Behind The Seams: The Weird and Wonderful World of McGrew Studios

Jennifer McGrew is no ordinary professional. On the day we meet for coffee to discuss her business, McGrew Studios, she also has plans to track down a specific piece of band equipment and talk fabric with a fellow artisan. When I ask about her job title, she slides me a glittery business card that reads “Director of Disguises.”

It’s a fitting moniker — McGrew does it all, including costume fabrication, multimedia design and mascot creation. She’s contributed to local films like Punk’s Dead: SLC Punk 2, We Love You, Sally Carmichael! and Alien Country. But what truly sets her apart is her passion for the peculiar.

“Weird is better. Weird is cool. Weird is more exciting. Weird is a challenge,” McGrew says. “Weird shows that somebody’s already thinking outside the box, and they aren’t necessarily wanting to replicate their favorite

thing they’ve seen in a film or comic book.” Her knack for out-of-the-box creation took root in her childhood. Growing up in the 1970s, McGrew was surrounded by the tools of imagination: power tools, sewing machines and unsupervised afternoons. “There was no internet, only three channels of television, and you’re bored,” she recalls. “So my friends and I constantly made stuff — puppets, costumes, props, you name it.”

“Weird is better. Weird is cool. Weird is more exciting. Weird is a challenge.”

McGrew later rediscovered her passion for costume design at Weber State University while wrapping up her English undergraduate degree, leading to several more years and universities as she continued her artistic training. Eventually, McGrew Studios was born, and soon, her creativity had its own reputation in the entertainment industry, especially film and TV. Of course, that came with its own set of challenges. “Most films are a shitshow,” McGrew says bluntly. “A lot of decisions that get made from the top down have a ripple effect and screw up everybody else’s scheduling and plans.” She describes the meticulous schedules that guide each film: where and when scenes are shot, what costumes, props and equipment are needed. But the reality is often far messier. Last-minute changes from higher-ups can throw entire departments into disarray, forcing costume designers to scramble — and the details are the first things to go.

“If something’s missing, as a viewer, you’ll know,” McGrew says. “You might not know exactly what it is, but if all the little details aren’t looked to, it’s not going to look like a complete world.” Attention to detail, she explains, is where the magic lies. She recounts her work on a short film called Flight From Shadow in 2013. In McGrew’s research for the costuming, she discovered a kind of complicated Celtic knot and decided to integrate the idea into the back of a main character’s cloak as imagery to emphasize her key traits. Her team spent hours creating it, but in the final product, it didn’t appear on screen once. Still, McGrew doesn’t regret her creative choice.

“It’s telling stories through costume.”

“The point is that you never know,” says McGrew. “Because producers and directors are capricious and arbitrary creatures, just like the rest of us.They might be on set and go, ‘Oh, wow, we never thought of shooting it from this angle,’ and then you’re going, ‘Oh, fuck, we should have, we could have.’”

Despite the fun and wacky projects, the thrill of being on set and the feeling of successfully finishing a costume, none of those things are McGrew’s favorite part of the process. It’s the way a carefully chosen texture hints at a backstory, or how a unique accessory adds a layer of personality. For her, it’s about the subtle magic of costume design and the impact it has on viewers — even if they don’t consciously notice it. “It’s telling stories through costume,” McGrew says simply. “Who is this person? Why did they pick that out of their closet on this particular day?”

To learn more about McGrew, or commission a wonderfully weird costume from her, check out her website at mcgrewstudios.com.

Read more interviews with movie magic-makers:
The Wicked Eyes and Imagination of Alice Brooks
Director Ellen Kuras on Lee Miller and the Power of Film