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When it comes to storytelling, what a character wears can speak as loudly as what they say. That’s especially true in Forever, Netflix’s fresh reimagining of Judy Blume’s classic novel, where love, identity, and place are stitched into every thread. Costume designer Tanja Caldwell, the visionary behind the show’s iconic looks, recently shared insights with Black Girl Nerds on designing for the heartfelt coming-of-age series — and how Los Angeles, Black culture, and personal evolution were the anchors in her process.
What was the direction for the costume design in Forever? Any discussion with Mara (or the directors) that influenced the character’s costumes?
During my initial talks with Mara [Brock-Akil] and Regina [King], we all agreed that the characters in Forever had to look and feel authentically Black and from Los Angeles, thus the costumes were a really important part in accomplishing that. When creating Keisha and Justin, every piece of their costumes needed to reflect their individual unique sense of young style, personal identity, as well as where they live.
Justin is the understated LA sneaker-head, skater-boy type — style wise. His artistic, musically-inclined mind paired with a wandering imagination heavily influenced the direction of Justin’s stylish looks. He has a mature quiet confidence that makes him alluring and standout amongst his male peers. He’s navigating life, manhood, and true LOVE for the first time. The complexity and duality of Justin’s character is what made creating costumes for Justin so much fun. His love for music is one of the reasons why I gravitated towards vintage and iconic music-oriented graphic tees, layered with flannel shirts in different fabrics and slightly muted colors, paired with Dickies pants, and Vans or Converse Chuck Taylors (all fashion staples in Los Angeles culture).
Keisha is the LA born-and-raised “girl next door”. She is a timeless beauty with effortless style – sporty, fly, tomboyish, sexy. Throughout the series, we see Keisha blossom into a young woman, discovering who she is and navigating the challenges of life, relationships, and womanhood. I really wanted to show the development of her style, mixing tomboy-sporty with sexy-feminine characteristics. The maturation of Keisha and Justin’s style was important as well — as they evolve and grow, so does the wardrobe gradually. Keisha’s style personally resonates with me. I, too, was very much a tomboy most of my teenage years – heavily influenced by artists like Aaliyah, TLC, Janet Jackson, and the list goes on. I use those influences I had then and I still see young women being influenced by today when creating looks for Keisha – ie. the crop tops paired with baggy pants, oversized jerseys or jackets with cargos or skirts that you’ll see throughout the series. The fashions of the late 1990s and early 2000s have definitely made a return to current fashion, so it was easy to seamlessly weave in that influence here while still keeping the current nuances of current/modern LA fashion.
How did you conceptualize the characters after reading the script?
The overall goal in a series like this is to make the costumes relatable to the characters and thus, the characters relatable to the audience. LA culture is a common thread throughout the series and throughout the cast because that’s where these people and personalities are born and raised. This is a really beautiful story about love and self discovery, and I’m truly grateful to be part of an amazing crew of creatives, led by the powerhouse that is Mara Brock-Akil, tasked with bringing this story to life.
In Forever, fashion isn’t just fabric — it’s identity, memory, and movement. Tanja Caldwell’s costume design does more than dress the characters; it deepens their truth, grounding them in a vibrant, specific world that feels lived-in and real. Through intentional style choices and a deep understanding of culture, place, and character, Caldwell ensures that every scene not only looks good but feels right. Her work reminds us that costume design is storytelling in motion — and in Forever, that story is Black, bold, and beautifully LA.
Forever premieres May 8th on Netflix.
The post How Netflix’s ‘Forever’ Create Costumes That Reflect Characters’ Identities and Growth appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.
When it comes to storytelling, what a character wears can speak as loudly as what they say. That’s especially true in Forever, Netflix’s fresh reimagining of Judy Blume’s classic novel, where love, identity, and place are stitched into every thread. Costume designer Tanja Caldwell, the visionary behind the show’s iconic looks, recently shared insights with Black Girl Nerds on designing for the heartfelt coming-of-age series — and how Los Angeles, Black culture, and personal evolution were the anchors in her process.
What was the direction for the costume design in Forever? Any discussion with Mara (or the directors) that influenced the character’s costumes?
During my initial talks with Mara [Brock-Akil] and Regina [King], we all agreed that the characters in Forever had to look and feel authentically Black and from Los Angeles, thus the costumes were a really important part in accomplishing that. When creating Keisha and Justin, every piece of their costumes needed to reflect their individual unique sense of young style, personal identity, as well as where they live.
Justin is the understated LA sneaker-head, skater-boy type — style wise. His artistic, musically-inclined mind paired with a wandering imagination heavily influenced the direction of Justin’s stylish looks. He has a mature quiet confidence that makes him alluring and standout amongst his male peers. He’s navigating life, manhood, and true LOVE for the first time. The complexity and duality of Justin’s character is what made creating costumes for Justin so much fun. His love for music is one of the reasons why I gravitated towards vintage and iconic music-oriented graphic tees, layered with flannel shirts in different fabrics and slightly muted colors, paired with Dickies pants, and Vans or Converse Chuck Taylors (all fashion staples in Los Angeles culture).
Keisha is the LA born-and-raised “girl next door”. She is a timeless beauty with effortless style – sporty, fly, tomboyish, sexy. Throughout the series, we see Keisha blossom into a young woman, discovering who she is and navigating the challenges of life, relationships, and womanhood. I really wanted to show the development of her style, mixing tomboy-sporty with sexy-feminine characteristics. The maturation of Keisha and Justin’s style was important as well — as they evolve and grow, so does the wardrobe gradually. Keisha’s style personally resonates with me. I, too, was very much a tomboy most of my teenage years – heavily influenced by artists like Aaliyah, TLC, Janet Jackson, and the list goes on. I use those influences I had then and I still see young women being influenced by today when creating looks for Keisha – ie. the crop tops paired with baggy pants, oversized jerseys or jackets with cargos or skirts that you’ll see throughout the series. The fashions of the late 1990s and early 2000s have definitely made a return to current fashion, so it was easy to seamlessly weave in that influence here while still keeping the current nuances of current/modern LA fashion.
How did you conceptualize the characters after reading the script?
The overall goal in a series like this is to make the costumes relatable to the characters and thus, the characters relatable to the audience. LA culture is a common thread throughout the series and throughout the cast because that’s where these people and personalities are born and raised. This is a really beautiful story about love and self discovery, and I’m truly grateful to be part of an amazing crew of creatives, led by the powerhouse that is Mara Brock-Akil, tasked with bringing this story to life.
In Forever, fashion isn’t just fabric — it’s identity, memory, and movement. Tanja Caldwell’s costume design does more than dress the characters; it deepens their truth, grounding them in a vibrant, specific world that feels lived-in and real. Through intentional style choices and a deep understanding of culture, place, and character, Caldwell ensures that every scene not only looks good but feels right. Her work reminds us that costume design is storytelling in motion — and in Forever, that story is Black, bold, and beautifully LA.
Forever premieres May 8th on Netflix.
The post How Netflix’s ‘Forever’ Create Costumes That Reflect Characters’ Identities and Growth appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.
Did you yourself struggling to stay awake in high school history class, thinking that the Napoleonic Wars would be far more interesting if they involved… I don’t know, dragons? Maybe the all those political rebellions in 18th century England would have tickled your fancy better if they were fought by magical hot people? Perhaps Imperial Chinese history would have captured your imagination if you knew that there were prophecy fulfilling lesbians involved in the making of it? While history class might have sucked the joy from your teenage years, these 10 best historical fantasy books will make certainly make up for it.
Outlander
There’s a reason why Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander is one of the best selling fantasy romance series of all time – because it’s action packed, morally complex, and involves hot Scottish warriors. When World War II nurse Claire Randall took a vacation to Scotland with her husband, she didn’t expect to be transported back in time after touching a magic rock she found in the hills. Suddenly finding herself in the midst of the Jacobite Rebellions against the British Crown, the lost Claire finds solace in the burly arms of highland warrior Jamie Fraser, whose battle beleaguered people are in desperate need of her medical skills. Things get complicated as the still-married Claire begins to fall for Jamie, and messier still when she finds out her future husband’s ancestor is a sociopathic soldier in the British army. But is it really cheating if your husband hasn’t even been born yet? I don’t judge, I wasn’t born yet either.
Avengers: Doomsday is going to be the biggest Marvel film ever, at least in terms of what we’re going to see up on screen. It’s two Avengers teams, the Wakandans, the Fantastic Four, and the freakin’ X-Men taking on Doctor Doom. But before these many heroes fight Doom, as is Marvel Comics tradition, we know they’ll fight each other first. That’s just how it goes. And now, one Doomsday actor has spilled the beans on at least one match-up we’re going to see. Alan Cumming, who is returning as the X-Men’s Nightcrawler, spoke to Buzzfeed UK, via Comic Book, and here’s what he said about returning as Kurt Wagner, and which MCU hero he’s going to tussle with:
I’m playing Nightcrawler again now. I was just learning stunts yesterday for some fight scene. I just think, ‘I’m 60 years old.’ 23 years ago I played that superhero — I was kind of old for a superhero even then, and now I’m back doing it. And that, to me, is hilarious. I’m sort of of learning these fights like, ‘What? Who am I fighting with?’ ‘You’re hitting Pedro Pascal against the head.’ It’s just that I can’t quite believe, especially because X2 was such a long time ago
So, this means we’re getting the Fantastic Four vs. the X-Men in Doomsday. This fight evokes a grand Marvel tradition going back to 1964. That’s the year we got our very first X-Men vs. FF fight in the comics. Calling this movie just “Avengers” Doomsday now seems like it’s selling the premise short. It also means we’re going to have a teleporter fighting a guy who can stretch to any length. And that should be super fun from a visual standpoint.
You can tell that Cumming has been out of the Marvel game for two decades, because he’s talking out of school in these interviews as if it’s 2003. These days, Marvel Studios does not take kindly to actors dropping spoilers in interviews. Just ask the frequently scolded Tom Holland and Mark Ruffalo. Those two often don’t even get full scripts because of their big mouths. But there’s worse company for Nightcrawler to keep than with Hulk and Spidey.
The post Alan Cumming Seemingly Spoils Big AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY Fight appeared first on Nerdist.