Jennifer Bryan
"Genius: Aretha"
Costume Designer
Jennifer Bryan has been bringing her talents to the film and television arts.
Growing up in Jamaica, she was drawn to the history of clothing, style, fashion and design. Her passions brought her to New York’s FIT and Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn, where she earned her degree in fashion merchandising.
While a costume supervisor, Jennifer honed her talent and her keen eye for detail on many Broadway productions.
Among the most memorable are Tony award winners “The Wiz,” “Peter Pan” and “The King and I.”
Early in her career, she worked on the films of such luminaries as directors Francis Ford Coppola (“The Cotton Club”), Martin Scorsese (“Goodfellas”), Spike Lee (“Jungle Fever”) and John Landis (“Coming to America”).
It wasn’t long before Jennifer caught the attention of producers and directors who hired her as the costume designer on their productions.
Jennifer’s designing film credits include “Major Payne” starring Damon Wayans, “Fled” with Laurence Fishburne and Steve Baldwin, “Barbershop 2,” “Exit Wounds” starring Steven Segal and “Universal Soldier: The Return” starring Jean Claude Van Damme, to mention a few.
The cult drama “Dark Angel” starring Jessica Alba placed Jennifer in the fast-paced arena of episodic television. It is in this space that she has been inspired and challenged to create new concepts ranging from the authenticity of 16th century clothing in “The Vampire Diaries” and “The Originals” to the edgy street fashions of music videos.
None other than Vince Gilligan tapped Jennifer to design the final season of “Breaking Bad.” It was on this iconic project that she garnered a Costume Designer Guild nomination. And seamlessly, Jennifer transitioned to design the spinoff “Better Call Saul,” now in its sixth and final season.
Recently she debuted her first Netflix series — the teen parallel universe saga, “The Society.”
High on Jennifer’s design bucket list was a project that would span several decades of fashion and style. Season 3 of Nat Geo’s Emmy Award-winning “Genius” starring Cynthia Erivo, which is based on the stellar career of singer Aretha Franklin, ticks that box.
When not immersed in a show, Jennifer is busy developing her accessory and shoe lines or traveling to far-flung locations to satisfy her other passion, photography.
Jennifer is a member of Local 829 Costume Designers Guild, Local 892 United Scenic Artists and Local 764 Theatrical Wardrobe Union IATSE.