Hello and welcome.
As a child, I loved playing ‘dress ups”.
For special occasions, I’d accompany Mum to her Friend and Dressmaker’s home for fittings. Ruth, my stylish, sling back stilettoed, working, immigrant Mum from London, had always been a “better knitter, than sewer”; nurturing my love of textiles and hand knits at an early age. Her besties daughter Karen always shared her dolls and graciously, without judgement, let me constantly change and accessorise their fashionable outfits before “Stylists” were a thing.
My enthusiasm for the Arts was encouraged by the wonderful movies, and stage shows that we were fortunate to see and experience together as a family. Dad and I would spend hours drawing, painting and building projects. Uncle Brian helped me to purchase my first SLR Camera at 14 and shared his love of photography.
Drive -In’s were awesome. Colour television was revolutionary.
In my teens, I became an Adelaide International Festival of Arts groupie and was grateful for student discount tickets. I knew that I had to be a part of the magic.
I am excited, intrigued and sometimes mesmerised by the influence of Costume; and what an audience will feel and believe, the first time they see an actor walk across a stage or into focus within a camera frame.
As a Costume Designer, the possibilities are endless, and I am always guided by the creative and talented people that I get to dream and play with. It is a privilege to read, listen, and “feel”, a new project, to conceptualise costumes that will enhance each Character’s story.
Editing the images for my portfolio, has allowed much reflection upon the wonderful opportunities, challenges and adventures that I have been blessed to experience. Thank you to everyone that I have had the pleasure of collaborating with, for your inspiration, support, belief, guidance, and “bloody hard work”. Sharing the journey is an honour and a “dream come true”.
Some stories have gone beyond entertaining people and influenced their lives in extraordinary, meaningful and impactful ways. I am truly appreciative to be a part of the Entertainment Industry.
I hope you enjoy my site. Please feel free to reach out with any enquiries or to just say hello. I enjoy encouraging new and upcoming talent.
You can download a copy of my Résumé HERE and view my IMDB Credits HERE.
With Love & Light,
Paul.
BIOGRAPHY
From beginnings as an innovative fashion design student, Paul Warren established a career as a Costume Designer. His diverse portfolio of work encapsulates a broad array of industry experience in theatre, film and television. As a visual storyteller, he thrives on collaborations that enhance and embody a character’s truth and journey, and ability to engage their audience.
Paul worked and trained in construction and tailoring with prestigious wardrobe departments in Australia and London, amongst them The State Opera of South Australia, The Sydney Theatre Company and The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. This has ensured that his approach is craft based, holistic and hands on.
His costume design for television is extensive, spanning a wide variety of genre, from the award-winning children’s series OutThere! (SesameWorkshop/Blink Films) to the groundbreaking, improvised documentary drama series Going Home (McElroy Television/SBS).
Paul designed over 1,400 episodes of the iconic and internationally acclaimed Australian drama series, Neighbours (FremantleMedia), which has screened in over 60 countries. One of the fastest made productions in the world, he revitalised the look of the show by restructuring the Costume Department and built a dynamic team culture, allowing for longer design lead up and more defined character wardrobes.
Television movie When Good Ghoul’s Go Bad (Twentieth Century Fox) features his artistry and imagination and has become a Halloween classic. Set in the fictitious town of Walkers Falls, Paul researched the history of Minnesota and brought the past back to life with his eccentric period and vintage zombie designs.
Never afraid to roll his sleeves up and get dirty, he has designed two gritty firefighting action-based drama series. Fire (Liberty & Beyond/7 Network) revolves around the life-threatening adventures of a platoon of city firefighters; and, Fireflies (Southern Star/ABC), focuses on the lives of a group of volunteer country firefighters and their families during the hottest, driest summer in decades.
Amongst his feature film credits, Paul received recognition from his peers with AFI (Australian Film Institute) nominations for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design for his work on The Wog Boy and Hating Alison Ashley.
For over three decades, Paul has collaborated with accomplished Producers, Directors, Designers and Actors, to passionately bring stories to life on stage and screen. This enthusiasm has also seen him sharing his art by supervising and mentoring Design and Costume students at NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art), and Bond University.
