Kathleen Detoro

Last updated
Kathleen Detoro
Born1958 (1958)
Occupation
  • Costume designer
Known for Breaking Bad
The Guest
Website Kathleen Detoro Website

Kathleen Detoro (born 1958) is an American costume designer. She has worked mainly in television, most famously on AMC's Breaking Bad. She was also the costume designer for films like The Guest and Hard Rain.

Contents

She has been nominated twice for Costume Designers Guild Awards.

Education

Detoro graduated from the Pratt Institute and studied costume design at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute. [1]

Career

Detoro is best know for her work on the first four seasons of Breaking Bad, which included the pilot. [1] [2] She helped select clothing, color palettes, and elements like Walter White's alter-ego Heisenberg's black hat. [3] [4] The hat came about after actor Bryan Cranston asked for a way to avoid the sun on set and show creator Vince Gilligan saw a pork-pie hat that he liked. Detoro then had a custom black pork-pie hat made for the show. In 2017, The Hollywood Reporter called Detoro's Walter White costume one of "The Best TV Costumes From the Past Decade". [3] Detoro was also responsible for other elements of Walter White's costume like his Clarks Wallabee shoes, of which she would buy over 60 pairs per season for the production. This inspired the company Clarks to later create a special shoe release in honor of the character. [5]

Detoro has said costume designers "tell the stories through color, shape, and silhouette," [3]

To describe her costuming on the TV show Blood & Oil Detoro said, "Where there’s oil, there’s money, and where there’s money there is fashion.” [1] [6] Detoro has said in multiple interviews that she was excited costuming the show, especially because she was able to work with model and actress Amber Valletta. [1] [6] She noted that sometimes Valletta's past as a fashion model allowed the show to get designer pieces they "wouldn’t otherwise be able to get”. [1]

She also worked on the feature film Hard Rain in 1998. [7] [8] In television, she worked in the costume department of the show Ally McBeal in the early 2000s and was nominated for a Costume Designers Guild Award for her work . [9]

Accolades

Filmography

Film

Television

Television films

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Nordstrom, Leigh (2015-09-25). "'Blood and Oil' Costumes: Amber Valletta on High Fashion in North Dakota". WWD. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  2. Dodds, Eric (2013-09-24). "Hidden 'Breaking Bad': The Stuff You May Have Missed". Time. ISSN   0040-781X . Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  3. 1 2 3 Friedlander, Whitney (2017-09-14). "The Best TV Costumes From the Past Decade". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  4. Star-Ledger, Alan Sepinwall/The (2009-03-06). "Breaking Bad: Bryan Cranston/Vince Gilligan Q&A". nj. Retrieved 2025-09-12.
  5. Dunne, Brendan (2017-03-23). "Breaking Bad Shoes Coming from Bait". Collider. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  6. 1 2 Hoo, Fawnia Soo (2015-09-24). "Costume Secrets from the Upcoming Seasons of 'Nashville,' 'Scandal' and More". Fashionista. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  7. Weaver, Emily (2024-04-03). "Minnie Driver Says She Was "Punished" for Resisting Wet T-Shirt Scene in '90s Film". Best Life. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  8. Thomas, Carly (2024-04-04). "Minnie Driver Claims 'Hard Rain' Producers Denied Her a Wetsuit Because "They Wanted to See My Nipples"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  9. 1 2 McNary, Dave (2001-02-05). "18 to vie for awards in costume design". Variety. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  10. McNary, Dave (2003-01-21). "Nine wrap up costume nominations". Variety. Retrieved 2025-09-11.

Kathleen Detoro at IMDb