Costume Designer, Ruth E. Carter, on Building Worlds & Self-Nurturing

Costume Designer, Ruth E. Carter, on Building Worlds & Self-Nurturing

From Naked Beauty by Brooke DeVard

June 1, 2026 · 1h 1m

About this episode

Ruth E. Carter discusses her journey as a costume designer and the influences that shaped her career.

This episode is sponsored by smartwater® Ruth E. Carter is a trailblazing costume designer known for her work on Malcolm X, the Black Panther films, Sinners, and so many more iconic works. She has been awarded Academy Awards, a BAFTA, a Critics Choice Award, the Costume Designers Guild Award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But before that, she was exploring Black literature and history in Black Studies-focused enrichment programs in her home state of Massachusetts. When she was a young adult, she was deconstructing clothing and taking notes from grunge scenes, citing Lisa Bonet and Madonna as early beauty and style inspiration. In our conversation, Ruth walks us through her life and career, explaining how the girl who dressed like a grunge artist would introduce Afrofuturism to the world.  During our chat, Ruth tells us about how she has always drawn on her interest in literary, dramatic, and visual arts to design on film sets. She shared the initial culture shock she experienced at her HBCU, Hampton, and how the theater department helped her blend her artistic sensibilities with the coiffed presentation of her classmates. Ruth detailed how she drew on these…

People in this episode

Host: Brooke DeVard

Guest: Ruth E. Carter

Topics covered

  • costume design
  • Afrofuturism
  • Black literature
  • artistic collaboration
  • personal growth

Keywords

  • costume design
  • Ruth E. Carter
  • Afrofuturism
  • Black Panther
  • Spike Lee
  • artistic collaboration
  • personal growth

Sponsors

smartwater®

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hampton

Books & works: Malcolm X, Black Panther, Sinners, School Daze

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