Alumni
Grad is a Set Costumer in Austin
Alexandria ‘Alex’ Candelas was born and raised in Austin, Texas where she attended James Bowie High School. Since beginning to sew at age 11, Alex knew she wanted to have a job in the industry. As a teen, Alex and her family visited Los Angeles and took the Warner Bros. Studio Tour where she saw a costume exhibit. “It was at that moment I turned to my mom and told her I was going to be a costumer,” said Alex, who received a bachelor’s degree in Fashion Merchandising from Texas Christian University applying to FIDM’s Professional Designation Fashion Design program and then the Advanced Study Film & TV Costume Design program. She’s currently working as a set costumer on film and TV projects in Austin, and just wrapped on an HBO true crime series titled Love and Death. We caught up with her to learn more.
What have you been up to since graduation? When the pandemic brought me home to Austin, I always thought I would move back to LA. I have been fortunate enough though to find work in Austin on film and TV sets as a day player since graduating in June. I have been working as an additional set costumer on shows like Fear the Walking Dead and on the film Hypnotic.
Tell us about recently joining IATSE Local 484 Union: I was lucky enough to chat with a local costume designer and supervisor who loves helping new costumers find work and join the union. She passed my resume to the supervisor at Fear the Walking Dead where I was able to start in the office and quickly move to set as a background costumer. I worked on union projects as a set costumer for 30 days in order to become eligible to join.
What are some of your favorite FIDM memories? My time at FIDM was cut short due to the pandemic, but it did make for some really fun and interesting memories with my classmates online. Some of my favorite memories include showing my classmates my makeshift studio in my garage, the process of costuming USC student films with my classmates over Zoom, and getting to talk with some of my favorite costume designers in class like Ellen Mirojnick.
How did FIDM help prepare you for the industry? The Film & TV Costume Design program is so helpful in preparing us for set. Part of our curriculum is learning and building our set kit, learning how to break down a script, and making sure we are familiar with programs often used on set like Sync on Set.
Is there a project you're working on you can share about? I actually just wrapped on an HBO true crime series titled Love and Death starring Elizabeth Olsen. It was a really awesome experience because I was able to work with new and familiar costumers on this fun period piece. It was the largest production of background actors and costumers I have worked with so far in my career.
Learn more online at alexandriacandelas.myportfolio.com on Instagram @ace_by_alex.
Categories: Film & TV Costume Design Alumni
