Artesian Oreo cookies, candied apple lollipops, and chocolate-dipped apple slices adorn the buffet table in the Roosevelt Hotel's swanky press room. I opt for an apple slice, realizing my unwise decision as the chocolate begins to warm, smearing sugar across my fingers.  I try to quell my nerves by snacking since, after all, that's why it's here.  As I raise the piece to my mouth, irony strikes me as Colleen Atwood, lead costume designer on the latest remake of Snow White and the Huntsman, glides into the room with a smile not unlike that of a doting stepmother. Whether a clever ploy by the hotel or simply a strange coincidence, I'm caught chocolate-handed. I lower the fruit (though not for fear of being poisoned) and observe as Atwood sweetly greets those awaiting her with a pleasant demeanor that couldn't be farther from the vain, ice queen in my mind's eye.

Atwood is a three-time Oscar winning costume designer, and her newest film, Snow White and the Huntsman, is another gold-medal worthy performance. However striking we might find Kristen Stewart galloping into battle outfitted in chain-mail, one film could hardly attest to the abilities accrued during Atwood's work on over 50 genre-spanning films, from the bio-punk, sci-fi film Gatacca to the 1994 Alcott adaptation, Little Women.  She's set the mood for satire and scandal in Chicago, led us in search of veneration in Japan in Memoirs of a Geisha, and hopefully provided both attire and hangover cures for The Rum Diary.  At last, we find her in a calm moment to discuss her journey from a young painter to a world renowned designer.

How did you get your start in costume design? 

I came into costume design a little bit by the side door. I studied painting in school and then I worked in the fashion business for a while. I had a child at a very young age, and when she was in high school, I moved to New York and sort of started my life over again and worked my way up through the ranks in costumes. 

What was your inspiration for the costumes in Snow White and the Huntsman?

I took inspiration initially from the screenplay, which laid out what the story was going to be, then I loosely researched the medieval time period and all kinds of materials from all over the world. There was a huge amount of influence on this movie. There are many different layers to it. I was influenced by many different things. 

Do you follow the fashion trends when you’re designing? 

No, not really. I mean, I love fashion, but I don’t really look to it as my main influence in design unless I’m doing a contemporary piece. 

Who are your favorite designers?

Oh, so many! There are so many great ones out there. I love some of the standard classics like Gaultier and Christian Dior from the early years, Alexander McQueen -- the late, great Alexander McQueen. There are a lot of people and lines out there that I think are great. There’s a lot of good work being done out there. 

How much input do the actors have in their costumes?

Initially I meet with the actors and show them my ideas for the whole movie, what the world they’re going to inhabit is like, and talk to them about the way they see their character and what they want to convey through their acting with the costumes. The next time I see them I have a few things for them to try on and then we talk about what feels good, what feels right. Usually they’re not very specific about the design. It’s more about the use of the costume: how it helps them, how they feel in it, how it works for them, and especially a movie like this where people are doing a lot of movement in costumes, it has to physically work. So it’s more that sort of thing, rather than they’re showing me pictures from a fashion magazine saying: “I want it to look like this.” I mean, on this kind of movie, they don’t do that. It’s too out there, you know? It’s mainly about spirit and character, not so much about design, per se. The collaboration comes into [design] when it comes to actually wearing the costume. A lot of the actors I work with put on a costume, and feel it, and when they feel it, they aren’t staring at themselves in the mirror. They walk around in it, they move in it, they do all kinds of movement, and that really is when you know you’re on the right path. 

Do you have any tricks of the trade that you can share with us?

Tricks of the trade? 

I heard that sometimes designers put stones into the pockets of costumes to make them look worn or…

That’s kind of weird. No. There is something called sand washing that works better than putting stones into pockets [laughs]. I don’t really have a trick of the trade. It’s not really that sort of thing for me. I think that if you work hard and keep your eyes open for things everywhere and don’t just limit yourself to one facet of what you’re doing, that’s the best trick you can have. There are good ideas everywhere. 

What are some things that go on behind the scenes that we would never imagine?

I think the idea that costume design is a glamorous job. People don’t realize that costume designers come to work at four in the morning and dress the extras, check the hair and makeup, and do all these different parts of the job. Costume designing isn’t just going around picking fabrics with long fingernails and looking at stuff. It is a hardwork, grunt job. And I think that’s a very big misconception of costume design. To be a good costume designer, you have to know what everyone looks like in the movie. You have to be on top of a crew from 20 to 200 people, depending on the shooting day. That you’re manufacturing while you’re shooting. So you have an intense job and it’s a very heavy-duty job, as far as just physically being able to do it. It’s hard work. 

Is it crazy to you that you’ve come so far, and now you’re designing costumes for these huge productions? 

It’s crazy when I look back. I grew up in a town with less than 3,000 people and I was a poor kid growing up. That I made my way into the world - it’s pretty amazing to me, and I feel really lucky. When I was young I would have never thought that this would be the life that I have, and it is.  You have to pinch yourself sometimes. You can’t believe you’re getting to have all this fun and getting paid for it!

Written by Lia Berger