Local costumer finds fun in celebrity re-creations
BECCA MARTIN-BROWN
bmartin@nwadg.com
When the world shut down for quarantine, I went from working in a creative field to making masks for our local healthcare workers,” says Bentonville resident Jennifer McClory, who works as a costumer for various regional theater companies, including TheatreSquared, which supported the mask making.
“I needed a creative outlet, so I started in the one place a wardrobe/costume team member would gravitate — my closet,” she goes on. “At first I was just posting outfits that fit a daily theme. Then my friend and colleague, Mark Landon Smith, posed a challenge to the local creatives to re-create scenes from movies, television or theater as a way to have some fun while in quarantine.”
McClory says she started with the Audrey Hepburn look from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “had so much fun putting that look together that I decided to try more.”
“My son got involved and one of my best friends who is also a wig designer,” she goes on. “We set up some basic rules just to add to the challenge aspect of it. I had to use things I already had on hand, and we couldn’t spend more than about 30 minutes per picture, the quicker the better.”
When the Met Gala was canceled, McClory joined the Met Gala Challenge on social media with her Sarah Jessica Parker/Alexander McQueen look from the 2006 gala.
“Quentin Tarantino is a favorite of mine and Preston’s, so it seemed only fitting to do a Tarantino film for our first mum/son re-creation. We got out the Nerf gun/glue gun arsenal and had a blast quoting the movie while taking the pic,” McClory says.
(Courtesy Photo/Jennifer McClory)
“It was featured on the challenge’s hashtag on Instagram, and NBC News in New York City contacted me to interview me live on the news about my look,” she says. “The anchor talked about how she loved seeing all my posts and how I was bringing a smile to people’s faces. I started to get a lot of messages from friends as well as strangers that echoed her sentiments, so I decided to continue doing my daily looks. Since theater is ‘at intermission’ right now, this is a way for me to continue to be creative.
“Times are really hard for a lot of people right now, so to hear that I’m making people smile is enough for me.”
Follow McClory at @ijenmac on Instagram and @iJenmac on Twitter.
“I love doing ones like this one from ‘Clockwork Orange.’ It’s so simple, but so recognizable. To turn into Alex Delarge in less than 10 minutes was a lot of fun,” McClory says.
(Courtesy Photo/Jennifer McClory)
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“A friend of mine had requested Elvira, so while I made some alterations to a 20+year-old maternity dress from the back of my closet, and my friend Ryan stacked three wigs together to create the Mistress of the Dark’s signature coif. This one took about 30 minutes to finish,” McClory says.
(Courtesy Photo/Jennifer McClory)
“”This was one my son Preston and I wanted to do from the get-go,” McClory says. “It’s such an iconic emotional scene, but we just giggled the whole time because of how silly we looked.”
(Courtesy Photo/Jennifer McClory)
“Lady Gaga was a must-do for us, and I loved this look from the ‘Bad Romance’ video,” McClory says. “The wig is a cheap wig that came free with some costumes I had ordered for a previous show, and the crown was made from craft foam.”
(Courtesy Photo/Jennifer McClory)
“Madonna was really fun to re-create,” McClory says. “We took a cheap wig and steamed some curls in it, then I took a strip of white fabric and created a makeshift halter top.”
(Courtesy Photo/Jennifer McClory)
This was Jennifer McClory’s first costume re-creation, started as a way to feed her need for creativity during the covid-19 shutdown. “It’s such an iconic image, I loved getting to pretend to be Holly Golightly,” the Bentonville costumer says. “I didn’t have a to-go cup or a croissant on hand, so I grabbed a bottle of scotch instead to add my own ‘flair’ to her look.”
(Courtesy Photo/Jennifer McClory)
“This was one of my favorites just because of how well-received it was, despite only taking about 15 minutes to put together,” says McClory. “The Met Gala Challenge was a lot of fun for us fashion nuts who were missing one of fashion’s biggest events.”
(Courtesy Photo/Jennifer McClory)
