How do you approach designing the costumes for a new instalment in one of the most widely adored, familiar film series on the planet? If you’re Michael Kaplan, you trust your gut, proceed with caution, and lean on a great team. We chatted with Kaplan about maintaining continuity, the mechanics of managing a large design team, and another classic film world he helped create. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.  

What was it like to step into a world that’s not only already well-realized, but beloved?

J.J. Abrams and I felt a strong responsibility to continue in the vein of what had come before. We knew things needed updating and re-working for today’s more sophisticated audiences while maintaining the look and feeling of the original movies.

How did you balance maintaining continuity with the original trilogy and introducing new looks? Can you think of a specific example that explains your approach?

There was no specific way to do this other than to trust my intuition. I had a certain feeling about what was right and wrong for Star Wars. Of course, I had frequent meetings and input from J.J. When it came to dressing the legacy characters, who were now a bit older, it was never my intention to reinvent them. They should look like the same people with the same tastes, still dressing themselves 30 years later. I think this is clearly exemplified by Han Solo, still ruggedly sexy with the same silhouette, just a bit grayer.

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Can you give us an overview of the team you worked with on The Force Awakens? How big was it? What were some of the more unique roles necessary for this sort of project?

I was, with The Force Awakens and now with Episode VIII, in the unique position to have everyone and everything set up around me at Pinewood Studios. It’s a bit of a throwback to the Hollywood Studios in the 1930s and ’40s. We build practically everything here. Along with concept artists, tailors and seamstresses, I’m working with milliners, jewellers, and glove makers. There’s an entire textile shop doing fabric printing, dying, and breakdown. A huge shop dedicated to droids, and troopers, and much more. During our peak period we were at about 120 in the department.

When you’re working on a project of this scale, how much time is spent doing hands-on design work versus managing your team? 

Obviously, no one person could produce the amount of costumes — about 1500 — and detail work needed for a film like Star Wars. I have an amazing crew of gifted, hand-picked artisans. After the designs are finalized and fabrics chosen, my days are comprised of making the rounds from one area to another, from one fitting to another, overseeing the work that’s being done, always trying to make improvements. Nothing is ever completed until it’s on film, and sometimes not even then.

How did the early phases of this job unfold? Was your research based mainly on existing materials from the original films, or did you look outside that world? If so, any specific examples that made their way into the film?

It wasn’t ever necessary for me to recreate costumes or match fabrics from the original films. I wanted to continue the Star Wars saga with the same intonation, but all the while making it fresh and interesting and new. There have been many technological advances since Return of the Jedi, which this film follows 30-some years later. The Storm Troopers were originally vacuum-formed and were quite brittle and easily cracked. We knew that there would be a lot of action sequences which would require a more durable material, so the new Troopers are now moulded. The new material is a lot stronger, and the new suits are a lot more comfortable.

Though the prequel trilogy is widely reviled, I thought its costuming lived up to the originals’ high standards. Did you look to the prequels at all during the research phase?

We did not look at the prequel films. That wasn’t part of our directive.

What did a typical day on set look like, to the extent that there was one?

There was such a vast variety of costumes and locations that I can’t say there was a typical day, but I always felt that I was in the world of Star Wars once the cameras started rolling. I must say, the days on the Millennium Falcon were pretty awesome.

How far along are you on Episode VIII? I imagine you’ve got a pretty tight non-disclosure, but is there anything you can share with us about your work on the film? Any fabrics you’re working with that you’re particularly excited about, perhaps?

We began filming Episode VIII today [Ed.: February 15, 2016]. Sorry, but I can’t disclose a thing.

Your first feature film credit as Costume Designer, as far as I’m aware, is Blade Runner, a film that’s had an enormous impact. How did you land that job? What do you think keeps bringing us back to that world for inspiration?

Blade Runner wasn’t my first film as Costume Designer, but it was very early on. I saw Ridley Scott at the BAFTA Awards last night. We reminisced about Blade Runner and he said that he is continually amazed by the film’s enduring impact. I was one of the last designers to meet with Ridley and Charles Knode for the Blade Runner job. Unlike most of the other designers they’d met, I saw the film, more as a gritty, apocalyptic detective yarn, à la Sam Spade, than something purely futuristic. I guess that take on it got me the gig. The film doesn’t seem to get dated. It’s Sir Ridley’s masterpiece.

Your body of work is really diverse. You’ve done sci-fi, you’ve done mid-20th century, you’ve done straight-up contemporary, you’ve done spy thrillers — is there any part of your approach that remains constant no matter what sort of film you’re doing?

No matter what the genre, I would say my approach is the same. I read the script, look for clues, get the director’s thoughts and input. A lot of my early design and thought process is instinctual. I guess that’s the defining part of my prep that isn’t constant.

The 18th Costume Designers Guild Awards take place on February 23rd at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Michael is nominated for his work on Star Wars: The Force Awakens.