Posted on: Thursday, August 29, 2002

'Even Stevens' costumer gets creative on set

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer

Movie costumer Mimi Matsumoto created a kitschy, pseudo-tropical look for "The Stevens Get Even." Disney Channel

When the Disney Channel airs the movie "The Stevens Get Even" next year, the Hawai'i audience may chuckle over the costumes. They are kitschy and goofy, and wouldn't be worn by kama'aina. It wouldn't be fair, though, to judge them by Hawai'i standards. The film takes place on a mythical tropical island, not one of ours.

Although about a third of the movie was shot at Ko Olina resort and on the North Shore, island visited by the Stevens family in its "all-expenses-paid island hideaway trip" is never identified in the film. The high-spirited family popularized by the kids-and-tweens-oriented comedy series "Even Stevens" finds it has been set up by producers of a new "extreme reality" television series. Then the Stevens set out to even the score.

The people on this fictional film island are Asians, Africans, Caucasians and Native Americans who have melded into a "tribe" all their own. That's why costume designer Mimi Matsumoto (born and reared in Oakland, Calif.) blended fabrics and iconic accessories from several cultures and countries to create the film's costumes.

For the 68 extras and 10 cast members, she selected three prints — a Tahitian two-color border print, a tiki textile design in red, white and black and a Hawaiian plumeria print — to establish a first impression of a unified "tribal" look. She accessorized these with silk lei from Kmart (fresh flowers were beyond her budget, she said, and would have wilted in the August heat) and headdresses that combine lauhala, shells, kukui nuts and — would you believe it? — peacock feathers.

Matsumoto had only vacationed briefly in Hawai'i and had little knowledge of local culture or dress. She conducted research at the library and on the Internet to learn more. Research included any islands with tribes, from Indonesia to New Zealand. "We took a lot of liberty," she explained, "to determine what most people would think of as 'tropical.' Although the characters of the tribe were supposed to come from many different cultures, I decided to leave the clothing all tropical so it wouldn't confuse." She described the look as "a cultural mishmash."

She chose the pareu as a wardrobe staple, tying it on young men as a short malo and on the "elders" in a longer version. "I practiced and practiced how to wrap a pareu on myself," Matsumoto said, chuckling. She found her fabrics online at Fabric Mart (www.fabricmartfabrics.com) and had them sent to Los Angeles.

Matsumoto researched the headdresses for the elders of the mythical island, finding the closest thing online from the Hula Supply Center. The deadline was a killer; six headdresses were needed in 10 days.

"The headdresses were basically Tahitian ritual or celebration costumes made of dyed hibiscus bark. It took three people to make them: one for the shells, one for the bands and another to put it all together," said Syl Kop of Hula Supply Center, who coordinated the creation of the headdresses.

Matsumoto is used to tough deadlines. She had just 14 days to prepare for "The Stevens Get Even." As a free-lance costume designer, she chooses her work carefully and is fortunate to work nearly all the time. She has done all the "Even Stevens" TV series as well as the "Puppetmaster" and "Three Ninjas" series.

Although the job title "costume designer for film and television" sounds glamorous, there is a great deal of grub work, Matsumoto said. While many film jobs require hours of sitting around and waiting for the call "action," costume designers seldom stop to take a breath. Matsumoto not only creates the costumes, she styles them (in this case draping the pareu on every actor) and sometimes has to sew them.

She shops, and does the ironing and the laundry if a professional cleaner can't get it done in time. The budget is always a major consideration in all her decisions. "Yes, I have to do a lot of math," she added as she rolled her eyes.

As an undergraduate at the University of California-Berkeley, she was heavily into art. She discovered the theater and period fashion, and it became her passion. "I love the creativity of telling the character's story through clothing," Matsumoto said.

After working in local theater in Northern California, she completed her master of fine arts at UCLA. There she made the contacts to get into TV, film, commercials and video.

She especially enjoys the study of history through clothing. The costumes and accessories provide clues to when and where the film's action is taking place. For each project she asks herself: What was the driving look during the period? What was popular in the culture? What was the music like? Who were the fashion icons?

Psychology also plays a role. "You have to be a psychologist when working with so many personalities and egos," Matsumoto said. "You're compromising and creating and you have to be able to pull the rabbit out constantly."

Then again, there is fantasy and imagination. That's what keeps her working those 16-hour days.