Lights, camera, action! This is exactly what this Chic Collegiate will be saying soon enough as she works hard to direct her capstone film, “Cri de Guerre- Cry of War”. Senior at Arizona State Universiry, Haley Peterson is very passionate about costume design, or what we like to call “fashion on the big screen.”

Cri de Guerre is a film that delves into the inner world of Jeanne d’Arc through the power of art and dance. Haley brings life to this film with having a team of over 20 performers who are mostly volunteer and passion based. Her creativity shines through with the use of underwater filming equipment for certain scenes, as well as traveling up to seven different locations for filming. We are beyond ecstatic to see the final product come together, as Haley plans to release the film this May!

We were so excited to get the chance to talk with Haley and get a behind the scenes look into what started her passion for costume design as well as more about the creation and inspiration behind her film.

How did you get started in costume design?

“I became interested in costume design when I was nine. I would say it started with my obsession for certain textures (like the silky tag on my stuffed hippo and my spider silk hair as a toddler).

My interest grew even greater after the first Lord of the Rings movie came out in 2001. Something was absolutely magical about the costumes in the film. I remember researching everything I could about Ngila Dickson who was the costume designer for the trilogy. I had to know how the seam in Arwen’s coronation gown was sewn along with how the crinkle silk chiffon was finished and where the beading was placed.

It wasn’t until one summer at a Turkish summer camp, when I had realized that all of the research I had been doing had married itself with my fixation and love for textures and fabrics.

As I sat on a swing, I began to fantasize about designing a gown. I started to draw, but I felt disappointed with these first few drawings. The 3-D, fluid dresses that I pictured in my head just turned into awkward t-shirt shaped scribbles on the paper. I vowed to myself that I would get better, and the next time my grandma went to town I had her pick me up a fashion drawing book. I studied that thing religiously!

My first sewing machine was from my Grandmother, but I had learned how to sew from my Aunt. I ended up taking a fashion class in high school and sewed my own homecoming dress (which my friend’s younger sister wore to her homecoming this year… about six years after I wore it). When college applications rolled around, it didn’t take too much figuring out that I should study costume design.

The problem was finding a costume design program.

There are two in the United States. Since there were no programs at schools near me that strictly focused on costume design, I ended up writing my own major at ASU. It’s called the “Individualized Focus.”

I have had the flexibility to take costume design courses, fiber art courses, drawing, and sewing courses. As a freshman, I took a job in the Lyric Opera Theater costume shop, which led me to my first film. The summer after that, I designed costumes for Hayley Kosan’s capstone film.

I also had the opportunity to design costumes for the world premier of a show directed by Kim Weild, a visionary director, and written by the experimental playwright, Charles Mee. I’ve designed for about 11 films now, and the snowball hasn’t stopped rolling since.

What is your favorite part about designing costumes?

My favorite part about designing costumes is the incredible power it gives me.

After their lines, the next thing an actor cares about is their costume. The artifacts we wear declare who we are to society and the artifacts an actor wears helps them get into their character’s shoes, literally and figuratively. Characterization is one of the joys of costume design.

Fabric, color, texture and movement are probably the second thing for me. I love designing clothes that dance around a person. I’m a dancer as well, and I design costumes for dancers. Second only to a ballerina’s body, is her tutu. It highlights her line, and accentuates her movements. Or take break dancers; baggy clothes accentuate their grounded movements, and their popping and locking can ripple through the layers of fabric. This stuff is so cool! I nerd out on it!

What do you find most challenging?

As in anything, working with people who are hard to connect with is the most challenging for me. If the director or another designer’s personality is completely foreign to me, it can make the design experience a drag. I design because I am passionate about being a part of the complex matrix. If I don’t see that passion in others, I lose the joy in what I’m doing. Then again, I like to include others in the joy I have for projects and watch how they respond and come alive from what I do.

Another challenge is the hours. In film and theater the work hours are very condensed, and especially at the amateur level, your work can seem unrewarding. Pushing through is a challenge. At times, I feel like I am about to emotionally or mentally break. But I tell myself to “be a man” – a la Mulan- and that fixes everything. (Just kidding – I think there is a lot of strength in the way women respond to challenges, and I don’t think “elevator breakdowns” as I call them, make me less successful – it’s all a part of the process of dealing with people and high stress situations. It’s fun in the end.)

Tell us a little about the film you are working on. What is your inspiration and vision for it?

I am directing a film based on Jeanne d’Arc, the French war hero, martyr and saint, who led the French army to victory as a 17 year old and was burnt to death only two years later. Her life, her fortitude, her courage, her resolution, her insanity and her faith are completely mind boggling to me.

This is a completely inelegant way of describing what I hope will be an elegant, poignant, visually poetic interpretation of her experiences and her inner world. I was inspired by a feeling of being an outsider, an alien, who is willing to step into a role that has never been and can never be again. I was inspired by the spirituality of fabric moving underwater, the painful tenderness of a mother’s love, and the courage it takes to face death in the face of another human behind cold steel. I was also inspired by Nordic folk songs called kulning, and by the expressive ability of the human body in motion. The film is a dance film in many ways.

This film is my capstone and senior thesis (also known as my boyfriend). It’s the culmination of four years of doing everything. It was like I kept pounding ammunition into the creative cannon (my brain), and when I traveled to Scandinavia last summer it was lit on fire and then it exploded, and when I swept the debris into a pile that was the beginning.

It’s been so much more than just conceiving however, there are the gestation period and then the delivery. The fundraiser was a huge mountain to climb, but I managed to raise my goal of $8,000 on the crowd funding platform “Indiegogo”, thanks to friends and family and a few strangers. Now we’re in pre-production phase and all the parts are coming together, but sometimes things slide past my attention and I just kick myself.

What are your aspirations as you further your career?

Like everyone else, I want to be rich, famous, and dumb. But my brain kicks in sometimes and tells me to be okay with being poor, unknown, and smart.   I’m in search of the truth, and I don’t want to just talk about it, I want to live it. I want other people to see something honest in everything I do.

In terms of how to do this, I think that for me it involves avoiding distractions which means focusing on creating for others, and being humble. Humility is the greatest power. I thought I had my career all figured out when I started college. But I’ve figured out a lot about life, design, people, and myself since then.

And I think I can say with confidence that no matter what the next step is – whether I win an Oscar next year, earn a Fulbright to study in Norway, live with my parents for the rest of my life, or fall off the face of the earth, I know it will be good.

To find out more about Cri de Guerre, visit their Facebook.com/CrideGuerreFilm. Trust us, your going to want to check this out!

Haley, we loved learning about your passion for costume design and we can’t wait to see your film! We wish you the best of luck in finishing up your last semester of college and can’t wait to see what the future holds for you. We just know that one day we will see you walking the red carpet!

P.S. Do YOU know an awesome college student in Arizona pursuing their dreams in fashion? Send us an e-mail at lindsay@coutureinthesuburbs.com with more information!