Graphic by LollyChristmas.com; Photos: Courtesy; Hallmark Media; Lifetime; Paramount Network

We love festive fashion, so it was a pleasure for the LollyChristmas.com team to chat with costume designer, Keith Nielsen, who was behind some of the most beautiful holiday ensembles featured in Christmas movies this year across three different networks!

Read what Keith had to say about working on these movies in our exclusive interview below!

Gina Claire Mason and the Radio City Rockettes in A HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR. (Hallmark Media)

A Holiday Spectacular

You created the costumes for Hallmark Channel’s “A Holiday Spectacular,” a story about—and featuring the Radio City Rockettes!  The Rockettes are iconic, and I’d like to know what type of research you did to capture the essence of the Rockettes at Christmas for audiences who have grown up with the dance company over the last 60+ years?

It was a combination of processes, the work starts with the script, which then dictates the areas of focus. I researched all of the above, dance wear, formal wear and day wear. I looked at a lot of visual references of rehearsals and costume fittings of the Rockettes to get an idea of their world in the 50s.

Since you worked with current members of the dance company, were any original costumes from the 1950s or recent years used in the making of the stage looks?

Yes, MSG [Madison Square Garden Entertainment], who manages the Rockettes worked in close collaboration with us.  Many of the stage costumes you see are in the current show and were selected due to their timeless nature, especially those toy soldier costumes, originally designed by Vincent Minelli.

My mother—the namesake of Lolly Christmas—was born in 1958, when this story is set, and she grew up in New York City, so my siblings and I were raised on the magic of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Did you also grow up seeing this show?

I remember going to see the show probably when I was about 10/12 and being captivated by the space, which was a big source of inspiration as well. I did make a trip to see the show as I was preparing for this film to see where the show is now and visualize the costumes on that stage and within the space.

The Rockette’s show-stopping costumes are clearly a main event of the film, but I’d also like to ask about the other costumes. Where did you get inspiration from when it came to the silhouettes and color palettes to make the fashion stand out while accurately representing the time period? I especially loved Carolyn McCormick’s wardrobe!

Thank you! I adored working with Carolyn, she wears the clothing so well, and her character really gave us the opportunity to dress for any and all occasions.  When we went to see the Christmas Spectacular, I arrived earlier and walked through Rockefeller Center inside and out and just imagined the space but with everyone in 50s clothing and the flow of the full skirts etc.  In general, the 50s as a clothing period is so inspiring, the silhouettes are just fabulous, and I wanted to lean into the fabulousness of the era, mixed with Christmas mixed with NYC as a backdrop.

As I begin to source pieces, I become attached to certain pieces that relate to a character or a space so well, and I build it around that.

Mason, McCormick and Margret in scenes from A HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR. (Hallmark Media)

Maggie [played by Ginna Claire Mason] wears a ‘spectacular’ red winter coat with a matching hat and bag that I’m absolutely in love with! It’s a very bold choice. I also love the embroidered cream gown with the twisted strapless bodice that she wears, that poinsettia poodle skirt and her embroidered gown with the shawl. Tell me more about the process of creating her character’s style.

Every Christmas movie NEEDS a red coat… I saw that coat early on and fell in LOVE.  Lauren Bacall wears a similar one in Designing Women, and that sealed the deal for me.

Maggie [Mason] has a great arc for costume design; she comes from a well-off family so she can afford custom clothing that has detail.  That detail is throughout, especially in those looks you pointed out. The poinsettia skirt is a real vintage piece that have hand-sewn appliques, and hand-painted gold leaves.

That cream embroidered gown is a key piece as it represents Maggie’s old life.  Embroidery is historically very expensive, something her parents can afford—also, it’s VERY tight-laced, representing the control of her life with her parents.

Gina Claire Mason’s fabulous wardrobe in A HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR. Also pictured: Derek Klena. (Hallmark Media)

Her finale dress, I think, will be one of my all-time favorites as it was inspired by the greats, Edith Head, Dior and Grace Kelly, mixed with the perfect smattering of pixie dust-esque beading and filmed on the most iconic stage of all time, in my opinion.  My team also had a very tight turnaround from fitting to filming, and they pulled it off.  Fun fact: Once all the alterations were done, Ginna Claire didn’t put the dress on until we were about to film—it fit like a GLOVE!

You worked with Ann-Margret, and you had to tie her character in with her past while also setting her look in modern times. How did you go about that?

I adore Ann-Margret! I think of the moments we spent together often.  She’s one of those magical people, and it was a privilege to work with and dress her.  The color ivory is key here.  We met the character Maggie through Ann-Margret, who is wearing ivory and then in the finale where we see young Maggie in an ivory gown, a nice color connection to visually tie in the past with the present.

As fashion trends come and go so quickly, we often take inspiration from the past, what do you hope audiences take away from the style of 1958 as seen through your eyes?

I hope we take the fabulousness of dressing, and getting dressed up even for the smallest occasions.

Tanya Tucker in A NASHVILLE COUNTRY CHRISTMAS. (Paramount Network)

A Nashville Country Christmas

You worked on “A Nashville Country Christmas” for Paramount, which stars Tanya Tucker as a country music singer who heads back home to her grandmother’s farm in Tennessee for the holidays. What was your inspiration for taking her character’s glamorous country music star wardrobe and transitioning it to a casual small-town look for this movie without straying from the essence of the character’s personal style?

This was a fun one, Tanya is such an icon with such an iconic style of her own.  It was fun to explore the development of her character Josie with her.  The story really lent itself to this arc; we had two very different worlds—the Hollywood glamour and the hometown roots, and her costumes reflect that.

What was your favorite costume from the movie?

I love her opening outfit.  We designed and built that, which is rare in a film due to tight timelines, and it was expertly built in a very condensed timeline, and it visually portrays the state of the character so well immediately.

The 12 Days of Christmas Eve

In this movie, Kelsey Grammar’s character relives Christmas Eve 12 times, so there are limited costume changes. How did you go about creating looks that would not lose their elevation in a film where they’re on a constant loop?

Well, I wanted things that we weren’t going to get too tired of seeing.  For Kelsey, I kept it classic and invested in some great quality suits, coats and pajamas.  We also intentionally made his day look with a sweater/tie/jacket so that we have versatility in the look as the days and situations changed

Spencer Grammer and Kelsey Grammer in
THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS EVE. (Lifetime)

Thank you for noticing.  Midway in the film, his granddaughter and him dress in “crazy Christmas clothes,” and the pattern between that suit and the finale pajamas are similar.  Also, we meet Brian [Grammer] in a traditional pajama-so we bookend the film starting with a neutral where he is more “scrooge like” and we end in something more colorful and festive—his costumes build upon one another as time progresses.

Unlike “A Holiday Spectacular,” this film takes place in modern times. Is it easier or more difficult to create costumes for period projects versus the here and now?

They’re just different.  I enjoy both, it’s fun to stretch different muscles when I have the opportunity.  Period films present more challenges as you can’t just walk into a store for a quick solution as easily—but that’s where you get creative in the moment.

For every project you work on, what is the goal you want to accomplish?

I always walk in wanting to do the best work I can do given each individual project’s situation.  At the end of the day, I want my cast to be comfortable and be able to embody these characters through the garments I create, visually tell the character’s story and make audiences happy.

Thank you so much, Keith! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and you ‘stay merry’ the whole way through!

We loved chatting with Keith about his stylish work on these festive films, which are currently airing all holiday season long! We can’t wait to see what he creates next…

Stay Merry,