If you’ve watched legendary Black films in the last three decades, you’ve seen Ruth E. Carter’s phenomenal costuming. The five-time Oscar nominee is set to make history again if she’s awarded for her work on Ryan Coogler’s Sinners on Sunday evening.
Carter’s work spans over 30 years in Hollywood as she’s created some of the most iconic looks for characters in films like School Daze, Malcolm X, Black Panther and Do The Right Thing. First introduced to the industry by Spike Lee, Carter has gone on to create worlds through costumes and has etched herself in the tapestry of Hollywood with her talents.
In an exclusive interview with REVOLT, Carter dropped gems for those still working to find their purpose and seeking to define success for themselves.
“It started with Spike Lee, when he called me and asked me to work on Malcolm X with him,” she told the outlet. “He said, “Don’t think about winning awards or an Oscar… Just do a good job.” I never forgot that he said that to me. I believe that when I start a film, my focus is to be as authentic as possible and bring Black history to life. To see my ancestors, to embody the storytelling, and to be the best artist that I can.”
She also gave insight into how she costumed her fellow Oscar nominee, Michael B. Jordan, as the twin main characters Smoke and Stack.
“The obvious is the red and blue hats, but the not-so-obvious is how Smoke has a detachable collar that’s put on his shirt,” she explained. “It harkens to his past that he doesn’t want to let go because it’s a collar that went out of style by the late ‘20s, but he’s wearing this stiff, detachable collar. Stack, in the red with his soft collar, started to come into fashion, and he has an attached soft collar.”
She continued,
“When I look at that, I say one’s a little low fashion and a little bit stuck in the past, and the other one is wanting to go forward, wanting to move on. So, when we go into the juke, and he’s like, “What’s this plantation money?” It helps move the story a bit because it shows a sense of not letting go and letting fashion kind of ebb and flow, and using pieces from the past.”
She also spoke to what she hopes will be the real legacy of Sinners whether they reign victorious at the Oscars or not.
“We have to create generational wealth, and generational wealth is built from the ground up. Ryan has been an example of that,” she said. “The film winning 16 nominations has been an example of excellence. I really hope and pray this film is here forever as not only an example of great filmmaking and creativity and inspiration, but by design, it has a writer who’s African American, a director who’s African American, a costume designer, production designer, a DP, and numerous people who emerged together and created something that was very different and groundbreaking.”
She continued,
“Ryan made a wonderful deal, where, after 25 years, the ownership of the film goes back to him. I think it was for his children. We as a culture don’t have many of those kinds of things. I hate to put this conversation in such a Black race context, because I think this happens a lot with maybe other cultures too, but we have a reputation of reaching down and pulling up the next generation and not really sharing the wealth. We kind of want to die with it. So, it’s a testament to building, and I hope that this building just continues.”
Sinners is nominated for 16 Academy Awards and Carter is nominated for her fifth. The 98th Oscars will take place on Sunday, Mar. 15 at 7pm E.T/4pm PT in Los Angeles.
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