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Hollywood Designer Launches Line
Associated Press - March 15, 2000
By CAROL DEEGAN, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - Debra McGuire sits in the tearoom at the Henri Bendel store on Fifth Avenue and ticks off the names of
a handful of TV shows. "Friends," "Jesse," "Freaks and Geeks," "Judging Amy," "Jack & Jill."
She is the costume designer for all of them.
But that's just the beginning: She has a shop in Pacific Palisades, Calif., where she began selling her one-of-a-kind
womenswear designs in 1995. Her new line of retail clothing was recently launched at Bendel's, an event that was marked by
a window installation that McGuire created especially for the store.
"I've had a very organic career. It all revolved around people I loved, people who loved me, and it had like a really
wonderful progression," said McGuire, dressed in one of her designs.
Her life reads like a made-for-TV movie. It is the story of a talented artist who moved from the world of fine art to jewelry
design, then on to costume design and her own line of clothing.
"I was a painter, I was a fine artist. And I had a gallery in San Francisco that was doing a group show of their artists and they
wanted us to work in materials in a medium that we'd never worked in before," the 47-year-old McGuire said.
"So I decided to do Plexiglas and painted necklaces. And the then-president of I. Magnin ... saw the pieces at the gallery and
said, 'Why don't you do some pieces for Magnin's?' - and that was kind of the beginning of my jewelry career and it just kind
of went from there."
Did she mention the necklace she designed for pop singer Barbra Streisand?
"Barbra's piece I did in graduate school in 1978, and it was when the King Tut exhibit was here, and when I asked her what
she wanted, she said 'like Queen Tut.' So that was my motivation for that piece, and it was cloisonne enamel in silver, and I
kind of designed it to match her deco house. I took the design off of her etched fireplace and used wallpaper patterns and
kind of went from there. That was pretty spectacular."
After 10 years as a successful jewelry designer based in New York City, McGuire moved to Los Angeles, where she began
working in film and television, landing a job on the NBC sitcom "Friends."
"I found with 'Friends' the first two years, the writers used to write scripts that had seven to 10 changes (per character) a
script. OK? You figure that's 63 costumes at a minimum per show, per week, that's without guest stars. So we were doing 70
to 75 costumes a week, and I designed and made most of them, men's and women's. And so I was a complete control freak,
I mean, I wouldn't let them wear a sock unless I approved it. Nothing," she said.
Now McGuire oversees the wardrobes of five network TV shows and has 35 people who report to her. And she's loosened
up - somewhat.
"I have the final say and approval on every single thing, but I let them bring to the plate a lot of who they are. I mean, I
checked the line the other day on 'Jack & Jill,' and out of the entire show, my only comment was 'wash the boxer shorts."'
Does she have a favorite TV character or celebrity she likes to dress?
"I like all the characters. I love Tyne Daly's character in 'Judging Amy.' I love my 'Freaks and Geeks." It's period, it's 1980
high school, and I'm mad for all those kids, they kiss me every day on the set. So that's cool.
"I'm really not celebrity motivated. I went to the Emmys this year because I was nominated (for 'Friends'), but otherwise, I
have no interest," she said.
Her Pacific Palisades shop, Debra McGuire Couture, is located just down the street from her home, where she lives with her
husband and children, Gavin, 11, and Lily, 5.
Besides her one-of-a-kind designs, her Swarthmore Avenue shop carries her 162-piece retail collection, which she pulled
together during last summer's two-month network hiatus.
The collection is filled with colorful separates including sari skirts with border or fringe, a furry eyelash tank with matching
eyelash shawl, and a hot-pink faux fur jacket. Prices range from $150 to $1,500.
"I'm very motivated by fabric. Fabric, texture, color. I love vintage stuff," McGuire said. "So occasionally, I'll pull something
out and do a piece, a dress, a skirt, and I can do that in my shop, it's great. And Bendel's, when they ordered halters, I said,
'I'll throw in some of my old fabulous fabrics, we'll do one of a kind,' so I threw some of those in, and they loved that."
What inspires McGuire in her many artistic pursuits?
"My inspiration comes from life. It doesn't come from fashion. It comes from the art world, from my spiritual practice, from
my children. I have a tremendous amount of energy, I don't know where it comes from, but God has given me an incredible
gift and I feel like I need to give back. So this is the way that I do it, and I will probably continue to explore new things and
new mediums until I die."
Copyright © 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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