FF: And the costumes you did for the recent concert in Japan?

Julieanne Mijares: Those I have to tell you about, because they started out as you see them. And I ended up doing them in neon colors. And I switched the styles around for each girl. So Chilli’s ended up a florescent blue; T-Boz’s was fuschia, hot pink. And Left-Eye was the florescent orange. And Left-Eye had the florescent lime green one that I was rotating between her and Tionne. So they ended up being florescent colors, those three outfits.

FF: And made out of what kind of fabric?

Julieanne Mijares: Vinyl for the overskirt, very shiny vinyl, and then a thick nylon parachute-y fabric for the pants, and a cotton spandex for the part that was around the butt and the hips.

FF: And are the shoes similar, or have they changed as well?

Julieanne Mijares: The shoes were similar, but a little bit higher platform, not so flat. Because I like to give them a little height.

FF: And the US tour costumes for Scene Five, which are black and sparkly ...

Julieanne Mijares: Yeah, lots of rhinestones ...

FF: Oh those are rhinestones, neat.

Julieanne Mijares: And it’s like a black lamé fabric.

FF: Wow.

Julieanne Mijares: And mixed in with black satin, lots of rhinestones and very sparkly black lamé.

FF: Sure.

Julieanne Mijares: You always ask me how I get inspired. Well, here in LA there’s a water truck company that comes and delivers water, big jugs of water, right to your house.

FF: That goes against expectation, which makes it that much more interesting. And then I’m also looking at the Lady of Soul Awards outfits.

Julieanne Mijares: Left-Eye has the pocket pants on.

FF: They look great.

Julieanne Mijares: She likes them.

FF: And what are they made out of?

Julieanne Mijares: Left-Eye’s pocket pants are made out of a combination of white leather pockets, and I think the other fabric was a blend of Spandex cotton I think. Like kind of a denim-y stretch.

FF: And so once you get your idea, at what point, even if it’s before you have the illustration done, do people start bringing you fabric swatches? How does the process happen?

The "slate" for the Dear Lie shoot.

A storyboard for the Dear Lie scene being shot.

Julieanne Mijares: The process is very spontaneous. I’ll get an idea as I’m driving in my car, and I’ll call Linda --  the lady at LSO Designs -- and I’ll say I have this idea. Put it in your thinking cap, and see what fabrics you can think of that will be conducive to this idea.

And then it might be one or two in the morning, I might drive over there. It could be any time of the day or night. And we’ll sit on the floor, and we’ll go through fabrics, and I’ll say I like this, no this won’t work. And then she may not have anything, and then we’ll have to go on a search from the East Coast to the West Coast looking for what I have in my head.

Chilli acting a scene in Dear Lie. The camera is in the foreground.

FF: So then people just start calling wherever ...

Julieanne Mijares: You know, it’s crazy.

FF: I guess LSO keeps the same sort of hours you do.

Julieanne Mijares: They absolutely do. They’re so wonderful. All the people who work with me give their input. They are all part of the whole process. It’s not me; it’s definitely much more the people around me than me.

The Dear Lie sound stage. You are looking at one of the hotel room sets -- where you are seeing Chilli performing her scene.

FF: And tell me about your staff.

Julieanne Mijares: My right hand and savior of everything is Laurie Chang; she’s been with me about four years. I couldn’t function without her. And she keeps me focused and centered and on time. And she does everything, and makes everything happen the way it’s supposed to happen. And then, depending on the size of the job, I have another assistant, Zoe Battles, and another one when I’m in New York, Karim Donayre, and several others that work with me. So it can go anywhere from one person on one job, to usually about three people in addition to myself.

A through-the-camera video monitor  shows the scene being shot below.

And those are just people working on the job with me. That hasn’t anything to do with the people who are constructing the costumes.

FF: And do you have a studio you work out of?

Julieanne Mijares:  I have an office in my home that I work out of.

And just because of the nature of the business, I’m hardly ever here, so I’m working either out of a hotel room, or in my car. Just running.

FF: When TLC is on tour, you’re usually not with them. Right?

Julieanne Mijares: Right.

FF: But is there ever an occasion, either an emergency or something’s come up, and you know you need to be there -- does that sort of thing occur?

Julieanne Mijares: Absolutely. Normally, when the tour starts, I’ll go initially to the dress rehearsals, go to the first couple of shows, and do spot checks. But there are highly experienced wardrobe people on the tour with them right now, so I feel very comfortable that it’s in their hands, and we keep in constant communication.

FF: I saw TLC during the fall on the Leno show. You know, I was blown away by the costumes. Were those costumes made specifically for that appearance?

Julieanne Mijares: Yes. I made them specifically for that show. And I was so surprised that you saw that. Even though it’s a national show. And it was so amazing, because Cher was on the show that night, and I was so honored, because after that show, she called me, too.

FF: Your work isn’t lost on anybody. I particularly loved the pants with the leafy feathery effect, from the way the fabric bits were sewn on the mesh pants. I just thought those were fantastic.

Julieanne Mijares: Thank you.

Above and below: in Julieanne's sound stage wardrobe room. fantastic accessories, waiting if needed, for TLC in Dear Lie.
Also in Julieanne's wardrobe room, more incredible costumes.

FF: I wanted to ask you about the Waterfalls video. The pants with the sort of sash-scarves wrapped around. They’re dyed a very beautiful way, and they look gauzy and very delicate. What were they made of, and were they hand dyed?

Julieanne Mijares: TLC told me about the Waterfalls video, and that they were going to be on water, and I just thought, whatever they have on has to look very dreamy, with the sky in the background. I wanted it to have a fluid, translucent look to it. And so I had that in my mind immediately. And I went to a store one day owned by a designer who specializes in hand dyeing. And I asked him to help. And he said yes. And he just did a great job.

They were a drawstring, low, hip-hugger pant, and I wanted those big sashes to tie over them.

FF: Yes. I love them. And tell me if you have any other plans for the future, aside from what you’re doing now, or the expansion of what you’re doing now.

Julieanne Mijares: I don’t, that’s the whole thing. I’ve been approached several times by various people about doing my own line of clothing, but I can’t ever stop for two seconds to think about executing it. So I guess when I have time to slow down, I’ll be able to think about what the next project, or the next stage of my life -- what direction it’s going to go in.

FF: And when you do have down time, do you travel, or do you just rest? What do you do when you get to take a break?

Julieanne Mijares: Collapse.

FF: Collapse, right, that’s what I do.

Julieanne Mijares: And I just want to sit and do nothing.

FF: I know. It’s all consuming, isn’t it?

Julieanne Mijares: But I just haven’t had any down time. I’ve planned two vacations this year and had to cancel both of them.

FF: Oh gosh.

Julieanne Mijares: So ...

FF: When we first began to chat, you told me you were surprised, in your early years as a designer, that people from the hip hop world were seeking you out to style their clothes and create their looks for them. Why were you surprised about that?

Julieanne Mijares: Because when you see me in person, I don’t look like a hip hop girl at all. You wouldn’t think I would know anything about it, or be able to get what they’re doing. And that’s why I was surprised, because I thought, why would they think that I would be able to really get what they’re about in all the hip hop videos and in their music. And one time, I asked a guy, why would you want me? And he said, because you have flava. And I never forgot that. I thought that was really cool.