Soki Mak Talks Pamela Anderson, Creative Direction and Hulu's 'All's Fair'

If Soki Mak is a name you're unfamiliar with, that's all about to change. Renowned for her work with the likes of Pamela Anderson and Rosalía, Mak is also responsible for co-creating Nadia Lee Cohen's Women. If those credentials somehow weren't impressive enough for you, then perhaps it's the fact that she's just entered the world of TV for the very first time, thanks to her now-friend and collaborator, Kim Kardashian.

Joining the team behind Ryan Murphy's All's Fair, Mak was first approached by Kardashian in her DMs, and from then on, the rest was history. Transforming the role of costume designer into a fully-fledged creative director, Mak is responsible for the killer looks in the show, particularly those worn by Kardashian's character, Allura. Featuring one-of-one archival pieces from the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano and Balenciaga, the result is a fashion lover's dream, so naturally, we had to get the inside scoop...

As All's Fair finally releases on Hulu, we caught up with Mak to find out more about her career journey, the creative process behind the show and her plans for the future.

Scroll through for the full interview.

Tell us a bit about how you got started in creative direction and styling.
I actually dropped out of university in Glasgow about two or three months in. I knew I always wanted to work in fashion or the arts, so I dabbled a bit in fine art when I was in Glasgow. I thought I wanted to be a womenswear designer, so I was at Central Saint Martins for a couple of years, and while I was there, I interned for Dazed and Vivienne Westwood. I met a lot of stylists who would come in and out at the offices, and I just thought it looked amazing.

I assisted a couple of stylists thereafter and got to shadow them and help them. I just really enjoyed it and this was at a time when editorial stylists didn't really work that much with musicians, but for me, I really loved working with real people. I got a buzz from it, and it just kind of went from there. The creative direction evolved a few years down the line. It came from me not actually knowing that was a job role, because when you're an independent artist and you don't have a budget and you're creating these shoots, you do have to do everything yourself. You just learn what your skills are and where your strengths are and what you love to do. I was coming up with concepts and creating all these kinds of treatments and moodboards, which just came naturally to me. It wasn't until later on that I realized that I realized that people actually get paid to do this.

How did that eventually translate into costume design?
I guess it was also just another one of those progressions. I like to be involved in all areas, even if it's something I can't do. I find I know how to source the right people to do that job. With costume design, I didn't even realize it was a career path until I entered All's Fair. I know that previously, when I'd worked on editorials or any of the jobs I'd done, I was also always very heavily involved at the concept from the beginning, and I would be involved in it from then on into the end. Because to me, styling was just like one part of it.

You've just worked alongside King Kardashian for the new Hulu show, All's Fair. How did that relationship and partnership come about?
I actually met Kim not long before she reached out to me on Instagram DMs. I thought it was a fake message when she reached out to me, but very quickly, we were going back and forth with creative ideas. She was very trusting of the creative process and when she was asking me to be part of this, she let me bring in the team that I liked and run with the concept. It really started from that one shoot that I did with Michael Bailey-Gates. It was a really great, creative introductory project that we worked on together, and from then on, she would pull me in for sort of certain projects. One day, she just said to me, I've got the show, I think you'd be perfect for. I was pulled in very last minute, and everything just moved really fast. Now we're on the other side of it, and Kim and I are very close now; she's really great to work with.

What can you tell us about your creative process while working on the show?
Being kind of honest, it was a bit of a creative mess at the beginning. I guess I was trying to put some feelers out, not just with Kim, but with the rest of the team. I'd never worked on a TV show before and I was trying hard to be very respectful of everyone's job. However, it very quickly came to show that no one really knew what was going on. We were entering a world that none of us had experience in, and it's quite rare that two costume designers are working on one show. So we were learning a new dynamic.

After like five or six days of not really knowing what we were doing, I treated it like it was one big editorial. I elaborated on the character, and I worked on my own creative board for Allura. Kim and I were sharing all these images back and forth of hair and makeup references, archive looks and the designers we wanted to work with. It was very much just us two at the start and we would help glam and where we were going with that. Then, the fittings happened and when we got into filming, it all moved so fast that it just kind of flowed from there. I would say that the first few weeks were quite intense, and it was also intense for Kim and me, because we had to learn to trust each other very fast.

What were some of your favorite looks or pieces that you sourced for the show?
Honestly, I would say the journey of working with Jean Paul Gautier. To be able to work with and have the support of a brand like Jean Paul Gaultier was a bit of a dream, because they opened up the archives to us, having not really understood entirely what the final result would be, and having access to these works of art and history was amazing. Some of these looks date back to the 1980s. Some of them, because you're moving so fast, you don't really digest, but they're works of art. So I would say, pretty much every look that Jean Paul Gaultier supported us with was my favorite part of this whole show.

Outside of Kim K and Hulu, you've worked with amazing names like Nadia Lee, Cohen and Pamela Anderson. What do you say you've learned from them?
Trust the journey and trust the process. When I first worked with Pamela, I was a very, very young stylist, and I remember at the time feeling like I was completely out of my depth. When I got there, Pamela was the most down-to-earth, inspirational, real, genuine, loving person, and I realized that at the end of the day, we're all just women at the core of it, with the same worries and the same issues and striving for the same thing. I've just learned to try and be patient and trust the process and stick to your ethics, because that does get you far.

You don't realize it at the time, but when you're a young talent or a young artist, you worry so much about the future. For me to have this opportunity and to actually reach my dream, I know a lot of people don't get to achieve that, so I want to be grateful for the fact that I did end up getting here, but I'm still glad to hold myself in value along the way.

What advice do you have for aspiring creative directors?
My advice for any creative is just to keep going. It's taken me a really long time to get here and to have this moment, and there were many times along the way that I thought I was going to give up. I realize now that that's the difference between people who do get to a position where they can make a living out of it and those who don't. It's just about resilience. I would say that there is a space for everyone in this industry creatively. There is no right or wrong. So just to keep being true to what you love, because that's essentially why we all work in the creative field.

Finally, what's next for you?
I keep saying that I'm going to take a holiday, and I say after this job, and then after that job, the next job comes around. I guess that's what's exciting about all of this, the fact that you can't really plan anything. So I'm not entirely sure what's next for me, but I'm excited for what that opportunity may be. As a woman in my 30s, I feel like I'm only getting started, so I'm looking forward to seeing what's next.

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