Costume Designers for TV Have a Big Impact on Fashion

Ms. Line was hired, and the characters’ signature looks — stripes,Simply Tulle Sweatheart Beaded Pleat Evening Dresses leather jackets, trench coats — have been the subject of much discussion ever since, with blogs devoted to what the characters wear. “Every single day I get tweets, Facebook messages and Instagrams from girls who line up their clothes next to photos of the characters,” said Ms. Line, who also believes that “Pretty Little Liars” is influencing retail. “I have seen feather earrings and black-and-white-stripe dresses in stores.”But Ms. Line has bigger ambitions than just glimpsing her influence while shopping. “I’m a Leo, I’m 6 feet tall,light yellow chiffon strapless beaded bridesmaid dresses I love being in front of the camera,” she said. “I’m a vegan and do charity work and mentor kids. I am destined for something.”“Ultimately, I want to do a fitness line,” she said. “I want a book and a show.”Years ago, if costume designers were known at all, they worked in movies. Think of studio powerhouses like Adrian, who worked on MGM productions like “The Wizard of Oz” and “The Philadelphia Story,” or Edith Head, of Paramount and later Universal, who designed costumes for Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn.Water melon Chiffon sheath one shoulder bridesmaid dressesToday, even successful movie costume designers like Catherine Martin, who did the designs for “The Great Gatsby,” and Trish Summerville who is doing the next “Hunger Games” movie and will sell a line, Capitol Couture by Trish Summerville, on Net-a-Porter, don’t exactly cut outsize figures. 

But as television has gained more respect as a medium,chiffon Flower One-shoulder Draped Prom dresses there has been a coattail effect on some of its costume designers, who say that their work there gives them greater opportunity than current cinema to influence the culture at large.“The movie genres popular right now have to do with designing vampires and superheroes,” said Rebecca Hofherr, the costume designer for “Elementary” on CBS. “TV deals with more realistic issues and more realistic clothing.”And some, like Janie Bryant of “Mad Men” on AMC, whose revival of midcentury styles is now a frequent reference on high-fashion runways, are practically becoming brands unto themselves.Over the last three years Ms. Bryant, who is writing a book and developing a reality-TV competition with the working title “Janie Bryant’s Hollywood,Sheath/Column Ruching Blue Chiffon Prom dresses” has struck deals with Maidenform, Hearts on Fire Diamonds (for which she is also a model), Banana Republic and Cosmopolitan Russia. When Ms. Bryant designed a suit for Brooks Brothers based on Don Draper’s look, it sold out of all stores and the Web within 10 days, said Arthur Wayne, the vice president for global public relations for the store, adding, “These types of collaborations help the consumers think of us differently.”Thanks to a new division at the Matchbook Company, an agency in a town house on a leafy block of Murray Hill that is currently managing the careers of Ms. Bryant and Ms. Line, consumers may also soon be thinking of television costume designers differently.