Interview with UPLOAD Costume Designer Farnaz Khaki-Sadigh

I spoke with Farnaz Khaki-Sadigh, the talented costume designer behind the hit Prime Video show "Upload." We talk to Farnaz about her experience creating the costumes that bring the characters to life in this futuristic series. She talks about her creative process and her challenges in designing for a world where technology and fashion intersect.

Candace: How did you get into costume designing?

Farnaz: I have wanted to be a fashion designer since I was 11 years-old.

This was my passion career. I went to school and studied fashion first, and then I went to university to do my business degree, and I found out that they had a theater program. So, I switched majors quickly to the theater program, and they offered costume design for theater.

I switched to studying costume design for theater, and then I started working in costumes for theater, and then I got an opportunity to do a film. I fell in love with the adrenaline excitement rush you get from how fast-paced it is, and I have been doing that since I wouldn't want to be doing anything else, to be honest with you.

Candace: Upload takes place in the not-so-distant future; how did you approach making 2030s styles?

Farnaz: There's a lot of research, a lot of studying and figuring out how the world would change in 15 years and how those changes would influence what people wear from environment to economic status, the socio-economic status and political changes. And the influences that they would have, especially technology changes with the advancement in technology, and how that would affect material sourcing and fashion as well.

And just trying to create this style and trend that would be futuristic but, at the same time, relatable to people. Also, looking at how fashion changes over the years and how styles come back in season, we took a lot of influence from the 60s. We don't know if it'll happen, but that's what my prediction was.

Candace: How do you create virtual looks vs “real world” looks?

Farnaz: The biggest difference is that with the virtual world, there is no limit in terms of what people can wear and what people choose to wear. And it's really about how a person wants to represent themselves.

However way they want to represent themselves, they are able to do that in virtual reality. Whereas there are limitations in the real world in terms of what you can afford, what your environment allows you to wear, and what's functional for your job or for your daily activities.

In the virtual world, you can snap your fingers and change outfits. Anytime you want, anything goes and you can be dressed in 1920s fashion if you choose to be.

So it's really, it opens up a whole world of doing whatever you want in virtual reality. And that's the biggest difference between the two.

Nathan and Ingrid | Copyright Amazon Studios

Candace: Ingrid (played by Allegra Edwards) was already a fashionista, but then she entered the virtual world. How do you approach someone who's already so fashionable?

Farnaz: We take it to the extreme in the virtual world, because again even with her, she's limited by what's available today in terms of fashion, whereas in virtual reality, she's like, I can wear next season's stuff that's was just showcasing on the runway.

Or I can pick stuff that would be a little bit further ahead or she can even push it and go very couture with it. Just really push the boundaries in virtual reality, and we try and do that and just elevate her style a little bit more.

Candace: Do you have a favorite AI guy (played by Owen Daniels) outfit?

Farnaz: I love all of them. He is so much fun to design. And every time, we try and push the boundaries with him as much as we can and go as stereotypical as we can go with his character. I think one of my favorites was his teen look from season two

That was a lot of fun to do. Going with that British punk. Punk rock fashion I think his Butler is one of my favorites too as well because he always looks so cute in that, but it's always, anything we put in on him, it's a lot of fun.

Owen Daniels (AI Guy) | Copyright Amazon Studios

Candace: Do you have a favorite character to costume?

Farnaz: I think Ingrid and Aleesha (played by Zainab Johnson) are really fun to dress because just they're so fashion forward and we just get to have a lot of fun with it.

Aleesha, especially in the season, she's going to have a new arc. We get to play around with her wardrobe. It's really nice to dress those guys. The writers and Greg do such an amazing job of writing stuff in the script for us to play around with for each character.

So it's always really interesting to go, okay, what crazy thing are we going to come up with for this character, for this story? They're all really good to address.

Lucy, Aleesha and Karina in season 3. | Copyright Amazon Studios

Candace: What kind of looks can we expect from this new season?

Farnaz: I can't give too much away. There's a lot of new character arcs for our leads. Nathan (played by Robbie Amell) has a new arc, Nora (played by Andy Allo) has new one, Aleesha has one and Ingrid has one as well. Their story changes a lot and so their wardrobe changes as well with their story. There are a lot of new characters that are going to be introduced, which also adds to it, but can't give too much away.

Upload Season Three will premiere two episodes on Friday, October 20, with two episodes premiering each Friday until the season finale on November 10.

Upload is a sci-fi comedy series from Emmy-winning writer Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks and Recreation, King of the Hill), set in a technologically advanced future where holographic phones, self-driving vehicles, AI assistance, and 3D food printers are the norm. And, forget about dying – instead, you’ll be “uploaded” to a virtual reality afterlife, and enjoy all the comforts of a world-class resort. Provided you can afford it.

In Upload Season Three, we pick back up with Nora and freshly downloaded Nathan as they navigate their relationship, while racing to stop the mysterious conspiracy that threatens to destroy millions of lives. Can they shut down Freeyond, and finally have a real life together? Or is it just a matter of time until Nathan’s head explodes? Meanwhile, in Lakeview, a backup copy of Nathan has been activated and Ingrid’s not about to let this second chance at love slip away. Back in the real world, Aleesha rises through the ranks of Horizen by managing AI education, and falls into a new romantic relationship. And Luke, all alone in Lakeview, is forced to come up with the funds to pay for his stay in paradise, driving him to work in The Grey Zone.

The series was created and showrun by Greg Daniels, who also serves as executive producer along with Howard Klein and Jeff Blitz.

Series stars: Robbie Amell as Nathan, Andy Allo as Nora, Kevin Bigley as Luke, Allegra Edwards as Ingrid, Zainab Johnson as Aleesha, and Owen Daniels as A.I. Guy.