Kiri Rainey

Kiri Rainey is an Auckland-based costume designer, supervisor and buyer. Welcome to the Guild, Kiri.

When did you join the film industry? And what was it that attracted you to film?

My first job was as a costume dresser for Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. So, mid-1990s.

I had come from fashion. I worked for Zambesi prior to that and had always worked with clothing in some way so it seemed a natural progression to go to costume.

Also, I love stories be it, film, TV, or books.

What do you enjoy most about the work?

What I love the most about the work is storytelling through costume. What a character wears says a lot about who they are and where they’ve been. It’s a powerful medium that I sometimes think doesn’t get enough credit for its importance to the character study. Also, I love the collaborative environment and the many fantastic people I’ve met and worked with over the years.

Why did you choose to join the Techos’ Guild? What do you want to get out of your membership of the Guild?

I joined the Guild for a couple of reasons. Firstly because I thought it would be good to be informed about what's happening in the industry and not rely only on word of mouth and secondly because I thought it would be good to support the Guild as it exists to support us.

I also enjoy the fact I receive the Techo mag every month and that I can call if I have any questions.

What is your career path? What work would you like to be doing in the future? What might stand in your way?

My career path hopefully will be to continue designing and working in the costume field here and overseas.

What do you want to see the Guild doing in the future?

As I am a fairly new member of the Guild, I’m not completely up to scratch with everything you guys cover as yet so it will take a little while to answer that last question.