How I became a celebrity and music video designer

• Lisa Madonna is a Los Angeles-based fashion designer who has worked in films and in music videos.
• She says low maintenance, ease of working with, and understanding are paramount in her industry.
• Here is her career story, as told by writer Naz Kawakami.

This article is reportedly based on a conversation with Lisa Madonna, a fashion designer and stylist in her early thirties from Los Angeles, California, about her job. Edited for length and clarity.

The beginning of my career was just a coincidence.

In 2013, I was helping friends with a gallery, which meant I could make art whenever I wanted. Someone saw what I was doing and gave my number to a still-living photographer, and I started designing e-commerce for Goop and Violet Gray — little things, like lipstick mods. I did it nonstop for seven or eight months.

One of my director friends and a friend of mine asked if we wanted to dance in a music video in 2014. I told him I wasn’t much of a dancer anymore, so he asked if I could handle the wardrobe. I made the next three or four videos, which led to more and more gigs. In 2015, she started working with a well-known fashion designer at GQ to make music videos and editorial design.

I later met a producer on a job that prepared my first feature film, “On the Affair of Joan of Arc,” which was released as “American Martyr” in 2018. Through it, I booked others, and didn’t receive the phone. It hasn’t stopped ringing since then.

My career started really fast, and that wasn’t what I was really trying to do. I blinked and worked hundreds and hundreds of jobs. I didn’t have a break or time to think about it. I kept saying yes and doing the work.

When I started, I had no precedent or understanding that this was an actual job. It was supposed to be part-time work so I could make art. Now, nearly a decade later, I’m still working my way through it.

Set at the beginning of the shooting day is chaos

When I arrive – usually before dawn but depending on the time of the call and the project – I take a few minutes to reach my space. My main job as a stylist is to define the look, make sure everyone is happy with it and make all the necessary changes. When that’s done, I’ll be able to step back and have someone else take over and make sure people steam things, get dressed, and stick to schedule.

Those first features were my brutal introduction to fashion design already. Movies in general are immersive and intense work because you help design a story through costumes. I was fortunate because I immediately had two standalones in a row where on some days we worked 20 hours straight, just me and maybe someone else wearing the entire cast. Experiment with fire.

When you do this job, you live in fear of never getting a call again

You won’t work for a week and wonder if your career is over.

My longest time without a job was in 2017, when I hadn’t worked for about five weeks. Regardless, the longest period of time without being on set was 77 days at the start of the pandemic, although even when I’m not working, I’m making mood boards, organizing my work wardrobe, and amassing an endless pile of receipts.

A producer recently told me this: “I’m good at creating a creative identity and doing all the fun things, and I can’t be a fuck about anything else.” I put all my energy into the creative end to the point of exhaustion and then I step back and trust the people around me to take care of things.

The task is difficult in the best and worst ways

I love what I do, but it’s exhausting. I get things done and be in a different place every day. One day I’ll probably do a piece at the Berlin Club, and another day I’ll do a Paul Schrader movie.

Designers sometimes get a bad reputation for being divas, but that’s because our work is harder than people think. There is a misconception that we only go shopping, and anything a customer wants is readily available or already exists as something we can pick up at the mall, which is completely wrong. Sometimes we have to ship, manufacture or make things ourselves, and these things take time and skill, especially when our resources are limited. So when there is opposition on our part, it is thought that we are tough.

As a partition switch, I’ve worked days in a row because things have to get done

The union leadership – to which I belong is the Guild of Fashion Designers – will tell you not to do it, but if you sign up for something, you should get your work done no matter what. In the back of your head you are always afraid of being replaced. If you say no to something, they may never call you again. If you try to negotiate your own price, you can’t help but worry that you’ll go up too much and never be asked to come back.

On top of that uncertainty, being in a creative industry, I feel like I need to be constantly producing, and I don’t think people are excited about that. There is a lot of burnout in cinema and fashion. When you work 15 hours a day, that creates an unrealistic standard. People ask me, “You can make this overnight, right?” There are expectations that I am guilty of being guilty of not setting clear boundaries. It’s not easy to maintain – even less so since the pandemic began.

Most importantly, it is unhealthy. I would prefer that the people who work with me only work eight hours and be focused for those eight hours and be able to go home and have a life and a rest. This is something that everyone in the industry deserves, and it’s a direction I hope they’ll go down.

I don’t even know if I’m supposed to talk about these things because they own my thoughts

I am highly critical of everything I do, but I am proud of many things. I designed the costumes for the most viewed music video of 2021, which was The Weeknd’s “Save Your Tears” video.

Robert Kruzek

I also designed costumes and designed the “Sour Prom” video for Olivia Rodrigo, which was directed by Kim Stuckwish.

We had to get rid of the era first. Will it be a period piece or just a period affected? Kim had a very specific color palette, which made it easier because I had limitations working within it.

This project was very much about the individual. I pulled out shelves and racks of clothes that I thought were cool, which is really scary when the talent you’re working with is a teenager. I had to think about that time in my life and how awkward I was, how miserable and awkward prom was, and how utterly I hated my dress. I tried to work with each person so that they feel good about what they are wearing so that it feels authentic to them and their enjoyment. That was really the point of the project anyway.

I am also very proud of my work on the 2021 movie “The Card Counter”. This was a very difficult task because it was a standalone film, which meant a lack of resources compared to a larger production, but it was very rewarding.

I hope the ideas from my work will add to the lexicon of fashion and fashion design, and it gives me great pleasure to see these things being appreciated, by people imitating those looks, receiving feedback from my colleagues, or in the case of “The Card Counter’s”, being part of a project It turned out to be very good and well received.

Fashion is not something people think about

Robert Kruzek

I wasn’t used to thinking about it. I hope that costumes will be better recognized as important as collections. It is a way of expressing and developing personality and telling a story. When I’m at a job, I don’t design people – I design their characters and I design around the story being told.

For example, The Weeknd’s video for “Too Late” was directed by Cliqua, Raul Sanchez, and Pasqual Gutierrez. I’ve worked with Raoul before, so there was a relationship, which allowed for a more intense collaborative process. We had to fully develop these two sadistic women, so first, we had to think about who they were. We knew their faces were going to be wrapped in bandages all the time, so that’s the starting point. What are these two wearing? We come up with some ideas or references, flood them with photos, do fittings, do Peg Bundy relief, run some tests with bandages to see what works best, and then put it all together.

Sometimes my team and I walk around New York City or Los Angeles and see the impact of our ideas as trends develop and laugh at ourselves.

If you want to work in this industry, adaptability is vital, as is being kind

Robert Kruzek

I wouldn’t be where I am if I hadn’t been kind.

Be willing to admit mistakes. Be prepared to learn. Be creative. Last weekend, one campaign manager said, “I love this fit, but do we have red?” And I replied, “What time are you going to lunch?” I went down the street and bought more fabric and made this thing red.

Is it well made? No. Did it work? Yeah. Can anyone tell that we made it to the set? number.

There is a lot of fake and honest about your skill set. I didn’t know how to sew until a few years ago. I had to make this dog costume for a job, so I taught myself overnight using a YouTube video. Fortunately, a four-year-old was supposed to make a costume for the dog, which is what it looked like.

Low maintenance and ease of operation is very important – so try to understand where people are coming from and negotiate their needs over what you can offer as a solution.

Helpers are key – the people you trust to help you

I need someone who understands me. I’m not always the best at communicating what I need or how to do something, so it’s always good to have someone who knows how my brain works. Usually, this is the person who has known me for a long time, who knows me as a friend, with whom I have built a relationship.

I never got an agent. I made it this far without anyone. Maybe I should get one because they manage your schedule and help negotiate your rates, but they also take your money. I felt like I had to be at a certain level to need an agent, and I didn’t know what that was. What are all the children talking about? Impostor syndrome.

When I started, I had people who thought I was talented, and I built relationships with these photographers and stylists. The product that gave me my first advantage was the producer on “The Card Counter”.

Be kind, do a good job, and build relationships. This is the best advice I can give. I didn’t know I was still doing this, but I feel good about where I am.