Meet Yasamin Sarabipour | Costume designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yasamin Sarabipour and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yasamin, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I am driven to constantly learn and evolve as a costume designer. I am very interested in setting styles that visually present the creative process of designing and research. My ambition is to design and produce creative challenges in costume design for screen and stage. I aspire to be an artist who thinks independently and creatively, aware of the current and future social and cultural developments. I believe that my background has also played an important role in my success. I have faced many challenges throughout my life and career, pursuing an education in art as an immigrant. I persisted through it because my life experiences and educational background as an immigrant woman has greatly enhanced my creativity in design and my understanding of barriers affecting underrepresented costume designers.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am Yasamin Sarabipour. I earned a Bachelor of Arts in fashion design and haute couture from the Paris American Academy. I recently graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in costume design from the UCLA school of Theatre, Film and Television. I have worked as a fashion design assistant and knitwear director for Jungera, as well as a fashion show and showroom assistant for both Rick Owens and Jenny Packham in Paris. Additionally I have worked at numerous shows during Paris Fashion Week. In theater and the performing arts, I have worked at the Independent Shakespeare Company and South Coast Repertory in California. At UCLA, I designed the world premiere of Quake opera at UCLA Herb Alpert school of music. Recently, I designed the world premiere of the ACB Jazz at the American Contemporary Ballet and am currently the co-costume designer in residence for the American Contemporary Ballet.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to visit the extensive museum scene in Los Angeles, such as the Getty Villa and the Getty center, Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art and the Autry museum of the American West, Petersen Automotive Museum and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Another beauty of Los Angeles for Art and Cinema fans is that there are movies of all genres and specially classics films of Hollywood and world cinema shown in LA year-round. I would also take friends to the great hikes in Los Angeles, Malibu, Hollywood hills and the Griffith Observatory to enjoy the views of greater Los Angeles.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give a big shoutout to my parents and siblings for their enduring love and support through the years. I would like to also acknowledge my mentors and friends at UCLA and in California for their feedback and support of my work. I also want to give a shout out to the American Contemporary Ballet for their interest in my ideas and work in costume design. I have very much enjoyed my studies in Fine Arts and creative endeavors in costume design over the years and these would not have been possible without the mentorship and support of my family and the artistic community in LA. I also want to encourage funders and sponsors of arts and artistic projects to offer more support for costume designers. There are miniscule opportunities and funds to study and work in this discipline, especially for immigrants and I would very much like to see this change for my generation.

Website: https://www.yasisarabipour.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasisarabipourdesigns/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yasamin-sarabipour/

Image Credits
Quake Opera photos by Taso Papadakis Two Heech dress photos by Vinciane Verguethen