TODD THOMAS: Probably around the time of the punk movement. When I was a teenager.
FF: Mid Seventies?
TODD THOMAS: Uh huh, yeah.
FF: I’m curious to know where you were born.
TODD THOMAS: In Southern Illinois, a small town.
FF: And so was it the punk movement that struck you, or…
TODD THOMAS: It was a necessity; it was wanting to make things that weren’t available for me. So it was, you know, to fill my own needs really.
FF: Right, and it wasn’t available to you because...
TODD THOMAS: Well, because there wasn’t any place to get anything like that there.
FF: And so what sort of things did you make for yourself?
TODD THOMAS: Just revamped things from thrift stores and stuff like that.
FF: Can you describe any particular outfit that was most memorable?
TODD THOMAS: Not really. Just like cutting off jackets and altering and stuff like that.
FF: And how was that received in high school? Were other people doing it?
TODD THOMAS: Not really, no. Not--I mean, not very well really.
FF: Usually going against the norm is not received well in high school. And at that period of your life, what were--or who were some of your influences? And I mean that as people that you knew, movie stars, television people, a movie, a book; what captured your fancy?
TODD THOMAS: Probably Elvis Costello.
FF: The way he dressed, or his music, or the whole entire thing?
TODD THOMAS: It’s more or less the whole genre and the energy behind it.
FF: And so as soon as you left high school, was there a desire to come to New York, or did you go to another city?
TODD THOMAS: I went to St. Louis before I came here. It was the closest biggest city.
FF: And was there a punk movement there?
TODD THOMAS: Somewhat, uh huh. A little bit of one, yes, uh huh.
FF: And what did you do there in St. Louis?
TODD THOMAS: I--met like the fun 100 people there, and there was actually quite a--a lot happening at that particular time there.
FF: And how did you set about going--meeting the fun 100 people?
TODD THOMAS: Well, it’s not hard. It’s a small city too, a small town, so you’re kind of found out more than anything. You know there are limited places to go, so you just kind of--everybody just sort of gravitates towards each other.
FF: Okay, so then at what point did you come to New York? What was your route after St. Louis?
TODD THOMAS: Well I moved here in ‘83. Then I left, went back to St. Louis, and came back to New York 11 years ago, I guess.
FF: So you were designing clothes in St. Louis. And you were selling to a shop?
TODD THOMAS: Yeah, she’s a really close friend of mine so--she’s been in business like you know seventeen years or something.
 Red and blue Austrian embroidered strapless cotton |
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FF: When you got back here, what did you set about doing first in establishing yourself?
TODD THOMAS: Well, I worked on Seventh Avenue. I worked for a private label company, a loungewear company.
FF: Loungewear meaning ...
TODD THOMAS: Like robes and stuff. And what else? Freelancing; designing for other people.
FF: Can you tell me something about your experience doing the wardrobe for the movie Office Killer? [
Buy it now from Amazon.com!] Those were your own designs?TODD THOMAS: A lot, yeah.
FF: You designed for everyone, not just the leads.
TODD THOMAS: Yeah. It was the first time I’ve done films and I--I don’t think I’m going to do that very much. I really enjoy it, but it’s incredibly hard. With a really teeny tiny low budget. And it’s about somebody else’s vision. So I’m, you know, a little more self-absorbed. Honestly. So it’s difficult for me to make compromises when I feel very passionate about the way things should look. But Office Killer was a total, complete visual artistic success, with the exception of Carole Kane, who sabotaged some things with her own vanity. But everything else was true to form. Cindy Sherman (the director) was great.
FF: So what was the look, would you say?
TODD THOMAS: For me and for Cindy and for Kevin Thompson who was the Art Director, we really worked together. Kevin and I worked together really closely in creating very broad strokes on the screen, to set specific moods in specific areas in the movie.
The office scenes were all like you know manila and wood and olive and rust and--and then we used in all of the horror areas things that really come alive, and introduce the color to the character and the feeling of what we were doing.
So it was really fun to put that together, that part of it, and to work with Cindy. And we all really were familiar with her work and tried to--you know use that, really, as our reference point.
The three main characters are women, and for me I really referenced just every cliché thing there was in women and the work force from forever and ever. And the whole look of the film is kind of an amalgamation of eras too. You don’t really get one specific thing.
FF: And of course you had to take into consideration the characters that the actors were playing and how they themselves--how that character would dress. And when you say that you felt that Carole Kane in a sense sabotaged certain things due to whatever ...
TODD THOMAS: Her vanity.
FF: Can you give me a particular instance of where you felt that she had made a decision that you felt really didn’t work for her?
TODD THOMAS: Well, the story line is that there’s this kind of anti-social shut down freak person that’s being downsized. That’s the lead character of the movie who was Carole Kane. Diana Scarwid was up for that part too, who played the older Christina in Mommie Dearest, who would have been really good. So for me and for other people who will remain anonymous, the character should have been extremely benign in her physical appearance, and more jog suit looking, like the just general look of a Band-Aid. But you know Carole came in with like you know the granny shoes and the vintage dresses and the braids, and wanting a shoulder pad. And it was just like--a compromise to the lead character which was a heartbreak for me. Horrifying. It made me never want to do another movie as long as I live.
FF: Let’s get back to the spring 1999 collection. Your line has become more expensive since you started out. Correct?
TODD THOMAS: The daytime dresses are not so expensive--like the shirtwaist dresses and pants are like under $200. Like $150 to $200.
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| Pink, coral and white coin print vintage cotton day dress |
The evening things are more. You know $600 to $800 retail. And it’s primarily because of labor. And the fabrics that I use--I mean, they’re all imported and--I don’t care any more. I just do whatever I want. I don’t care if it sells or anything, or if I make money the way I feel about it right now. I mean I just look at what I do as like you know it’s like friends of mine that are artists that maybe or may not ever be noticed or successful, but it’s a passion and you have to do it or you’re unhappy. You know what I mean?
FF: Right, it’s your expression.
TODD THOMAS: So there you have it. So I just do what I want now. And I use the fabrics I want and I take as much time to make it and however much labor it takes, and make sure people are paid appropriately.
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| Multi green vintage Japanese silk viole sundress |
FF: And do you find that freeing?
TODD THOMAS: A little bit. I still stress out a lot over things, over the details. But it’s more about, you know, my own neuroses and being a perfectionist than it is about anything else. But yeah, it is freeing.
FF: So can you tell me a little bit more about your fall line?
TODD THOMAS: Well, kind of evolving now, and you know I always think it’s one thing and then it turns into something else, so I’m not really sure where it’s going to end up. I’m not going to be all literal vintage the way that I feel like spring was. It’s going to be a little more arid and a little more austere, and kind of sexier, sharper.
FF: Thanks, Todd.