Sarah Evelyn on Crafting the Costumes for The Beauty

      Costume designer Sarah Evelyn had previously collaborated with Ryan Murphy before her work on The Beauty. She was aware that when meeting him, it was essential to jot down "every single thing he says."

      The FX/Hulu horror series, created by Murphy and Matt Hodgson, centers around a biotech billionaire, Byron Forst, who is fixated on preserving his youth. Portrayed initially by Vincent D’Onofrio and later by Ashton Kutcher, Forst invests in a drug called The Beauty, which transforms ordinary individuals into supermodel-like versions of themselves. However, the drug carries deadly side effects.

      Evelyn mentioned that designing costumes for the star-studded cast, which featured Isabella Rossellini, Jeremy Pope, and Rebecca Hall, was both challenging and at times daunting — yet ultimately fulfilling.

      Her career highlights include dressing Brad Pitt for Bullet Train, Ryan Gosling for The Fall Guy, and the ensembles of Murphy’s Hollywood and American Horror Story Season 7. She shared insights about her work on The Beauty.

      Sarah Evelyn on Crafting the Striking Costumes of The Beauty

      The Beauty costume designer Sarah Evelyn. FX

      MovieMaker: Did you collaborate closely with Ryan Murphy on the designs?

      Sarah Evelyn: Absolutely. I believe that while Ryan writes [a series], he is also visualizing it. Therefore, before the costume creation begins, you enter the meeting with Ryan and document every single thing he mentions. I had my voice memos recording and had an assistant taking notes since everything occurs very rapidly. He discusses not only costumes but also the settings and production designs, which are extremely significant. Then you return to your workspace and begin by transforming his words and ideas into detailed mood boards. That’s the first step.

      MovieMaker: How does the involvement of the actors factor in?

      Sarah Evelyn: After creating the mood boards, you then introduce your cast, which can be a challenging transition because you have a vision in your mind, and now your actor brings their own concepts. My role is to merge those two perspectives. It involves absorbing information, processing it, visualizing it to validate your understanding, and then presenting my interpretation of the whole picture.

      MovieMaker: I heard that Ashton Kutcher envisioned his character, Byron Forst, in a Burning Man outfit because Forst was a "burner,” which explains D’Onofrio wearing a jacket adorned with teddy bears. How did you come up with that jacket?

      Sarah Evelyn: For Vincent's transformation robe, he expressed a desire for something distinctly "burner." So, I curated a board featuring some of the most outlandish items I've seen [from Burning Man]. There was an image of someone in a wild jacket with plush animals or toy baby dolls attached. Ryan saw it and said, “I want that.”

      Jeremy Pope as Jeremy and Anthony Ramos as The Assassin in The Beauty. Photo by Eric Liebowitz/FX

      MovieMaker: Isabella Rossellini, who plays Byron’s wife, Franny, had such an extravagant and vivid wardrobe. How did you design her outfits?

      Sarah Evelyn: Ryan and I discussed modernized 19th-century silhouettes. We were blending the old with the new, which can be quite difficult. Initially, she was set to wear all black, but once Isabella Rossellini was cast, she suggested, “I’m envisioning these silhouettes in bright colors. I’m thinking of fruit — vibrant, stunning, lively colors.” So, we devised these silhouettes and concepts, and concluded, “Let’s create these pieces that we can build upon.”

      We then approached various designers with our mood boards, essentially asking, “What can we source? What can we purchase?” We also visited couture rental firms. We brought everything together for her fitting and started experimenting. I couldn’t have felt more intimidated, but she was incredible, and we assembled some amazing outfits.

      The Beauty is currently available for streaming on Hulu. You can find more of our Emmy contender interviews here.

      Main image: Sarah Evelyn notes that fruit inspired the wardrobe for Isabella Rossellini in The Beauty. Photo by Philippe Antonello/FX.