Linda Muir Brings Nosferatu to Life Through Costume
From her childhood love of storytelling to collaborating with Robert Eggers on four films, the Toronto-based designer shares how research, textiles, and history fuel her hauntingly beautiful creations.
By Jo Jin | 9 MIN READ
Lily Rose-Depp as Ellen Hutter in Nosferatu (2024). Photo courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 Focus Features LLC. All Rights Reserved.
When Nosferatu opened in theatres on December 25 last year, Focus Features’ gothic horror film quickly became a box office success, earning over $181.3 million worldwide and making headlines across major publications. Written and directed by American filmmaker Robert Eggers, the film reimagines F. W. Murnau’s 1922 German expressionist classic. It stars Lily-Rose Depp as a young woman pursued by the vampire Count Orlok, played by Bill Skarsgård.
To bring his chilling vision to life, Eggers turned to his past collaborator and acclaimed Canadian Costume Designer Linda Muir; this is their fourth project together. Based in Toronto and originally trained in theatre in the 1970s, Muir has built a remarkable career in costume design. BeSpoke connected with CAFTCAD member Muir to talk about her love of books, her research and design process and the inspirations that continue to fuel her work.
Headshot of Linda Muir. Image courtesy of Linda Muir.
Linda Muir on set with Lily-Rose Depp and Robert Eggers. Image courtesy of Linda Muir.
What did you want to be when you were a kid? How did you decide costume designing was a career path for you?
When I was a child I loved to play, which for me meant creating totally imaginary small worlds with props and costuming. As I grew older I was introduced to literature; I loved how writers could create an even more extraordinary world that somehow helped make sense of the actual world around me.
But the internal explosion occurred at 15 when I discovered the theatre. It was the combination of stories – often populated with archetypes or stereotypes conveyed through naturalism or surrealism and portrayed by actors – that opened an entirely new passion to me. I realized quite quickly that I wasn’t an actor, but while an actor seemed to easily invent an interesting internal dialogue or intense backstory, I could offer up equally interesting ideas around how to silently reveal their characters to an audience through costuming.
I have remained a reader and discovered I am a natural researcher: I observe people and the material world around me and I am endlessly curious, so channeling those traits into my work is enjoyable. And working on a script with a director and actors is, to this day, my true pleasure.
Costume illustration of Ellen Hutter’s evening dress with cape. Image courtesy of Linda Muir.
Costume illustration of Thomas Hutter’s open coat. Image courtesy of Linda Muir.
I’m really curious about your research and design process; you’ve mentioned in many interviews that you like to dive in deep. Do you have a particular format, or any quirks when it comes to researching?
Each film begins with the script, which tells me what I need to learn. Since most recently I have been designing films set in the very distant past, there generally is quite a lot I need to learn. Once I feel I understand how the garments in the world I’m creating differ from those with which I am familiar, I can start to think about which of the characters might wear certain garments.
One thing I have learned is that you can never have too many books: no one book gives all the necessary information. Usually, I find two or three books that give a good overview but then it becomes a lovely hunt: a line here, a wonderfully insightful drawing there, and the research compounds into a picture.
I love the Toronto Reference Library. I make notes of books listed in bibliographies and then locate as many as possible in the library system. I buy many books for each film that delve into extremely specific areas. The Internet is great for immediate information to start a search, but I typically elaborate on finds and verify elsewhere.
Historians are very useful, but only after I have a solid understanding of the period and the clothing. I like to ask about etiquette, taboos, or societal expectations – or, as with The Northman, Viking beliefs. Historians and specialists are crucial when the film deals with an area where the primary sources of research are all in a language (or languages) foreign to me.
Lily-Rose Depp and Emma Corrin in Nosferatu (2024). Photo courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 Focus Features LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Following that, how do you know when to stop researching? I think as creatives, it can feel like research could go on forever. You seem very focused on historical accuracy, so how do you know when it’s time to move on to the next step of designing?
I seem to naturally know when I am ready to start sketching. I suppose I must put enough new information into myself and want to return the character to the world shaped through my unique lens. By unique, I do not mean better or worse, simply individual and mine. I do not know with which character I will start, and I don’t always consecutively render all the outfits that a character will wear.
Initially, I spend a lot of time with the script. I have worked with Robert Eggers on four films and am currently prepping the fifth. For four of the five films, I created a massive wall chart with every character listed down the left-hand margin and every scene across the bottom of the chart—it is roughly (depending on the film) 2’ to 3’ high and 7’ long, with microscopic printing. I do this exercise by hand because it takes quite a lot of time, and during that time with the script (which I consider my own quiet, contemplative time) I find questions, problems, red flags, excitement, realizations, and more questions. By the time I am finished with it, I completely know and can remember the flow of the story. To Robert’s credit, the order of scenes rarely changes much from his initial script to our production draft.
How do you balance your own aesthetic instincts with historical accuracy, especially in a stylized film like Nosferatu? How has your personal design language changed after working on multiple films with Robert?
I am interpreting whatever historical information I learn, so I think my own aesthetic is applied to each period. When I look back over the projects I have designed, I feel the costuming has a certain look that is particular to me. That look has, I think, improved with Robert’s collaboration because he truly cares about the minutiae that can transport an audience. I can design endlessly, but if the person who can incorporate that costuming doesn’t have the interest, then it is not in the film.
Additionally, in Robert’s films the costuming is lit beautifully, is seen within incredibly detailed settings, and worn by actors who have been encouraged to learn about the clothing. So my personal design language has not changed, but it is heard.
Three of Orlok’s mente in breakdown with Silvana Sacco. Image courtesy of Linda Muir.
What’s one tool or material that has become essential in your workflow?
Textiles are extremely important to me; therefore, I start sourcing months in advance of prep.
Again, because the films are often set in a period with very early production techniques (vertical looms, narrow-width looms and hand-spun yarns) I must look for very specific and limited types of woven wools, linens, hemp or nettle fabrics. I have found that making my own small textile book of samples is invaluable. I show it to merchants, buyers and shoppers so we are all on the lookout for the same checklist.
Obviously, all the textiles used are not handwoven, but we do try to find close machine-made facsimiles to add into the mix. For Nosferatu, the prints circa 1838 were extraordinary: complicated combinations of stripes, florals, ombrés and patterns that would have been far too distracting, but I had examples in my textiles booklet to reference when finding suitable alternatives.
Was there a moment during the making of Nosferatu that felt creatively transformative for you?
There were many such moments. But in particular, in the middle of the night watching Bill Skarsgård in his decrepit finery prior to filming the scene when Hutter first sees Orlok inside the gates to his Transylvanian castle was very moving for me: the combination of the Pernštejn Castle exterior, Jarin’s beautiful realistic “moonlight”, and both Nicholas Hoult’s and Bill’s commitment to wearing and using the costuming properly was magical. The interior of the Hunedoarian village inn also had a mind-blowing atmosphere.
Behind-the-scene image of Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok. Image courtesy of Linda Muir.
The self-tying corset discovery is so fascinating – especially how it ended up in Ellen’s convulsing scene. I’m assuming you shared that with Robert, and it made it into the script. Does that kind of collaboration between costume and performance happen often for you, where you have the ability to influence how the actor can utilize the costume as part of their acting?
That kind of collaboration does end up in Robert’s films frequently, which is why, I think, people notice that something is different – because such specific information is utilized in a way that fits with the scene. The inclusion of the facts is not showy or superfluous, simply appropriate.
What do you look for when assembling your costume team? Other than looking at their talent, of course, what type of personality traits do you gravitate towards?
I have worked with many of the same folks over a 50-year career, and many are from Toronto because that is where I live and have worked for much of my career. I commit to the film and work very hard to be prepared, and I expect those working with me to have a similar outlook.
I love to laugh, so hopefully we find the humour when possible. I am not afraid of saying that I do not know something, but I will then find the answer, and I believe that the work goes best when my colleagues do likewise. Give credit where credit is due: we are all in it together.
You’ve worked on many projects filmed outside of Canada. What advice would you give to other costumers heading into out-of-town productions?
Get to know your department members. Don’t isolate yourself or leave getting your ideas across in the hands of someone else. Find patience until you can’t, and then express frustrations rationally. Remember that you made the choice to work away from the familiar, so don’t expect everything to be the same as it is at home; find what works for you locally.
How was working in Prague? Did you like the fabric and notion stores there,or was it challenging to find what you needed? Do you like to go shopping as well, or do you leave it up to your buyers?
The fabric and notions options were very limited in Prague, but there is a wealth of talented makers, from jewellers to embroiderers. And as the Czech Republic is part of the EU, deliveries of fabrics, notions, completed millinery and rentals were speedy. I shop for the bulk of the fabrics myself and set up my own binders of swatches that mirror the department binders because I pull from them constantly.
I know you love research, but what else inspires you? And when you feel uninspired, how do you get back into a creative mindset?
I have more need of restoration after a film wraps.
Gardening restores me. Cooking restores me. Family grounds me, and my very young grandson makes me laugh like no other. He also reminds me that we never stop learning. Recently, I needed a full stop before starting to prep the next film, Werwulf, and a trip to Newfoundland with my partner was incredibly inspiring – that landscape!
Raminta Savickaite, Embroider on Nosferatu. Image courtesy of Linda Muir.
Frances Sweeney, Head Principal - Women's Cutter on Nosferatu. Image courtesy of Linda Muir.
What is your dream project?
I don’t know about a dream project, but I sure want to do a Western.
Assistant Costume Designer Alima Meyboom and Costume Designer Linda Muir on the last night of principal photography. Image courtesy of Linda Muir.
