Christian Cowan dresses thriller Debutantes in first full film wardrobe
Fashion designer Christian Cowan has dressed a whole film cast for the first time, as costume designer on the upcoming thriller Debutantes. He described the job as his first end-to-end costume design work on a feature film in an interview with WWD.
The film was written and directed by Stephen Meier. It follows a group of debutantes — young women making a formal entry into society — who seek revenge after one of their own is wronged. It is set to premiere in cinemas next year.
The cast includes Paris Berelc, Ruby Snowber, Daniella Taylor, Heidi Grace Engerman, Samantha Lorraine and Gabriella Palminteri. Mason Versaw, Gunner Burkhardt and Tyler Lawrence Gray also appear.
Cowan did not just supply the ballgowns. He designed the entire cast wardrobe from start to finish. That meant the formal debutante dresses and the clothes the characters wear in their everyday lives.
For the formal looks, he looked to Le Bal des Débutantes in Paris, the annual event where young women wear couture gowns for their debut. His brief was to update that idea. The result is a modern debutante dress built for a revenge thriller, not a ballroom.
The scale is new for him. His only prior film design work was a single dress for the Barbie movie. His recent theatre work includes the maximalist wardrobe for the Broadway production of The Queen of Versailles.
Cowan also served as executive producer on Debutantes, alongside the costume role. Variety had earlier reported that he had joined Meier’s feature.
What makes this stand out is the range. Film costume is different from the runway. A fashion designer controls one collection. Here Cowan had to dress nine principal actors across two worlds: public glamour and private life.
