We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lauren Arnold a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lauren, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Since I was a young girl, I have had a wild and vivid imagination. I would twirl around in princess dresses and picture myself as the main character. I often watched movies as a child and wondered what it would be like to live in a world of that particular story – to escape from everyday life and the bullies that constantly picked on me for being myself. I never knew that one day that dream of transporting myself to another world could come true every single day.

As a child, I was fascinated by movies like Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, and all of the original Star Wars films just to name a few completely different genres, but they’re classics. As a young girl with a whimsical imagination, the best time for me to pretend I was one of those characters was on Halloween. But of course, I was looking for a costume you couldn’t find on the rack – so what do you do?
I was 13 years old, ready to try something I’d never done before so I took out my Hello Kitty sewing machine gifted to me by my grandmother that I used only once when I was six years old and I imagined what I wanted to create and just put it together. I didn’t know how to sew; I only knew the basics of threading my machine, what came after that was all by experimentation. And to my surprise, I actually made something that was, yes, wearable, and not only looked like the character I wanted to be but felt like it too. Each year after that I would practice my skills by making more costumes – making a stitch, failing, making another stitch, sewing something backward, and so on. I had a vision in my head and I continued to learn and improve. At the time I still didn’t know how to draw. I couldn’t visualize by putting pen on paper, the only vision I had was in my imagination.

As I improved my work and made each project bigger and more intricate than the last, I began submitting my work to competitions and entered the cosplay community to meet more people like me who loved pop culture and crafting. It was the first place where I felt accepted for the work I enjoyed doing and the art that I created – little did I know this could be a career one day.
Any time someone asked me what I wanted to do professionally I really had no answer, no ideas, or even a hint at something I could enjoy doing for the rest of my life. My family, however, knew in their hearts what was right for me because while I was in an imaginary land with the characters I loved, working my magic to bring them to life, my family was on the other side seeing me the happiest I had ever been when I was creating. Thinking back about this today, I know that deep inside I felt it was meant to be, but the only way I could express my love for design and storytelling was through the fabric, detail, and of course, character. I finally found a university that would allow me to study Production Design with a concentration in Costume Design at SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia.

During my time at SCAD, I realized that when a person asks me what I consider myself to be I will always answer to say “A Storyteller,” because I’m not just designing clothes for a performer. Instead, I’m bringing that character to life and taking an idea to become something real that you can see and touch and something that can make a performer feel like the main character when they wear my designs, just as I did in my princess dresses when I was little.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve always been someone who loves to create. I love stories and always imagine what those stories would look like if they came to life. I design and fabricate costumes in the entertainment industry and also by commission to make one’s dreams a reality. Some clients come to me with an idea in mind, and some want to see what could be created. But those that do have an idea often think something is too complicated or that it can’t be done. I believe that the only limitation is your own imagination.

I also believe that design is problem-solving. Whether I’m working on a commission or designing for a music video, film, parades, or even running wardrobe backstage for theatre, I become a problem solver, finding solutions to technical elements of a costume that isn’t working or thinking about the logistics of how something might feel for the person wearing it.

Something I’m most proud of is that as an artist, I don’t limit myself to what I enjoy creating. When making and designing costumes, I like to take my work into all different styles and materials. Outside of costume designing, I also really enjoy production design, making concept art, and creative writing.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I’ve noticed that the work I do and the community I’m a part of sparks something in people; You can see it on their faces. Entertainment and art is something that is meant to be consumed, it provides a safe space for people to escape their everyday life and become a part of a story they can relate to. No project will ever be the same and that’s what is so exciting. There is always something new for me and the audience to experience that brings wonder and happiness to the world. For kids, they get to see their favorite characters come to life right in front of their eyes and for adults, it brings them back to a place of nostalgia or something that they never could have imagined. The smiles and the enchantment on their faces are what is so rewarding and always motivate me to never stop creating.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Stories bring people together and when I’m working on a project and someone tells me, “That’s so exciting!” or I get the opportunity to share my work with others, I feel inspired to make more costumes, design new characters and new worlds, and write new stories. I love to share and learn from others’ opinions. Some goals of mine are to one day go to the Oscar’s, design for a celebrity world tour, or even the next Star Wars film, and something I hope people learn about me is that I am a fan first and my passion for what I create stems from those things I love.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lacostumedesign.wixsite.com/designs
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/la_costumedesign/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lacostumedesigner
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-arnold-43a7b1186/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@la_costumedesign

Image Credits
Rachel Tyler Gianna Russo