Welcome to Glamour's weekly column, How I Got My Job, featuring one woman with an amazing job, and the real route to get it. Looking for career inspo? For this week's instalment, Oscar-winning costume designer Catherine Martin shares her CV...
Who? Catherine Martin, 48
What? Costume designer who dressed the cast of films such as The Great Gatsby, Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge.
The CV:
Before NIDA, I dropped out of a very prestigious college and worked as an apprentice machinist. My parents disapproved â they wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor â but I knew design was my strength.
I met my husband, Baz Luhrmann, while at NIDA. Heâd graduated the year before I started, but came back to look for people
to work with. We were just friends back then, and our first professional job together came in 1988 â designing the set and costumes for his production of opera Lake Lost.
Iâd been designing for theatre for three years and this was my film debut. Baz wrote Strictly Ballroom as a play and had been desperate to make a movie version. The great thing about working with a partner is that you can take risks without fear of getting fired.
This was the first time I worked with Miuccia Prada on costumes, which was really something. Itâs impossible to have a favourite outfit: as long as it fits the scene, serves the story and the actor finds it easy to work in, then youâre happy.
I co-won an Oscar for Costume Design with Angus Strathie, who Iâve been working with since my NIDA days. When you make a film, you expect it wonât always work out. Itâs incredible when you get recognition that it has.
We made thousands of costumes because it had so many big crowd scenes. Sometimes itâs impossible to meet every single extra in the cast, but we aim to get to know everyone before filming starts.
My fear was that the costumes would end up looking like a flapper-themed 21st birthday party. Luckily I was fortunate to work with Miuccia Prada again, which meant access to Pradaâs beautiful archives.
Learn your craft. My design course was the single most important thing Iâve done. I learnt practical skills, how the design process works, and got a history of the performing arts that I didnât have before I went.
Remember words of encouragement. I have self-doubt every day; Iâm designing a room right now and Iâm filled with it. But recall good words. The minute you have self-belief, you apply yourself more, work harder and take criticism better.
Setbacks are normal. But as a designer, your job is to solve problems. Setbacks actually make you better at that.
