Sammy Sheldon Differ

Born and raised in Manchester, England,{{Cite news |date=2013-01-12 |title=Home-grown Sammy is tipped to take home BAFTA |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/home-grown-sammy-is-tipped-to-take-home-1106156 |access-date=2025-03-19 |work=Manchester Evening News}} Differ developed an interest in costume design after seeing Star Wars at the age of 10.{{Cite web |last=Minow |first=Nell |title=Ant-Man Costume Designer Sammy Sheldon Differ |url=https://www.motionpictures.org/2015/12/ant-man-costume-designer-sammy-sheldon-differ/ |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=Motion Picture Association|date=22 December 2015 }} She studied at Rochdale College, and gained work experience at the Royal Exchange Theatre, before studying costume design at the Wimbledon School of Art.{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Kevin |date=2015-07-24 |title=Sammy Sheldon Differ – Ant-Man |url=https://www.icgmagazine.com/web/sammy-sheldon-differ-ant-man/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=ICG Magazine |language=en-US}}

Differ designed costumes for music videos early in her career.{{Cite web |last=Bundel |first=Ani |date=2021-10-18 |title=Costume Designer Sammy Sheldon Differ Is A Superhero Stylist (Literally) |url=https://www.elitedaily.com/news/sammy-sheldon-differ-marvel-superhero-costumes-eternals |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=Elite Daily |language=en}} It was during this time she met costume designer Janty Yates, who hired her as an assistant on Plunkett and Macleane, and then Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000). Differ subsequently undertook her first role as lead costume designer on Scott's Black Hawk Down (2001) in a role in which she researched Somali clothing and sourced a combination of vintage garments and traditional fabrics to create outfits for nearly 3,000 actors.{{Cite web |title=Black Hawk Down : Production Notes |url=https://www.cinema.com/articles/732/black-hawk-down-production-notes.phtml |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=www.cinema.com}}

Differ's design process often involves painting, drawing and extensive research.{{Cite web |title=Meet the costume designer who made Magneto's helmet |url=https://lwlies.com/articles/sammy-sheldon-differ-the-imitation-game/ |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=Little White Lies |language=en}} Her work on Stardust (2007) established her reputation within the fantasy genre and started a trio of collaborations with director Matthew Vaughn. She also worked on comic book adaptations V for Vendetta (2007), Kick-Ass (2010) and its sequel (2013), and video game adaptation Assassin's Creed (2016). Her designs for Kick-Ass showcased her ability to interpret comic book aesthetics into live-action cinema. For the design of the Red Mist costume, Differ worked extensively with the comic's creator Mark Millar.{{Cite book |last1=Millar |first1=Mark |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/316030576 |title=Kick-ass: creating the comic, making the movie |last2=Romita |first2=John |last3=Goldman |first3=Jane |last4=Vaughn |first4=Matthew |date=2010 |publisher=Titan Books |isbn=978-1-84856-409-1 |edition=1st |location=London |pages=134}} Assassin's Creed presented the challenge of adapting video game costumes for film, requiring her to consider the aesthetics of the original character and the practicality of the costumes for the actors.{{Cite web |title=ASSASSIN'S CREED in Cinemas New Year's Day – The Spanish Inquisition – On Location with Sammy Sheldon-Differ |url=https://www.thefancarpet.com/movie_news/assassins-creed-cinemas-new-years-day-spanish-inquisition-location-sammy-sheldon-differ/ |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=The Fan Carpet |language=en-GB}}

Differ has worked on several Marvel Cinematic Universe films: Ant-Man (2015), Eternals (2021) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). For Ant-Man, she opted for leather instead of spandex to create a more tactile and nostalgic feel for the superhero suit, referencing 1960s biker suits. For X-Men: First Class (2011), another Marvel project, Differ incorporated Kevlar, a material invented around the time the film is set, into the costumes.{{Cite web |date=2015-11-24 |title=Fixing the Hobo Suit |url=https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/fixing-the-hobo-suit/transcript/ |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=99% Invisible |language=en-US}}

In 2014, Differ was nominated for a Costume Designers Guild Award for the costumes for Ex Machina, a critically acclaimed science fiction thriller. Differ explained how the costumes for Alicia Vikander's character were "incredibly intricate, going far beyond what you’d expect to have to deal with on, say, a Lycra bodysuit. I used a stretchy polyurethane with metal powder poured onto it to create the mesh, which covered her entire body".

Beyond fantasy and action, Differ designed the period costumes for The Imitation Game (2014), using original World War II-era clothing{{Cite web |last=Snead |first=Elizabeth |date=2014-11-28 |title=Oscars: 'Into the Woods,' 'Noah' Costume Designers Reveal Secrets Behind Their Creations |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscars-woods-noah-costume-designers-751455/ |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=Sheila |date=2014-11-26 |title=The Imitation Game Secrets Revealed by Producers and More |url=https://collider.com/the-imitation-game-trivia-music-accuracy/ |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=Collider |language=en}} and incorporating subtle colours, textures and prints. For the Agatha Christie adaptation A Haunting in Venice (2023), she designed post-World War II period costumes. One critic described her as a "gifted collaborator" of director Kenneth Branagh.{{Cite web |last=Chang |first=Justin |date=2023-09-14 |title=Review: With 'A Haunting in Venice,' Kenneth Branagh's Agatha Christie series hits its stride |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-09-14/a-haunting-in-venice-review-kenneth-branagh-tina-fey-agatha-christie |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}

In 2012, Differ became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.{{Cite web |title=2012 new AMPAS members |url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/392912-2012-new-members-of-ampas/ |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=www.documentcloud.org |language=en}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{official website|http://sammysheldondiffer.com/}}
• {{IMDb name|0397732}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Improve categories|date=March 2025}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon Differ, Sammy}}

Category:British costume designers

Category:Living people

Category:English costume designers

Category:British women costume designers