Costume designer Trish Summerville can barely contain herself when David Fincher walks on set. “It makes me so happy when I see him, I just want to body-slam him,” she jokes.
Clearly, they make a winning team. Her first Costume Designers Guild award nomination (and win) came in 2012 in the contemporary film category for Fincher’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” Their second collaboration, “Gone Girl,” resulted in her third nom (last year, Summerville won in the CDG’s fantasy category for “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.”)
“David never wavers. He knows what he wants, but he also gives a lot of creative freedom,” said Summerville, who’s also worked with him on high-profile commercials for Nike, Apple and the Gap.
A major wardrobe challenge in “Gone Girl” was to help define a character who constantly reinvents herself. Much of the film used muted palettes and was shot in low-light environments. Working closely with Fincher’s go-to d.p. Jeff Cronenweth, Summerville used early camera tests to select fabrics and colors that could withstand the moody lighting.
“We’re like a family, watching out for each other,” she said.
