WITH ALL HER MATERIALS

To design the costumes for “The Golden Compass,” Ruth Myers “used everything I’ve ever learned in the last 35 years,” says the Oscar-nominated costume designer (“Emma,” “L.A. Confidential”). In acknowledgment of that career, Myers is slated to be given the Costume Designers Guild Career Achievement Award on Feb. 19. “We really pushed all the boundaries to create a world that looks familiar, but unfamiliar,” Myers says. “We mixed styles from different eras and cultures, and handmade over 2,000 costumes.”

But creating costumes for the fantasy film based on the first book of Philip Pullman’s beloved trilogy was initially daunting.

“Early on, we invited Philip to have a look. He and his wife walked around slowly, looking at sketches, but he didn’t say a word. My knees were knocking! At last, he said, ‘You have created my world.’ From then on, it was like dancing. With his validation, I could leap and pirouette!”

What is your favorite costume in the film?

Nicole Kidman’s gold dress thrills me every time I see it. It was made from a small piece -- about a yard and a half -- of handmade gold lace I’d found in an expensive fabric shop in London. They’d had it forever. The whole dress was designed around that small piece of exquisite lace.

Tell me about fabrics you used.

I didn’t want to work with expensive fabrics. We used very ordinary fabric and then we painted it, dyed and appliqued it. Each fabric was created on the costume. We would start with blue velvet, then pour paint on it or burn it. . . . We slashed in bits of netting and string and other elements. As you can imagine, it was the most incredible fun.

Why didn’t you want to use real fur in northern scenes?

I thought there would be more interesting ways to go with fake. We didn’t use much real fur at all because I didn’t want it to move like fur. I wanted it to move like feathers. Also I didn’t want it to look like an identifiable animal.

The northern costumes look very heavy. Did the actors have trouble wearing them?

It was the hottest summer in England when we shot those scenes. People were passing out! When I put his huge cape on Tom Courtenay in a fitting, he collapsed from the weight of it. We helped him up and I said, ‘I’m so sorry. I’ll design something else.’ And he said he wouldn’t dream of it. ‘I have to wear this,’ he said.

What do Nicole’s costumes reveal about her character?

Her character, Mrs. Coulter, is very contained in her costumes. And when she befriends Lyra, she tries to be soft but it doesn’t work. In one scene when Lyra realizes she’s evil, Nicole’s dress is a mauve silk with a bit of lace but there’s still a cold sheen about her.

You took a new direction with Daniel Craig’s costume.

I wanted him to not look baroque in black with sweeping cloaks, like Timothy Dalton wore in the stage play. I knew Daniel could be a romantic hero in a different way, almost a Professor Higgins direction. His wardrobe is a tease because it’s soft and wonderful and his character isn’t that at all. He’s harsh and glittery.

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Elizabeth Snead writes The Dish Rag blog at TheEnvelope.com.