Creating the Costumes of Wakanda and Talokan: A Discussion with 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' Costume Designer Ruth E

Academy Award-Winning costume designer and 2023 Oscar nominee Ruth E. Carter joins FIDM Fashion Design Co-Chair Nick Verreos for a Q&A about her work on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, directed by Ryan Coogler. Learn how Ruth developed and designed the signature costumes for the cast and the kingdoms of Wakanda and Talokan.

About Your Guest:
Ruth E. Carter is the Academy Award winning American film costume designer known for turning the Black Panther superhero into an African King; making history as the first Black person to win in the category and earning Marvel Studios their first Oscar recognition. Currently nominated for a 2023 Oscar for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Carter has earned seventy credits over the last three decades in film, television, and theater, and collaborated with prolific directors, including Spike Lee, Steven Spielberg, Ava DuVernay, and Ryan Coogler. Carter’s costumes based on real and imaginative characters provide an arc to the narratives of African Americans. From Do The Right Thing, Malcolm X, What’s Love Got To Do With It, Amistad, The Butler, Marshall, Selma, Dolemite Is My Name, Coming 2 America to Black Panther; her devotion to retraining the eye to see beauty through costume design and telling stories that enrich the humanity of the Black experience cements her legacy as a preeminent voice and expert on period genres and Afro aesthetics.

About Your Host:
Nick Verreos is the Co-Chair of FIDM’s Fashion Design, Advanced Fashion Design, and Film & TV Costume Design programs. He is the co-founder of the fashion label, NIKOLAKI, which has been worn by celebrities including Heidi Klum, Katy Perry, and Beyoncé. Nick has a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA and an Advanced Fashion Design degree from FIDM. He is a Red Carpet Expert, star of Project Runway, and his YouTube Channel, “Fashion School with Nick Verreos”, has over 340K subscribers and 10 million views. In addition, he is the consulting producer for Bravo’s Project Runway.

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