I Like to Start With What's Within: An Interview with Polish Costume Designer Małgosia Turzańska

_turzanska_gettyimages-2243833434.jpg, default, Małgosia Turzańska, photo: Emma McIntyre / Getty Images

Academy Award-nominated Polish costume designer Małgosia Turzańska tells us all about her work on the set of 'Hamnet' and how the best costumes have authentic emotions sewn into them.

Wojciech Tutaj: Congratulations on your Oscar and BAFTA nominations! Do you see these successes more as the crowning achievement of your artistic career or rather as validation that hard work, ambition and passion can yield tangible results?

Małgosia Turzańska: Thank you so much. I still don't entirely comprehend what happened; emotions are running so high. It was so lovely that I happened to be in my hometown, Kraków, on the day the nominations were announced. [Famous Kraków arthouse cinema] Kino Pod Baranami (Cinema under the Rams) organised a special screening of Hamnet, to which I was invited. I had the opportunity to spend time with my family, friends and people I hadn't seen in years. We celebrated my nomination together.

Looking down at the audience from the stage, for a moment, I felt as if I had already died: like I was lying in my coffin and looking up at all of the people standing above my grave. How else would you define a situation in which people from each part of your life come together in one place, at the same time? It was an incredible, completely abstract experience.

When it comes to the nomination itself, I am, of course, so happy about it. I always wanted to be an Oscar contender. However, I think Kate Hawley will take home the statuette for her costumes for Frankenstein, because she did a fabulous job and fully deserves it. I can wait for the next film, but I see the nomination itself as a great honour.

WT: How did you end up joining Chloé Zhao's project?

MT: We were supposed to have worked together a few times before, but there was always something that got in the way. When I heard that Hamnet was being made, I got in touch with Mollye Asher, who was the producer of the Oscar-nominated Nomadland and Songs My Brothers Taught Me. She reminded Chloé about me and put us in touch. I sent her a lookbook, my first very emotional reaction to Maggie O'Farrell's book, because I hadn't read the script yet. And we hit it off. I guess Chloé saw some of her impressions in my vision.

WT: What is your favourite way to work with a director? A meeting with a visionary, complete creative freedom or a partnership rooted in communication and dialogue?

MT: I always think the third option is the best. Creating a movie is a process in which everyone takes part – the actors, cinematographers, and the director – together. If, as a costume designer, I come up with designs that turn out to be too detached from the rest of the production, it means something is not working. Costumes have to be a living matter that evolves alongside the ideas of other filmmakers.

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Małgosia Turzańska poses for a photo during a special screening of the film 'Hamnet' in London, United Kingdom, 27 January 2026, photo: Isabel Infantes / Reuters / Forum

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Working on Hamnet became truly unique because we grew together day by day. It was almost as if we were cooking something together that was constantly changing. Everyone on the team showed tremendous commitment, and we were all on the same page – we were constantly looking for fresh solutions or unearthing new information. In line with this, we were reshaping the world in front of the camera. Collaboration based on constant, lively communication is the most valuable thing.

I am, for instance, really jealous of the scouting process, when the director, cinematographer, set designer, and producers drive around in a minivan looking for locations. They get to know each other better and learn how to communicate – all while I am working in the studio, searching for materials and doing fittings. And I'm missing these really interesting moments, when the crew starts to understand what works, but also what might not work. I envy them; they have all this information, which is why I always ask for photos and comments on the spot, so that I know what's going on. It is crucial for me to be a co-creator of the situations and places visible on screen.

WT: When accepting her Golden Globe, Jessie Buckley mentioned Tomasz Sternicki, who made goulash soup on set. She also pointed out that the story of the most famous Englishman in history was created by an international team, including, among others, a Chinese director, Irish actors, and filmmakers from Poland. Was working on the film a communal experience? And if so, was that impression reinforced by the fact that it was the first time you had worked with so many of your compatriots?

MT: I don't know if the fact that there were many Poles in the crew had any influence on this, because we only started to work together during the filming stage. Before that, I was mainly working with the heads of the most important production departments, such as [Polish] cinematographer Łukasz Żal, Australian production designer Fiona Crombie, Scottish make-up artist Nicole Stafford, and, of course, Chloé Zhao, who has Chinese roots. We mustn't forget Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, who are Irish. These people were involved even before I joined the set, and the Polish group expanded later. But it was really nice: between takes, I could hear Polish swear words and conversations.

This village we built came about because Chloé surrounds herself with people who are open to emotions. Their work came more from their heart or their ribcages than their heads. The script itself tells an emotionally harrowing story, and that took its toll.

Many of us, myself included, were dealing with the loss of a loved one during filming. So we experienced what was happening in front of the camera twice over. The experiences the film described brought us very close together – I don't think I've ever had a collaboration based on such closeness before. Apart from Hamnet, I always try to work with friends. I enjoy it because it is easier to communicate with people you know well. In this particular case, we entered a completely different level of communication and empathy. I think viewers can feel the energy that was present when making the film about Agnes, Will and their children.

WT: Did you notice any differences in working on such a big Hollywood production like 'Hamnet' and your previous projects with the independent studio A24? In particular, David Lowery's 'The Green Knight' and Ti West's horror films 'X' and 'Pearl'.

MT: Work on The Green Knight was similar to that on Hamnet because we were filming in Ireland, with a group of people close to me. I knew all of the most important members of the crew; my two assistants were friends of mine, so I would call the production a family affair. This film allowed me to really express myself creatively; I really love the costumes for The Green Knight and am very proud of them. It's a shame that so few people have seen this film, but it allowed me to have an unforgettable adventure.

One thing distinguishes The Green Knight and Hamnet, which were mainly made in England, from my films made in the USA. In Ireland and the UK, you work 10 hours a day, with a normal lunch break. This is completely unique. Although I did a lot of things myself or with my team on weekends while filming The Green Knight, I didn't feel exhausted after finishing shooting. Pearl and X were shot almost simultaneously – I was already preparing the costumes for the first film while working on the second. During the day, I worked on Pearl, and at night I went to the X set. Both films were made in New Zealand, but according to American rules. During that period, I found myself in two situations I would not wish on anyone.

'Hamnet', dir. Chloé Zhao – Image Gallery

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WT: What happened?

MT: The first situation took place at around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning in the tent with all of the screens, where you can observe what's going on on set. Somehow I ended up there alone and, all of a sudden, everything began to shake. My first thought was I should leave the tent and find someone to call an ambulance, cause I clearly couldn't physically take it anymore and needed help. However, it turned out to be an earthquake! It never occurred to me that it could be anything other than the effect of extreme fatigue.

WT: A truly cinematic scene. What about the second instance?

MT: The second story is about a nighttime return home from the studio. I was on the phone with my parents in Poland, and I heard a police siren. I told them to wait a second because a police car was driving by. Meanwhile, the cops didn't want to pass me; they wanted to stop me. It turned out I had been driving really fast because I was convinced I was already on the highway. A very nice police woman approached me… and then I saw myself through her eyes! I had on two aprons covered with fake blood, red stains on my hands, and that was also when I realised I hadn't taken my wallet or driver's license with me. Luckily, I had my credit card in one of my pockets and showed it to her.

The level of exhaustion I felt while working on these smaller projects was not good for my health, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I'm ambitious and want my costumes to look their best in every film, so I do a lot of things myself after hours. With smaller productions, however, everything rests on my shoulders. It's exhausting and unbearable in the long run. We still have a lot of work to do in the film industry when it comes to achieving the right work-life balance.

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A still from 'Hamnet', dir. Chloé Zhao, cinematography by Łukasz Żal, 2025, photo: United International Pictures Sp z o.o.

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WT: In previous interviews, you have emphasised that the key colour you focused on when designing the 'Hamnet' costumes was red. Why that colour and what is its symbolic meaning when it comes to the main character, Agnes?

MT: Red had been with me since the very beginning, more in warmer tones, dipping into oranges and gingers. The first vision I had of Agnes was of her as a large heart pumping multi-coloured blood. First, we see her in the scene where she awakens at the foot of a tree – she resembles its fruit or something that grew from it. Gradually, the red becomes more reddish-orange, as if it were flowing more slowly, and then turns into a dried scab after the loss of Hamnet. And it begins to flow again, marking a specific arc for the costume design.

Importantly, in the first scenes, we see Agnes through Will's eyes. He stands in a room upstairs, teaching, as if in a cage behind the window bars, when suddenly he sees a strange, bright red creature. This sight makes him unable to forget her. The colour, enhanced by the right light, remains under his eyelids. I wanted to follow the script's idea that Agnes was very lively and vibrant until a family tragedy hit, and her vital energy drained away.

WT: Where does one look for materials and inspirations for costumes for a story that takes place in the 16th century? I suppose you weren't overly concerned with historical accuracy, since Hamnet is a fantasy about the fate of Shakespeare and his loved ones.

MT: There are practically no portraits of Shakespeare painted while he was still alive. There is one which – supposedly – was created in that period. It was actually quite freeing for us not to have established visual representations of the characters and not really knowing much about their lives.

From our very first conversations with Chloé, it became clear that we weren't creating a classic biography; we weren't trying to be faithful to history, but rather to search for the truth about the two main characters. So we weren't making a film about William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, but about Will and Agnes. We started with their inner lives, and from their feelings we moved outwards. I really like working this way because starting from what is inside makes it easier to find historical costumes and clothing items that resonate emotionally and fit the characters' psychological framework. Otherwise, we look for period costumes and try to artificially force someone into them.

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Queen Camilla and Małgosia Turzańska view an exhibition of costumes created for the film 'Hamnet' during a special screening organised by the Queen's Reading Room at The May Fair Hotel in London on 27 January 2026, photo: Chris Jackson / PA Images / Forum

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WT: Did you find anything particularly interesting during your research?

MT: I love the research phase because you never know what you will discover. This time, I also learned many things I hadn't known about before, such as the small inkwell and pen that Will carries on his belt instead of a dagger. Or the fact that, in accordance with 16th-century realities, Agnes could wear linen clothes. This perfectly matched my idea that the heroine should be dressed in plants, because she comes from the forest, from her family roots.

The first corset Agnes wears is a combination of linen and a fabric called barkcloth. It has a tree-bark texture; it's an African material that has nothing to do with Shakespeare's world. However, it was important to me that Agnes be covered in a wood-like texture when we first see her, because she has an organic connection to the forest. Fiona Crombie and I talked a lot about how it's about the authenticity and logic of our story, not historical accuracy.

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A still from 'Hamnet', dir. Chloé Zhao, cinematography by Łukasz Żal, 2025, photo: United International Pictures Sp z o.o.

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WT: Do the personalities and charisma of the actors also influence your work? I'm specifically asking about the staging of Hamlet, which we see in the film and was directed by Paul Mescal. Apparently, he had his own vision for the performance and costumes.

MT: Of course, I first showed my designs to Chloé, but it was Paul who signed off on them. We discussed what they might look like together. These costumes are also not historically accurate, apart from their exaggerated shapes reminiscent of the Elizabethan era. However, they were made of linen and then painted with latex, so they don't fit the era's standards. My primary concern was that the costumes for Hamlet should have a meta element, serving as a link between Shakespeare's era and us, the contemporary audience.

I also want to point out that we are watching Will create the play. Hamlet is just coming into being as a performance, and there is nothing cliché about it. I wanted to convey the impressions of this process, so we see brush strokes, a certain austerity and freshness in the costume design. Besides, the image of Hamlet himself is a very simplified drawing or sketch of Will's son, as if the artist was trying to remember his deceased child. That is why the character's hair is so crudely painted. This idea was proposed by Nicole Stafford, and I think it is brilliant.

Returning for a moment to my collaboration with Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley, it was all about constant communication, because they live their characters. If I hadn't listened to what the actors had to say, I would have been foolish, because our conversations often gave rise to ideas that we would not have come up with separately.

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