Chicago is partly a fairy tale because it's inside one person's head, so that part of it's made up and the rest of it is reality.

If I'm doing something contemporary, for sure I'm very aware of what's going on. Personally, I like fashion trends, but when I'm doing a movie, it doesn't affect what I do particularly at all. I don't relate to it in that way.

Be able to take any job that gives you experience on a film. Don't just think that you have to be in one department or the other, because through working on one and seeing what other people do in the movie makes you realize what your role is if you become a costume designer.

Inspiration comes from everywhere: books, art, people on the street. It is an interior process for me.

In real life, a lot of people at that level will have their kimonos made especially for them.

If you want someone to feel warm, you dress them in a warm color and put a warm light on them and you get the picture. Sometimes, all that needs pushing a little bit to help tell the story.

I always have a moment when I know I'm designing the last costume that gets made for a movie and it's always been floating up there but it's kind of the last one. That's always probably the hardest one for me.