Filming 'Surrounded' on a ghost ranch in Mexico
Over 20 Years Industry Experience
The 'shoot'.
It's 1870 on the American frontier, and Mo is travelling by stagecoach to lay claim to a gold mine. When her stagecoach is ambushed and runs off a cliff, she fights for her life.
"Surrounded" was filmed on Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, perfectly capturing the rugged and beautiful landscape.I was excited when the talented Costume Designer Megan Coates asked me to be her Costume Supervisor on the film.
A Costume Supervisor's responsibilities can be divided into four categories: Crew, Money, Scheduling, and anything else that needs to be done. On "Surrounded," I was asked to use my millinery skills to help create the large quantity of hats required for a Western. The process involved several steps over multiple days.
"Surrounded" was filmed on Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, perfectly capturing the rugged and beautiful landscape.I was excited when the talented Costume Designer Megan Coates asked me to be her Costume Supervisor on the film.
A Costume Supervisor's responsibilities can be divided into four categories: Crew, Money, Scheduling, and anything else that needs to be done. On "Surrounded," I was asked to use my millinery skills to help create the large quantity of hats required for a Western. The process involved several steps over multiple days.
Step one/day one
Take modern cowboy hats and soak them in water overnight.
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Step two/day two
pull the wet hat over a hat block and secure it with large rubber bands to dry overnight.
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Step three/day three
Use steam to hand-mould the crown and brim it into a unique shape, let it cool, and apply the hat stiffener.
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Step four/day four
Our fabulous breakdown crew would give the hat a past life and back story. We made holes and tears, sometimes adding crude cowboy attempts at mending, and applied coloured wax sticks, powders, sandpaper, furniture polish, and mineral oil to create a unique patina of dried sweat and grime.
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Mrs Borders' Hat
One of the most fulfilling aspects of my role was researching and designing the hat for Mrs. Borders. After finding the perfect matching dresses for Mrs Borders and her stunt double at Angel’s Costumiers in London, we knew it was time to create the perfect hat to complete her look.
The evolution of women’s hats after the war, from wide-brimmed bonnets to tiny, highly decorated hats, was a fascinating journey to explore. The dramatic style change perplexed me until I thought about the proper context. After the deprivations of war, women again had access to information about popular European styles and the fabrics, haberdashery, and other fripperies necessary to achieve them. It was as if the goal was to put as much fabric and trimming on the smallest space possible.
The evolution of women’s hats after the war, from wide-brimmed bonnets to tiny, highly decorated hats, was a fascinating journey to explore. The dramatic style change perplexed me until I thought about the proper context. After the deprivations of war, women again had access to information about popular European styles and the fabrics, haberdashery, and other fripperies necessary to achieve them. It was as if the goal was to put as much fabric and trimming on the smallest space possible.
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I worked closely with the breakdown crew and sewists to create something appropriate that pulled all the colours of her costume together. I started by reshaping a pre-made straw base. We sourced cotton broadcloth locally and vintage petersham ribbon from Promenade Fabric in New Orleans.
The breakdown crew dyed the cotton to match her dress, and the ribbons were dyed in two shades of burgundy to match the trimmings of her cape. Sewists ruched the cotton, adding texture and depth to the hat base. The ribbons were gathered and sewn around the hat’s edges, and additional ribbons were attached to be tied under the chin. We added a pre-dyed coque feather and gave it a dusting of movie dirt.
The breakdown crew dyed the cotton to match her dress, and the ribbons were dyed in two shades of burgundy to match the trimmings of her cape. Sewists ruched the cotton, adding texture and depth to the hat base. The ribbons were gathered and sewn around the hat’s edges, and additional ribbons were attached to be tied under the chin. We added a pre-dyed coque feather and gave it a dusting of movie dirt.
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Living and working with the crew in such a remote and beautiful location was incredibly rewarding. The collaborative effort, the attention to detail, and the passion for authenticity made "Surrounded" a truly memorable project. Every hat, stitch, and bit of grime added to the film's rich tapestry, bringing the 1870s American frontier to vivid life.
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