Alumni Q&A: Barbara Gregusova

Coming from a family of artists, Costuming for Stage and Screen Design alumna Barbara Gregusova was destined to be creative.

An award-winning costume designer with over 100 feature films, shorts, television movies, music videos and TV series credits, Barbara’s contemporary, period, sci-fi and horror costumes have garnered attention and acclaim, including several Leo Awards for Best Costume Design.

We learn more about her career in design and what keeps her inspired.

Could you share how your family’s artistic background in Slovakia influenced your decision to pursue costume design and how your education at Capilano University and the Blanche Macdonald Centre shaped your career?

It came to me naturally. Growing up in our artistic family, art was part of my everyday life. As a child, you observe, learn and pick up knowledge without realizing it.

My mother, a fashion designer, and my father, a photographer, founded the first Czechoslovakian kids’ magazine, for which I modelled my mom’s designs at age five. I assisted her with her clients’ fittings and had my pink sewing machine to make clothes for my dolls.

My two aunts, also fashion designers, each with unique styles and techniques, were inspirational. When deciding what I wanted to study, I had three options: jewelry, fashion or costume design.

In my first year as a Costuming for Stage and Screen student, I got to design masks for “The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe” and costumes for Charlotte and Goose & Gander in “Charlotte’s Web.” I was the first graduate to do costume design shows for Exit 22 Productions.

Since moving to Canada and embarking on your career, what key milestones or turning points have defined your journey as a costume designer?

My career started in theatre at CapU. The support and opportunity to design multiple theatre productions by Kim Bothen was a fantastic experience. I have a passion for period costuming and building costumes from scratch.

When I was asked to design season three of “When Calls the Heart,” it was a dream come true. Hallmark tasked me to create a look combining a historically accurate season one and a more modern season two look – and find a happy medium.

Being given the trust, freedom and ability to create and truly design is uncommon in this industry, so I cherish my nine seasons on the show. In 2015, I designed costumes for a movie starring Candace Cameron Bure, which started our collaboration, and we worked on 18 films together.

With a lot of hard work, building up trust and building a team, this opened many more opportunities.

Your work spans a wide range of genres, from contemporary to sci-fi. Can you walk us through your creative process? How do you approach the unique challenges of each genre?

Each show is different, but each starts with the script, assessing what the show needs, working with the creators and looking at the budget and our production timeline.

I’m always given enough time for theatre productions to develop designs; for movies and series, I work in very fast-paced environments. Time becomes precious, so it must be used wisely. I’ll do a lot of research and develop concepts and ideas.

Putting pencil to paper, I’ll sketch my designs and work through the details of construction and execution. I’m hands-on with every step of the process. Designs have to go through an executive approval process, which varies on the show and creates challenges depending on who you work for. You have to adapt and act fast.

You have a strong reputation for mentoring up-and-coming talent. What motivates you to give back to the community through mentoring?

It feels instinctual and normal. If I need to hire someone, I always ask my former teachers at CapU and people I respect in the industry if they have someone to recommend for a particular position. I always look at all the options out there.

Maybe this is because I never had that support moving up when I started in the industry in 2005. It was hard to get a job with established designers. Maybe the reason was that there weren’t many positions, but the established designers seemed really not open to hiring students fresh out of school.

I am always open to up-and-coming talent. I give them a chance if I feel they are best suited for the show and my team. I’ve hired a few people who didn’t have any movie experience but wanted to get in and it opened many doors for them.

Of the numerous productions you’ve worked on, including your award-winning projects in which you’ve obtained Leo Awards, is there a particular project that stands out as especially memorable or significant to you?

Working on “When Calls the Heart” for nine years is exceptional. We have a very small team and tight budget working on an epic project that looks fabulous and the cast love every one of the costumes they wear.

Sometimes, it is not about the subject but more about the people involved; working with Sam and Kailey Spear is a treat every time.

Working on Netflix’s “Knight Before Christmas” was a treat of a different kind. I like it when you can design various periods in one film and go over the top with certain designs when you have a bigger budget.

Designing a murder mystery is always fun. I grew up reading every Agatha Christie book I could find. I love building costumes from scratch or reconstructing existing pieces for “Christmas for the Ages” and “Honey Girls.” I also designed one set of Venetian masks and a second set inspired by Build-a-Bear toys.

How do you spend your free time? Walk us through a typical Sunday in your life.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a typical Sunday.

Usually, it would involve me and my husband catching up on things and cleaning up since I work ridiculous hours and there is never enough time to sort laundry and put it away. Everything just starts piling up.

If it’s nice out, I take Remy (our dog) for a long walk, and now, since we just welcomed Lizzie, our baby girl, everything will be a bit different. We are still figuring things out.