Arrecife-born costume designer Paco Delgado has worked on a number of huge films throughout his career which earned him two Goya Awards and two Oscar nominations.
Paco was born and grew up in Arrecife, but left the island in 1982 to study in Madrid. His chosen subject was Physics – a subject that he thrived in – but after three years he decided to drop it and applied to the Theatre Institute in Barcelona. “Sometimes, instinct leads you”, he told El País in 2013.
After graduating, Delgado moved to London where he worked in set design for the next 12 years. When friends told him that they were impressed by his costumes used in small plays he helped put on, he decided to specialise.
He returned to Madrid to open a vintage clothes shop in the bohemian barrio of Malasaña and, in 1999 the Spanish director Alex de Iglesia contracted Delgado as the costume designer for his comedy La Comunidad.
His mother had been unhappy when he dropped physics for theatre, but Delgado said, “When La Comunidad came out they showed it in Arrecife and, obviously, that’s the sort of thing that makes mums relax a bit about the future of their sons.”.
Since 2000, Delgado has worked on a number of productions, some of which proved hugely popular such as Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables, Pedro Almodóvar’s The Skin I Live In, Iñárritu’s Biutiful, M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass and most recently Stahelski’s John Wick Chapter 4.
Delgado has also won Spain’s highest film award, the Goya, for his amazing costumes in the silent movie Snow White (2013) and The Witches of Zagarramundi (2014).
THE CALL FOR LES MISÉRABLES
When Delgado received the call from director Tom Hooper offering him the job of designing costumes for Les Misérables his response was understandable: “My God, this is a huge job!”
Paco excelled in his first US film, assembling a team of 50 people to help create a huge range of costumes from beggars to noblemen. He received BAFTA and Oscar nominations for his work on the film.
FILMOGRAPHY
Delgado’s full filmography:
2000 – La comunidad
2002 – 800 Bullets
2004 – Bad Education & Crimen Ferpecto
2005 – Queens
2006 – Los aires difíciles
2007 – Guantanamero
2008 – The Oxford Murders & Sexykiller
2010 – Una hora más en Canarias, Biutiful & The Last Circus
2011 – The Skin I Live In
2012 – Blancanieves & Les Misérables
2013 – Witching & Bitching
2015 – The 33 & The Danish Girl
2016 – Grimsby
2017 – Split & Abracadabra
2018 – A Wrinkle In Time
2019 – Glass & Cats
2021 – Jungle Cruise
2022 – Death on the Nile & The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
2023 – John Wick: Chapter 4
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