Film crew hire/New York/Costume
Hire a costume designer or stylist in New York. Everyone dressed for the part, and the same from the first take to the last.
Costume designers and wardrobe stylists for commercials, brand films, fashion and drama across New York. They source the wardrobe from the city’s stores, showrooms and costume rental houses, fit the cast, and keep every outfit in continuity until wrap. From $700 a day, paid to the stylist in full.
- 54 five-star Google reviews
- 2 hrs for our team to read your brief, in working hours
- 10 hrs a New York crew day, plus a meal break
- 500+ productions, filmed in sixteen countries
Photos: Anna Rafal, Here Now Films, Aubrey Odom, bovin wook and Siora Photography
The role
What costume and wardrobe do on your shoot
A wardrobe stylist chooses and fits what people wear on camera: pulling, buying or renting the clothes, fitting the cast before the shoot and dressing them on the day. A costume designer does the same for period or character work, designing and sourcing costume to the script. On set, wardrobe keeps every collar straight and every outfit in continuity.
On a corporate interview, wardrobe is usually a note on the call sheet: what to wear and what to leave at home. On a commercial it’s a department, with a designer, an assistant and a rail of options for every look.
New York stylists work the city: pulls from brand showrooms in Midtown and SoHo, fabric and trims from the Garment District, and uniforms and period pieces from costume rental houses, most of which see you by appointment. A good one knows how long a fitting takes in a client’s office, and plans the shopping route the way a producer plans a shoot day.
- Dressed to the brief. A mood board agreed, the clothes sourced, and nothing on camera that fights the set or the brand.
- Fitted before the day. Fittings with the cast, alterations made, logos and labels dealt with.
- Continuity kept. A photo of every look, so the second day matches the first.
- Returned on time. Rentals and purchases tracked, returned and accounted for, receipt by receipt.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- A 10-hour day, plus a meal break
- Sourcing, buying or renting the wardrobe to the brief
- Fitting and dressing the cast
- Steaming and running repairs on set
- A continuity photo of every look
- Returns and the wardrobe budget, accounted for
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee, on the whole quote
- Payroll and insurance for the job, at cost
- The wardrobe budget: purchases and rentals, at cost
- Prep days for shopping and fittings, and a day for returns
- A wardrobe assistant, for a bigger cast
- Travel outside the five boroughs, and any cars or vans, at cost
How our rates work, and the two ways to book: crew rates in New York.
Two ways to book
Crew hire or full production: who’s the producer of record?
One question sets the price: who’s the producer of record? Book wardrobe for your own New York shoot, or have us take the whole production on.
Crew hire
You run the shoot.
10% booking fee, on everything we book for you: crew, kit and travel. Payroll and insurance at cost, on their own line.
We do
- Find, book and brief the New York crew
- Every crew member employed for the job: payroll, workers’ compensation and COIs
- Book kit, vans and travel too, if you want them
- Send the full price, in dollars, before anything is booked
- One person to call all day
You do
- Run the shoot, or your producer does
- The plan, the schedule and the call sheet
- The location, its COI and any Mayor’s Office permit
- Responsibility for the production: you’re the producer of record
Payroll and insurance are their own line on the quote, at cost: payroll for each crew member, the insurance they need for the job, New York workers’ compensation included, and the certificates of insurance your location asks for.
Full production
We’re the producer of record.
From $20,000 for a New York production; most land between that and $75,000. One quote, in dollars, every line shown.
We do
- Our producer plans it with you and runs the job
- Locations, permits, kit, studio and travel, booked in the production’s name
- The production’s insurance, the COIs and the Mayor’s Office permit
- One quote and one contract with us, wherever you’re based
You do
- The creative calls
- Signing off the plan and the budget
The production’s insurance, the crew’s payroll and any permits are lines in the quote, so you see each one before you sign.
Not sure which you need? If your own producer or director will run the day, it’s crew hire. If you want us to take the production on, it’s a full production quote.
On the day
A day with a wardrobe stylist, call to wrap
A brand film with four cast in a Brooklyn brownstone, two looks each, after fittings the week before. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- Prep The week before Contemporary looks pulled and bought in Manhattan, a jacket rented from a costume house, and a fitting for each cast member, with photos sent to the director for sign-off.
- 07:00 Wardrobe in Rails, a steamer and the labelled outfits set up in a bedroom upstairs, away from set and near hair and make-up.
- 07:30 Cast dressed Each cast member in the first look after hair and make-up, checked against the mood board.
- 08:30 Camera check Looks checked on the monitor with the DP: a fine stripe that strobes on camera swapped for a plain shirt.
- 09:00 On set Collars, cuffs and lint between takes, and a continuity photo of every look.
- 13:00 Lunch and the change Second looks steamed and ready, and the cast changed in the order of the schedule, so the camera never waits.
- 17:30 Wrap Everything back on the rails, tagged and logged, rentals booked for return and the receipts in the envelope.
Which wardrobe role
Which wardrobe role do you need?
From a note on the call sheet to a full costume department.
Wardrobe stylist Contemporary looks, to a brief From $700 a day
Chooses and fits contemporary clothes for cast and contributors, from stores, showrooms and rentals.
Best for commercials, brand films, fashion and lifestyle shoots.
Costume designer Period, character and union work Scale $1,355
Designs and sources costume for period, character or fantasy work, rented or made to order. On a union job the costume designer is USA 829, at scale before fringes.
Best for drama, reconstructions and commercials with a story.
Wardrobe assistant Dressing and continuity on the day Quoted on the brief
Dresses the cast, steams and repairs, and keeps continuity, working to the stylist or designer.
Best on shoots with a bigger cast or several changes.
Wardrobe advice only Interviews and corporate Free with any booking
A note for contributors: plain colours, no fine stripes or small checks, no logos, and a spare top.
Best for interviews in a Midtown office, where people wear their own clothes.
What it’s for
What people book costume and wardrobe for in New York
Commercials and brand films
A cast dressed to the brand, with no logos that shouldn’t be there, for agencies in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Fashion and lifestyle
Looks styled to a mood board in a daylight loft in Chelsea or a studio in Long Island City, often alongside hair and make-up.
Overseas productions
A visiting team that brings its talent but not its wardrobe, and needs a stylist who knows where to shop at short notice.
Uniforms
Medical, trades, hospitality and police, sourced to read right on camera. Actors in police uniform mean a permit from the Mayor’s Office.
Drama and reconstructions
Period costume from New York rental houses, fitted before the day and returned after it.
Recent work
How we crew wardrobe in New York
How we crew it · New York
Shopping days are shoot days too
Most styling jobs run to the same pattern: a prep day or two to pull, buy and rent, a fitting, the shoot, then half a day for returns. We quote all of it up front, with the wardrobe budget at cost, so the stylist isn’t choosing between the right jacket and the budget line on the morning of the shoot.
How we crew it · New York
Police uniforms on a New York street
A uniform that reads as police is a permit question as well as a costume one. The Mayor’s Office requires a film permit for actors in police uniform, even when the rest of the crew is hand-held, so wardrobe and the permit get planned together: the stylist sources a uniform that reads right on camera, and the permit goes in before the shoot day.
Before you book
Things to know
The day
- 10 hours, plus a meal break.
- Any overtime is agreed with you before it happens.
- Prep, fittings and returns days are quoted separately.
The wardrobe budget
- Purchases and rentals at cost, each on its own line, with receipts.
- Returns made on time, so rental charges don’t run on.
- Costume rental houses often see you by appointment only: the stylist books the visit.
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the stylist.
- 50% when you book, 50% on receipt of the final rushes.
- Every line on the quote: day rate, booking fee, payroll and insurance, kit, travel.
- Cancellation terms are on every quote.
Employment and insurance
- Every stylist we book is employed for the job, on payroll, with New York workers’ compensation.
- Certificates of insurance (COIs) for your location or permit, naming whoever needs naming, on request.
- On a crew hire the location, its COI, the permit and your own general liability stay with you. When we’re the producer of record, the production carries them.
- In New York, Here Now Films books its crews through established New York production companies, so every crew member is employed, on payroll and fully insured for the job.
$700 a day
Union scale in New York (USA 829, costume designer or stylist): $1,355 a day, before fringes.
| Day rate, 10 hours | $700 |
| Booking fee, 10% | $70 |
| One day, before payroll, wardrobe and travel | $770 |
Every stylist we book in New York is employed and insured for the job. Payroll and insurance are their own line on the quote. What that covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the stylist.
- Every crew member employed and insured for the job
- 50% at booking, 50% on the final rushes
- Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours
Or call us on +44 7412 543822.
Reviews
What clients say about our crews
Straight from our Google Business Profile.
Book costume and wardrobe in New York.
Tell us how many people to dress, the look or the period, and the dates. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on +44 7412 543822.
Check availability
The whole crew
Every role in New York, booked the same way
One brief, one quote in dollars, every role on its own line. Our day rates in New York, paid to the crew member in full:
Production 06
- Director From $1,500
- Producer From $750
- Production manager $650
- 2nd AD $600
- Production assistant $250
- Runner $250
Camera 07
- DP From $1,200
- Camera operator $750
- 1st AC $700
- 2nd AC $550
- Steadicam operator From $1,500
- Gimbal operator $750
- Drone operator From $1,000
Data and playback 02
- DIT $750
- Video playback $650
Sound 01
- Sound mixer $850
Hair, make-up and costume 02
- Hair and make-up $650
- Costume This page $700
Art department 02
- Art director $750
- Set builders $550
Post-production 01
- Editor From $600
How our rates work: crew rates in New York. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in New York.
Questions
Hiring costume and wardrobe in New York: questions
How much does a costume designer or stylist cost in New York?
Our wardrobe stylists and costume designers in New York start at $700 for a 10-hour day, and the stylist is paid all of it. Union scale for a costume designer or stylist (USA 829) is $1,355 a day, before fringes. On top go our 10% booking fee, so one day comes to $770, before payroll and insurance (at cost, on the quote), the wardrobe budget and travel. Purchases and rentals are at cost, with receipts.
Who employs the crew, and are they insured?
Every crew member we book in New York is employed for the job and fully insured: payroll, New York workers’ compensation, and certificates of insurance for your location or permit. Payroll and insurance show as their own line on the quote, at cost. On a crew hire, the location, its COI and the permit stay with you, because you’re the producer of record. If you’d rather we were, it’s quoted as a full production.
Do I need a union costume designer in New York?
Only if your production is signatory to a union agreement. Costume designers and stylists in New York are represented by United Scenic Artists Local 829 (USA 829), and scale for a costume designer or stylist is $1,355 for a 10-hour call. Scale is wages only: fringes and payroll go on top. Non-union is our default on corporate and branded work; if your job is union, we quote it at scale.
Where do New York stylists find wardrobe?
Across the city, and fast: department stores and boutiques for contemporary looks, brand showrooms for pulls, the Garment District for fabric, trims and alterations, and costume rental houses for uniforms and period pieces, most of them by appointment. Purchases and rentals go on the quote at cost, with receipts, and the stylist makes returns on time so rental charges don’t run on.
Can actors wear police uniform on a New York street?
Yes, with a film permit. The Mayor’s Office requires a permit for any shoot with actors in police uniform, as it does for prop weapons and prop vehicles, even if the rest of the crew is hand-held. The permit is $500 for each 14-day period, with at least $1,000,000 of general liability naming the City of New York (checked October 2026). On a crew hire the permit is yours. See filming permits in New York.
What should contributors wear for an interview?
Plain, mid-tone colours, with no fine stripes, small checks or big logos, and a spare top in case. Fine patterns strobe on camera, and bright white or deep black is hard to expose next to a face. Ask contributors to bring two or three options on hangers, so wardrobe or the DP can choose on the day under the real light. In a Midtown office that usually means a rail in the room next to make-up.
How far ahead should I book a stylist in New York?
Long enough for the prep. A stylist needs a day or two to pull, buy and rent, and a fitting before the shoot, so a week is about the least for a commercial. Our latest New York shoot, Nevis × Focus, was filmed twelve days after the first email. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. A period job or a large cast needs longer, because costume houses see you by appointment.