Conversations with Megan Guthrie-Wedemeyer

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Guthrie-Wedemeyer.

Hi Megan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was always fascinated with history, specifically about people and their everyday life. A big part of that is the clothing they wore. I would look through history books and be amazed at what people used to wear and how that told the story of their life. It was my gateway to Costume Design, and as soon as I found out that was a job someone could have, I made that my path. In high school, I did an internship with a clothing historian and shadowed a costume designer at my local community college who later got me my first costume job at the Hollywood Bowl. I got to work on Hairspray and glue rhinestones onto Harvey Fierstein’s costumes. I decided that I would pursue this career in college. I went to USC in their School of Dramatic Arts for a BFA in Theatre Design. I designed at least one theatre show a semester forcing me to learn on my feet. I enjoyed theatre, but I really wanted to work on film projects, so I became friends with students in the Cinema School and designed the costumes for countless student films.

When I graduated, I managed to get a job as a personal assistant to costume designer, Terry Dresbach, who at the time was working on the show, Outlander. I helped set up exhibits around LA displaying her designs for the show, and I eventually convinced her to let me travel to Scotland and work on the show itself. I got to work on two seasons and got to fulfill my historical costuming dreams. Upon returning to LA, I got into the customer’s union for film and tv (IATSE Local 705) and worked in various roles in the costume department on shows such as Veronica Mars, Bliss, and Perfect Harmony. After returning to work from the pandemic, I started working for costume designer, Janie Bryant, on Why Women Kill where I once again was working on period dramas and helping to research, source fabric, and oversee the costumes being built. I then continued working with her all over the world on projects such as 1883, The Mayfair Witches, 1923, and Bad Boys. I since have joined the Costume Designers Guild (IATSE Local 892) and am on my way to being a designer in my own right.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The film and tv world from the outside can feel like a secret club. It is a lot of networking and figuring out where your next job will be. No one has the same story of how they get started in the industry, so it’s a lot of carving your own path and hoping it works out. However, as soon as you get a toe in the door and you prove yourself valuable it begins to open up possibilities.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My specialty is period costumes and overseeing them get made. I source fabrics, notions, and anything else that might go into a garment and then work with our tailor shops or vendors to get all the pieces put together. I am really proud of the great connections I have made all over the world in finding fabrics or manufacturers.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Covid 19 shut down the film industry and made me really evaluate the importance of the work I do and also made me focus on what other skills and passions I have that I hadn’t been able to focus on because of how busy I was with work. I picked up painting and writing again. I sewed my own projects just for me. I was reset, and at the end of the day, I still believed in the work that all filmmakers do and was ready to go back when it was safe to do so.