My Story

Photograph by Chris Sorenson

Ever since I could hold a pencil, I have been drawing.  Scribbles turned into shapes, shapes into figures, and figures into characters wearing turbans, tiaras, suits, shawls, pumps, pockets . . . I am a storyteller not with words, but with shapes, colors, and textures. My name is Natalie Turturro Mettouchi; I am a costume designer for stage and screen based in New York City. This is my story:

Growing up, I was taught to embrace the humble notion that “clothes do not make the girl.”  Yet, trapped in a drab uniform at elementary school, I knew that while my polo shirt and pleated skirt did not define who I was, they surely did not allow me to express my colorful character beneath them.  The girl, I thought, would have to make the clothes.

Always an avid reader of novels and plays, this time I went to the library searching for something else: DIY books on how to alter one's wardrobe.  I dyed my white polo shirt bright pink in the bathtub, stitched a happy green frog patch onto the sleeve, painted the buttons green to match, and shortened the hem on my skirt.  This would turn out to be just the beginning!  Struck by the endless opportunities of my success, I then taught myself how to sew, and began reshaping my wardrobe, all before age ten.

Eager to create not only for myself but for all sorts of other personalities, moods, and narratives, I took to the theatre.  In high school, I entered a district-wide contest for theatrical costume design where I received the highest rating in my category, and advanced to the state-level competition. After that, I became the costume designer and creator for every subsequent production at my school.  Costume design, I learned early on, played to my strengths and combined all of my passions: drawing, clothing, details, and immersion — both literally and figuratively — into a story and a garment at once. 

After an apprenticeship in the costume shop at a local theatre at age 18, I went on to study at Boston University, where I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatrical Design and Production, specialization in Costume Design.  Curious about storytelling in other cultures, I studied Peking Opera in Shanghai and British Cinema in London during university.  Through internships at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute and The Boston Museum of Fine Arts’ Textiles and Fashion Arts Collection, I deepened my knowledge of historical dress. After graduation, I moved to Paris, France in 2010 where I worked as an au pair and English teacher while enriching my experience with various aspects of the costume industry as a dresser for Paris Fashion Week, film production assistant, and notably, as a private translator at the Cannes Film Festival. This led me to work on my first feature film, The Price of Desire, where I worked with the director to contribute costume research during pre-production.  

Armed with new experiences, colors, and cultures, in 2013 I returned to my hometown of New York, New York where I worked as the costume shopper for the New York City Ballet for two years before entering the world of film and television. 

While today I work as a designer, I have played many roles in the costume department, such as: tailor, milliner, ager/dyer, and wardrobe dresser.  In 2015, I joined IATSE’s United Scenic Artists, Local 829, which led to working on the costume design teams of highly acclaimed shows such as: Feud, Hello Tomorrow!, Hunters, The Deuce, The Greatest Showman, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, amongst others. In 2021, I designed the costumes for a short film, Esther in Wonderland, which had the honor of premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival.

My curiosity surrounding wearable art is not confined to only costume.  Working in film requires long hours on your feet, day after day; this led me to develop a special interest in designing supportive (yet chic) footwear.  In 2020, I completed a certificate program in Sneaker Essentials through the Fashion Institute of Technology.  This course allowed me to journey through sneaker history, and learn about shoe design from ideation all the way to factory production, marketing, and sales.  I am perpetually inquisitive and always expanding my know-how.

Be it stage or screen, in the United States or abroad, I have fostered a kaleidoscopic expertise within my field in order to continue telling stories through strategic, informed decisions which help lift the characters off the page and into life itself.