In early January, Derek Sullivan, 53, a costume designer, costume supervisor and costume illustrator who has lived in the 1400 block of Bolton Street for nearly 20 years, returned home from Los Angeles with a prime-time Creative Arts Emmy Award.
It was awarded in the category of “Outstanding Period Costumes for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.” His was earned as costume supervisor, working with Denise Wingate, the costume designer for Amazon Prime Video’s Daisy Jones and the Six, Track 8: “Looks Like We Made It.” The series is based on a book of the same name by Taylor Jenkins. It follows the rise to stardom of a 1970s rock band to their split at the height of their fame. Track 8 finds Daisy reunited with the Six for their Aurora tour, where drugs and alcohol take their toll on Daisy.
The Emmy Awards are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of Emmy ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with its own rules and award categories.
As a costume supervisor, Sullivan helps the costume designers realize their design on screen. In his words, “It is the costume designer’s ocean; I steer the ship.” He helps source the costumes and sets up and runs the on-location costume shop. He is responsible for the costume department’s schedule, crew and budget, with each critical to the success of the production schedule. “Every costume must be ready to match the production schedule, which is largely shot out of sequence,” he said. “Our department must be forward thinking and adaptable to an ever-changing schedule, to keep things on pace.”
Daisy Jones is set in the 1970s and includes crowd scenes with up to 300 people each. Sullivan came in as the costume supervisor on location in New Orleans for episodes 6 through 10. He also arranged the logistics to get the costume department to Greece, often working 16-to-18-hour days, seven days a week. “This work is not for the faint of heart and my life is not glamorous. But each show’s challenges are different, which keeps things fresh and exciting,” he said.
Costuming is “story-telling through clothing, and it is important to take into account the backstories of the characters.” He said costumes need to look authentic and believable for the era, and not exaggerated or cartoonish (unless, of course, it’s in the script). “Good costume design will disappear, and viewers will look at the characters as an entity,” he said.
Derek Sullivan studied graphic design at Grossmont College in El Cajon, CA; fashion design at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles; and holds an MFA in Illustration from Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He landed his first job after college as a costumer for a low-budget horror movie. That began his 32-year career in design, illustration, and fabrication of costumes for nearly 100 film, theater, and television productions. In addition to Daisy Jones and the Six, Derek’s credits include House of Cards, The Founder, The Highwaymen, Unhinged, Fist Fight, Game Change and Low Winter Sun. In these and many other films and television series, he served as everything from costume designer, assistant costume designer, supervisor, and costume illustrator.
He and his husband Chris Mirkovich attended the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award ceremony in Los Angeles Jan. 6-7. Derek and Denise Wingate stepped onto the stage at the Peacock Theater in downtown L.A. to receive their honors. “The experience was one of the most thrilling nights of my life. The Emmy itself is big and heavy! It now lives in our parlor in Bolton Hill,” he said. For more information about Derek Sullivan and his work, see www.dbsstudiollc.com.
–Sallye Perrin
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