Our City Tonight sat down with respected film and television costume supervisor, Carole Griffin, who recently won an Emmy for her work on the award-winning TV series Shogun.

OCT: Some of our readers would remember Shogun in the 1975 novel by James Clavell, which was made into a TV miniseries back in the 1980s. This television series proved to be very popular back then and most recently in 2024, Shogun was re-created again. 

The TV series was once again extremely popular and, in fact, in their first season they cleaned up at the Emmys winning 18 awards in multiple categories. As a highly skilled and successful costume supervisor, tell us about your experience on this acclaimed show and how much effort did it take to study and recreate the wardrobe for this period of 1600 Japan?

CG: It was a huge effort. What I mean is that back in 1600 Japan, there’s not a lot of photographs kicking around of what people were wearing or what was going on at the time. We did a lot of work with advisors and historians from Japan. We had to visit a lot of museums, and we looked at paintings, sculptures, and any kind of art that was related to the items that would help us see lines and silhouettes of what people were wearing. In some of the museums there are still fabrics that exist, so we were able to see that. 

We couldn’t actually go in person and see them ourselves because of Covid restrictions, so we had to rely on people in Japan to extensively photograph and document information and then send it to us. We had to take a lot of time to understand what the period looked like and the different, I’d say, hierarchy of what people would wear based on their position in this culture.

OCT: It is very apparent that the show was shot with true authenticity in mind starting from the sets and everything in between to the costumes. It is incredible that the location team was able to find places all over British Columbia including Vancouver Island to create the feel of 1600 Japan for the show. Let’s talk about your long and successful career, you have been a costume supervisor for over 20 years. Describe what that position entails.

CG: I mostly work as a costume supervisor so what that means is that I work hand-in-hand with the designer. The designer comes up with the creative vision and then together we work to take that vision and make it a reality. I am the one who primarily will break down the script to figure out what is involved and then what we will need for the characters, determine how many costume changes are needed, what type of period it is shot in, and also what it is going to cost. 

Then we figure out how many people we are going to need to make it all happen the way we envisioned. I am sort of that bridge between the designer and the producers and then at that point I find and build a team. As a team, we make it all happen. It’s a huge collaboration with many people involved. For example, going back to Shogun, we had 105 people in the costume department.

OCT: Carole can you tell us what has been your biggest challenge to date in your career?

CG: I thought that it was Shogun when I first delved into that because it was learning a whole new culture and learning a whole new language. That was probably the biggest challenge that I’ve ever had in my job because it was the biggest crew that I’ve ever had to run and it involved so many cultural things that I had to pay attention to and to learn about.

It was a giant learning curve. Up until recently I thought that was it, that Shogun was my biggest career challenge. And then I went on to work on the show The Last of Us which was also another huge project that I had just no idea what to expect. I had originally gone in to help for just a few weeks and then I ended up staying for the run of the show. I started on the project a week before they went to camera so I was a little behind. This meant, I had a significant learning curve in a matter of only a few weeks.

OCT: I’m sure most TV viewers have heard of the show The Last of Us. You went from a 1600 Japan project to a zombie apocalyptic world. That is quite a shift and that would be challenging in itself to get your brain around. On a different note, what would you like to do in your career that you have not yet done, is there a time period that you would love to be supervisor for?

CG: I have a soft spot for the historical costume drama so that’s kind of on my bucket list. I also would love to do a film with Wes Anderson, and I make a point of sharing that fact. Once I’ve done those two things then maybe I can think about retiring.

OCT: We are going to name drop on your behalf, you’ve worked with people like Matt Damon, Reese Witherspoon, Sigourney Weaver, Jude Law, Idris Elba, and the impressive list goes on and on. I see that you’ve worked with Bill Murray and that must’ve been a lot of fun. I wanted to mention that you also teach at the community college. You seem to be doing it all. What other things are coming up for you in the near future?

CG: There’s definitely rumour of a Shogun season two coming up and that would have a slightly different storyline. If all of that falls into place, I think that would be another wonderful challenge that I would be really ready for. Other than that, I’m just going to sort things as they come. It’s kind of the way I’ve always played it. I’ve never really tried to go after anything. I find if I put it out there, it just happens.

OCT: Now with a prestigious Emmy Award under your belt, and that is huge in your industry and huge overall for your career, I am sure it will all happen for you. We look forward to having you back for another interview and to share whatever comes next. 

To watch the video in full go to richmondsentinel.ca