NYWIFT Blog

Our Friday column asks our members about their favorite tool, software, article of clothing, shoes on set, favorite scriptwriting software, etc.

Dana Covarrubias – Costume Designer

By Melissa Belardo

2018 NYWIFT Designing Women honoree Dana Covarrubias has designed the costumes for television shows including Claws, Master of None, Crashing, Inside Amy Schumer and the pilot episode of Broad City. She’s a member of both United Scenic Artists 829 and IATSE 764. Dana shares what’s inside her toolkit.

NYWIFT Member Costume Designer Dana Covarrubias, 2018 NYWIFT Designing Women Honoree

You are known to make everyone you work with feel comfortable, which is amazing.  But what do you do to keep yourself at ease on set?

I keep myself at ease on set by constantly balancing my focus between the macro and micro needs of the show. It’s important to know what matters when. At the start of the day I make a list of the mirco (what needs to happen asap for that day to be successfully pulled off) and a list of the macro (what I need to achieve in order for next week- or for the next three weeks- to go smoothly). When you have a better understanding of that- it automatically allows you to feel relaxed and confident in your creative and managerial decisions. Long answer short: I make LISTS!

I also think it’s important to take the time to smile and say hello to everyone on set – actors, other crew members, producers, directors, PA’s, craft services- everyone! To ask people about their weekends, to hear other peoples stories and experiences – it helps you to develop those relationships beyond just the job and to realize that we’re all just people. It humanizes the job in a way that puts me ease. 

What is the most unexpected item in your toolkit right now?

There are so many unexpected items in a Costume Designer’s Toolkit! Probably the craziest thing I currently have in my kit are prosthetic nipples! I have them in all sizes and skin-tones. We use them for whenever a scene calls for an actor to have “hard nipples”. They just stick on. What a world. 

From your shopping trips with your parents and developing the organizing gene from your family…What is something you learned from childhood that you use now?

We didn’t have a lot of money growing up so I learned how to bargain hunt, and how to make something interesting out of nothing. A lot of films and television shows are way lower budget than you’d expect, so the art of bargain hunting always comes into play when trying to stay on budget. And being OCD! Both of my parents are OCD in their own way – and I’m lucky (and cursed) to have inherited that. A dogged attention to detail is key in my job. 

What item in your toolkit you can’t live without?

A good pair of scissors, some safety pins, and a steamer. I could accomplish almost anything with those three items. 

Honoring Dana was one of our favorite moments of Designing Women 2018. Click through to watch Crashing star Jamie Lee present the award and Dana’s acceptance speech:

Honoring Dana Covarrubias, Designing Women 2018 from NYWIFT on Vimeo.