CAFTCAD was honoured to have Vancouver based Costume Designer, Monique Prudhomme as our guest speaker for the opening night of this year’s CAFTCADEMY weekend last April. After hearing her speak, it was clear that we needed to know more.

January 2010 – Monique’s excellence in her craft was recognized by her peers with an Oscar nomination for “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” along with 2 wins: a Costume Designers Guild Award and a Satellite Award. Needless to say,” the experience was overwhelming and it took awhile to get real”.

With wide parameters and a clear vision from Director Terry Gilliam, Monique embarked on a “hunt and gather for her characters”. The project was “an all engaging and fantastic collaborative from each department.  It was the dream job that she “wishes for all designers to experience”.
Her 30 year journey to the point of receiving these accolades has taken some interesting turns. Originally from Montreal, Monique studied fine art with a plan to teach art at the high school level. However, once there, discovered she really didn’t want to be a teacher and “hated it with a passion”.

Always interested in film and costumes, she cold-called a production in town and offered herself as an intern. A period film with boots, buttons and busks, all new to her, she jumped in “watched and learned and figured it out”. 

Now on the right path, she continued with other productions, gradually learning about costuming. Within a few years the first design offer came. Using the sink or swim technique, she figured it out and received her first credit, a Canada/ France co-production that took her on location to the Rockies. Love brought her to Vancouver in the early 80’s. Fantastic timing as the industry was still in its infancy stage and the opportunities for learning the craft of costume design and growing her resume were excellent.

Although” Dr Parnassus” has had the most impact on her career, Monique feels all projects are interesting. Monique’s other credits include the indie runaway hit ‘Juno’ and the hilariously funny ‘Best in Show’ to name a few.  She loves the process, the art of making movies, collaborating with others, telling a story and composing characters.

Some words of advice to aspiring designers:  “Take all opportunities as they come, learn about all aspects of costuming, listen and learn from the base up, be confident and realize what you don’t know, be open to the collaborative process but don’t become scattered, cultivate yourself by using all resources: movies, museums, books on all the arts, different cultures, history, collect and draw from many sources. Most of all be patient.”

Recently Monique wrapped up “The Big Year”  - a contemporary comedy shot on location in B.C, Florida Keys and NYC, about 3 bird watchers (Luke Owen, Jack Black, Steve Martin) competing in an annual event to spot the rarest birds in North America.

Retiring is not on Monique’s agenda. Still on her film “to do” list is a period western, set at the end of the 19th century. Also she would love to find her” Tim Burton” referring to Colleen Attwood and Tim Burton’s continued collaborative relationship.

When not making movies, Monique likes to live life quietly, spending time with her husband and visiting family in Montreal, takes drawing classes, likes to cook and have dinner parties and walking by the sea. She has traveled the world extensively and loves Europe. Paris in particular speaks to her with its never ending wealth of all the things that engage and inspire her. If she were to pack her bags and go somewhere tomorrow, it would be Paris.

When Monique became the first Canadian Costume Designer to receive an Oscan nomination it was an extremely proud moment for the entire costume community in Canada. We’re thrilled to have you as a member of CAFTCAD.