The costume designer behind “Chronicles of Narnia,” “Shrek,” “Wolverine” and “American Psycho,” Isis Mussenden, gave a presentation on her past projects and creative process at the Kent State University Museum on Sep. 17.
Mussenden has numerous accolades, her most prominent being receiving the Costume Designers Guild Award in 2006 for her work in “Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.”
“It’s a lot of work,” Mussenden said during the presentation. She described the long hours spent researching trends, events and styles for each project. “I immerse myself in the world of the story, gathering visual references that reflect the time period, location and culture.”
Before the presentation, Mussenden and a group of selected students, honored guests and Museum Director Sarah Spinner Liska socialized in the director’s office.
Two of those students had been specially invited by Liska: Brianna Hieber, a sophomore in fashion design, and Megan Leissner, a senior in fashion merchandising, created the recently formed student organization “Formally adDressing.”
“This will be our third month since we founded it. We’re doing our first fashion show here in the museum, so we were invited by the director to attend,” Hieber explained.
Leissner admitted she was nervous before the presentation.
“We haven’t really had a bigger event like this, with networking with other professionals and professors in the schools. We’ve had ‘Formally adDressing’ events like with students and stuff, but this is really the first thing with professionals,” she said.
Leissner also emphasized the importance and impact of costuming within fashion.
“Costuming is very important, you can learn a lot from costuming and then apply it to different areas of fashion design,” she said.
The presentation was hosted in the museum’s Murphy Auditorium. Overflow seating was set up in the Fashion School atrium while screens showed Mussenden’s presentation live. The seating had been set up beforehand in anticipation of a larger crowd than what the auditorium could support.
The event is part of the museum’s lecture series, which brings in artists and scholars to host free presentations, and is open to Kent State students and the public. Mussenden’s presentation broke a record by being the first time the museum had to offer overflow seating.
“I’m very excited to hear, like, all the things that Mussenden has worked on and how she got there,” Hieber said prior to Mussenden’s talk. “It’s a very cool experience and privilege to have this kind of opportunity.”
Mussenden spoke for about an hour before taking questions from the audience. After the presentation, she went to the atrium and conversed with anyone who attended the event and had additional questions or thoughts.
“In case you didn’t catch it, I love my job. And most of all, I’ve afforded the opportunity to have a great life,” Mussenden said at the end of her presentation.
Mussenden’s next project is a sequel to the 2016 movie “The Accountant” starring Ben Affleck; the movie is set to release in April 2025.
Aryn Kauble is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
