” she says. “I’m always
learning, often from others around
people
The iconic coat that
featured in Keeping Faith
me and if I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t
do it. It’s certainly not glamorous as
people think and it often involves
long days, standing around in the
cold and wet. But then there’s the
reward of seeing your work on
screen, as well as working with
some of the biggest names out
there.
"It’s the little moments you
remember and cherish, working
with people I grew up watching on
TV, like sitting in the office and
hearing Rik Mayall coming in. I
remember thinking ‘I recognise that
voice!’.
"It's also nice to have worked
locally too over the years. For Dal
y Mellt, the first Welsh drama to
be bought by Netflix, we filmed in
Whitchurch. And the award-winning
comedy-drama series In My Skin
was filmed in Pen-y-Dre, Parc-y-
Pentre, and Cefn Graig!
“Every day is different. I am
blessed. I get to play dress up every
day with some amazing people.
We’re all there as a team with our
uniqueness, talents, and ability to
create something magical.”
Scan the QR code to see an
interview with Sarah-Jane
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