The world is soooo small! I had the pleasure of meeting Xania in 2018 while we were both living our New York dreams, at“Dinner and Laughs with Robin Thede.” Come to find out we went to the same college and probably bumped elbows a couple of times. We exchanged socials and I’ve had the pleasure of watching her step right into her dreams.
Xania is a Costume Buyer and Key Costumer with recent work on shows like Sony’s “Panhandle”, Tyler Perry Studios, “House of Payne”, BET+, “Kingdom Business”, and the recently released film, “Honk for Jesus”. When I asked her to describe her work in layman’s terms she said, “I basically watch as each scene is shot to ensure that the integrity of my costume designer’s vision is kept up on camera.”
Stay the course. Believe in yourself and your abilities.
Xania Jackson
I hope you enjoy learning more about her stylish journey!
Why did you choose to become a Buyer and Costumer?
I’ve always had a love for fashion and storytelling. After pursuing a career in fashion by working in retail, assisting stylists on magazine shoots, and working fashion shows, I realized I was missing the storytelling element of fashion. That’s when I knew I wanted to get into tv and film.
What is your favorite costume design and why do you love it?
My favorite costumes would have to be Roger & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997) costume designed by Ellen Mirojnick. I was only a child when it was released but the craftsmanship, color palettes, and fabrics of her designs were so intriguing. My favorite character’s costumes was the evil stepmother and of course, the dress Cinderella wore to the ball.
How do you come up with the concepts for the costumes you put together?
When I am designing a project, I read the script numerous times. Then once I understand what’s happening in the script, I meet with the director to further understand their vision. After that, I usually do a lot of research to create detailed character boards for each character. When creating my character boards I like to think of where each character would shop, what hobbies they have, what are unique characteristics about where they live and how they choose to fit in or stand out, who are they, friends, with, what music they’d listen to, are they neat or disheveled and then I build their visual story through that lens. It’s more than just clothes and color palettes that help create memorable characters.
How do the actors/actress that are playing the roles play into your costume buying/ costuming?
It’s usually in a costume fitting where actors are truly able to become their characters for the first time. Of course, you buy things according to their size and body type, but it’s truly all about accurately telling the story. You can always tell when a costume is “right” by how the actor moves in the clothes in their fitting.
What’s the best thing about what you do?
The best thing about what I do is getting to be around so many creative people every day. Seeing how every crew member on set comes together with their skills in order to create the bigger picture. It’s very inspiring and watching how other departments work allows me to think of new angles to approach costume design.
What are you looking forward to as your career progresses?
I’m looking forward to being a part of history by helping people tell unique stories through the visual art of costume design. I think about a lot of my favorite movies like Clueless, Titanic, BAPS, Coming to America, Eve’s Bayou, and Malcolm X and how the costumes truly helped carry those stories. I look at them in awe and I can’t wait to find my costume design niche and for people to watch my work in that way in the future.
What advice would you give to someone looking to get into your field?
- It’s not always who you know, but also who knows you. This industry operates off of word of mouth and you’re only as good as your last gig and how you interacted with those you worked with. You never know who is watching how you work and will pass your name along in the future.
- Have a can-do attitude and do even the most mundane tasks with enthusiasm. It’s not all glitz and glamour but do everything with passion and it’ll be worth it.
- Do your research on costume designers you admire and watch/read their interviews. Take notes. You can gain an abundance of advice and valuable insight about their journey that will help you along your path.
Believe in yourself and your abilities. Even those who are revered as “greats” had to start somewhere and work their way up. Stay the course and eventually, the people you once admired from afar will become your peers.
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