Ruth E Carter on Hollywood Fame and Coming 2 America

The world of costume design is often hidden behind swathes of fabrics and colours, materials that glint at the touch, shimmer at the light, and bring a sense of awe and magic to any story being told. In fact, it is such an integral part of good storytelling and character development that great costume designers are highly sought after by Hollywood’s elite.

This is exactly what Costume Designer Ruth E Carter experiences on the daily. And with over 40 films to her name including iconic productions like Black Panther, Shaft, Oldboy and Selma, her star-studded repertoire is as diverse as her wardrobe on each set. Callsheet Africa Editor Kim Crowie caught up with her ahead of the release of Coming 2 America to find out more — including her recently acquired star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Congrats are in order — your name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! Tell me about the experience…

When people say I have 35+ years in the industry, I go, “Really?! It feels like it was just yesterday.” You love what you do so much, but when you see your name cemented in Hollywood, I think yes, I have sacrificed. Yes, I have given a lot of dedication to this craft, and I appreciate the stamp of approval.

What is the significance of this kind of accolade, both personally and as a person of colour?

When I first started in the late 80s and early 90s, I came into the industry when it was a time of black film burgeoning, rap was coming into existence and defining itself. So I came in at a very beautiful time when change was happening in entertainment and everyone was bored with the same images we were seeing, and it didn’t really reflect who we felt we were culturally. So as a costume designer, I had the opportunity to create images that were empowering and beautiful, that we felt represented the culture. When I worked with Spike Lee, so many beautiful images were created for women and men in his movies that was very inspiring to me. Also, the way that we brought in colour was amazing.

I also bounced back and forth between Los Angeles and New York every year, doing one film in LA and doing one in New York. In LA, I was working with these comedians like Keenan Ivory Wayans and Robert Townsend and I got to see another side of how I could use my voice in comedy and create I’m Gonna Git You Sucka. So I was creating a language for my artistry, and also honouring our images by being authentic. I come out of theatre so I know how to do a period piece. So I transferred that knowledge into filmmaking and I was blessed to do so many pieces.

Did you ever think you would be where you are now professionally?

I feel like it lived in me in some ways. This was really what I as an artist felt and I lived it in my soul. SO whether it was going to happen in film or in theatre or in my backyard, it was going to happen! I just had the opportunity to work with filmmakers and some of the best filmmakers, and therefore it amplified my voice and it presented the collaboration that I think was the magic of being involved with a lot of them.

Tell me about your professional relationship with Eddie Murphy, with whom you’ve done more than 8 films — most recently Dolemite Is My Name. How did this bright 70s costume getup compare with Coming 2 America?

I remember the 70s very well and Eddie and I are one year apart so we remembered a lot of the nuances. And because we’ve done so many films together before, we were comfortable with each other. We were comfortable talking about it and we wanted to show the 70s that we knew. Now with Coming 2 America it’s almost the opposite. I’m honoured to work with someone as brilliant as Eddie Murphy and to craft different characters and have fun. It’s the best person you could dress in a costume!

How does the costume set the tone and tell the story?

Most of us when we see a really good film, we’re affected by so many things that we don’t realise. We’re affected by mood and composition, when the textures and feeling of a place are well-crafted, they help support the acting and the story. That’s the job of a costume designer, to really bring you into the story and the place. It’s magical. It really brings you to an understanding of the character and costume. They come together in this way.

We can’t talk about Africa without Black Panther! Tell me about the film and the build-up to the Oscar you won.

I think the Oscar was the icing on the cake, but we had built a beautiful world and we had honoured a vast continent of beautiful tribal customs. The reward of seeing that come to life and being portrayed by wonderful actors like Chadwick Boseman was incredibly rewarding during the process of doing the film. It was done from the soul, from the heart, from the imagination. And it was done for the culture. When you have that many elements that everyone agrees on, it comes together seamlessly and has importance.

As we wound out of it and as people across the world fell in love with the costumes, I felt really good because you’re putting culture out there — whether it’s your own or someone else’s. You have a great responsibility to it. Even if you make parts of it up, it has to ring true to them and not like I’m appropriating but celebrating. The world made me feel that I did the right thing and wanted to celebrate with me.

Coming 2 America is available on Amazon Prime Video. This interview first appeared in Callsheet Africa Issue 1, 2021.