Couni Young really has the whole kit and caboodle.  This local costume designer works on Hollywood films and is becoming well known within the growing film industry.  For the past two years, she’s been paying her dues to the low budget indie film Gods.  “These kinds of projects are challenging and difficult because of limited resources,” said Young.  “You have to be creative and most importantly your heart has to be in it.”

Young now owns and operates Go Go Wardrobe Pro – a full service costume design company with a comprehensive kit.

The fact that Young is L.A. trained but Motor-City based gives her business an edge.  She is grateful for having had the opportunity to train with top-notch designers, and has picked up tips and tricks of well-respected industry insiders like costume designer Aggie Rodgers (The Color Purple, American Graffiti).  Young was taught to trust her vision and she’s off to a good start but continues to learn more every day.  She thrives on the raw, untapped Michigan talent and has established relationships with local vendors, giving her a home field advantage.

“I get to know these business owners on a personal level and that creates mutually supportive relationships,” said Young.  “Things change abruptly on set, and an advantage to hiring me is that I live in Michigan, I know where to go and I can get it done,” said Young.

Young’s kit is stocked with everything she needs to design a movie – including industrial and domestic sewing machines, sergers, steamers, ionizers, racks, and hangers, and she is capable of cutting costs because of all that she has acquired. She comes by her passion for the craft honestly; her grandmother was a pattern cutter for Vogue and her mother was a buyer for Marshall Field & Company.  Young does all of her own sketches, drafts patterns, and has been collecting for years.

Her kit contains today’s most coveted labels like Chanel, Armani, Bottega Veneta, and Dior, as well as vintage classics and historical accessories; all meticulously stored away from light and in dust-repelling containment units.  She loves to shop the exclusive boutiques and has a gift for uncovering gems at vintage resale shops and thrift stores.

However, her true passion is building costumes. “I try to utilize my full capability,” says Young.  She even stores garments from production houses and loans to other movies – Young is warehousing costumes from Meet Monica Velour, filmed in Detroit, and has loaned to movies like The Double, starring Richard Gere and Street Kings: Motor City, starring Ray Liotta.

The petite powerhouse has worked with actors like Freddie Rodriguez (Six Feet Under, Ugly Betty) and Hollywood icons like Faye Dunaway.  “I get a kick out of helping an actor transform into the role – be it a pirate or police officer, “ said Young.  From Young’s stock, she can create just about any character - from a sheriff or valet attendant to a Renaissance woman, and if she doesn’t own it, she’ll make it.

“My job is to take the director’s vision for the film and make it come to life with a bit of my own flair,” Young said.  One thing is certain, when you hire Young, you get Young, complete with a dream kit.