The Costume Design
Process
Clayesmore School
Theatre Department
T h e f i r s t t h i n g t o r e m e m b e r
a b o u t c o s t u m e d e s i g n i s
I d e a s w o n ’ t j u s t m a g i c a l l y
a p p e a r i n y o u r h e a d .
B u t , i f y o u w o r k c a r e f u l l y
a n d t h o u g h t f u l l y t h r o u g h
e a c h s t a g e o f t h e p r o c e s s ,
y o u w i l l d e v e l o p s o m e
Analysis
You will need to work closely with the director and the rest of the creative team at this stage
Think about the central themes of the play - what ideas do you want to explore through your costumes
What is the mood of the play? Does it change?
Does the play suggest a particular time or place? Have a look at the image on the next page - What period does it suggest to you?
This design was for a production of ‘A Servant to Two Masters’ which is set in Italy in the C17th.
Analysis
Having considered the play as a whole, a costume designer must think particularly closely about the individual
characters.
What do you want the costume to convey about the character?
Does the character have any particular requirements for the costume - is it essential that it has pockets, for example?
Does the character have to change costume? When?
You may find it helpful to complete a chart like the one on the next slide.
Scene Location Time of Day/Year Particular Requirements
1 Kitchen Winter Just entered from garden. Comments on the cold. Upper class, wealthy character. Play set in 1914 3 Trenches Winter Character has joined army as an officer - 2nd Lieutenant. Just arrived at front.
6 Trenches Spring 4 months later - costume beginning to show wear and tear of wartime - some distressing necessary (2nd costume) - quick change.
Research
There are many places to research your costume - books in the library, the internet etc
You should also look at photographs or paintings from the period
Don’t restrict yourself just to looking at pictures of costumes - listening to the music of the time can give you a sense of the mood. Look at history books so you are aware of the relevant historical events
Make sure you keep everything! Keep all your research together and in a place where you can see it easily. Some
designers use a sketchbook and others create large ‘boards’. Have a look at the examples on the next few pages.
This was a sketch by Tanya McCallin who was costume designer for a production of Rigoletto at the Royal Opera House in London in 2001. She says:
“We used literally hundreds of paintings, frescos and drawings of the French and Italian Renaissance to make close study of period detail. Sketches were made to select, distil and freely interpret information to suggest the hierarchical world of the piece. All the clothes were made of lustrous silks and damasks, in gorgeous colours with emphasis placed on points and lacings to achieve a louche and debauched look.”
Early research board by Michael Miller for Smeraldina in “A Servant to Two Masters” - Peter Burke Theatre 2006
Form
Try not to think yet about what your character will be wearing.
Instead, try to keep thinking in quite abstract terms. Focus on:
Colour Shape Texture Scale
Form - Colour
Look at the images on the next couple of pages.
What does the dominant colour say about the
character?
Look particularly at the way the designers have
tried to work with quite a limited palette of colours.
Sometimes, colour can be a good way of identifying
groups of characters
This design is by Nancy Surman for a production of “The Duchess of Malfi” at Salisbury Playhouse in 2002.
She says:
“ In this classic Jacobean revenge tragedy, the Duchess of Malfi is ensnared in a rich, powerful, violent world.
Characters spill across the dark austere landscape like blood, scarlet from a freshly cut vein. The depravity of the cardinal bestows a hellish corruption on his fiery vestments, while the opulence of the Duchess’ sweeping robes shock against the bloody rags of lunatics. The costumes blend Renaissance and contemporary elements. Cut and silhouette are evocative of the period whilst modern fabrics...give the costumes
The Duchess of Malfi Designer: Nancy Surman
Form - Shape
Of course, you have to work with a real actor but
your costume can greatly affect the way they look.
Try to find a shape that seems appropriate for your
character
Do you want them to seem long and angular, or round
and curvy?
It can help just to think about the shape at this
stage - don’t worry yet about the actual clothes. Can
you draw the shape with just a few lines?
Alice in Wonderland and Through the looking Glass
Designer: Peter McKintosh RSC 2001
“Most people have strong images of how Alice should look, be it Tenniel, Peak, Disney or Ralph Steadman. My designs retained 2D images in the settings but the costumes
Alice in Wonderland and Through the looking Glass Designer: Peter McKintosh
Notice how the shape of the drawing has been captured in the final costume.
What can you tell about the character just from the shapes used in the costume?
A Servant to Two Masters Costume design for
Smeraldina
Michael Miller
Form - Texture
Think very carefully about the textures you want to
use for your design
Your decisions might be affected by your research -
you may want to use similar fabrics and textures to
the ones used in the period of the play.
Your character will be moving on stage - how do you
want the costume to move? Do you want it to flow
effortlessly? Do you want it to appear stiff and
formal?
What sort of texture seems appropriate for your
character?
The Streets of Dublin
The Brix, London 1997
Designer: Tim Heywood
“A magical romp through Victorian melodrama, seen with very modern eyes. The costumes reflected the beauty of the Victorian silhouette, a Dickensian delight in truly tattered waifs and strays and an expression of overt theatricality with bustles and frocks galore.”
Form - Scale
As a costume designer, you probably have less scope
to explore scale than a set designer - your costume
has to fit an actor, after all - but it is worth
considering this aspect. If your character has to be
very imposing, you may be able to help the actor
Stage 4 - Design
Style
Design Style
This aspect of design can be simplified into the
question: is it right for your designs for this
production to be
NATURALISTIC
or
NON-NATURALISTIC?
NATURALISTIC costumes try to re-create exactly
the time and place described in the play. If the play is
set in 1960, the designer will make the costumes
look exactly as they would have done then.
NON-NATURALISTIC costumes place much less
emphasis on time and place. Maybe the setting of
the play is a fantasy setting; or in the future.
Drawings and
Samples
Drawings and Samples
Now it’s time to put all your thoughts so far into
sketches for your costumes.
Make sure you keep all your sketches - you never
now when you will want to go back to an earlier
idea.
All designers have their own style of sketching.
Some hardly draw at all, preferring to use
photographs, perhaps manipulating them with a
computer.
The important thing is that your sketches convey
your ideas clearly.
Oklahoma
National Youth Music Theatre Designer: Kate Burnett
“The vigorous stripes and checks say something about the bright, clashing life of the American frontier. Conceived as an ensemble piece, my costume drawings were sketch-schemes of groups of characters. I sampled the fabrics before committing to colouring these drawings.”
Oliver Twist
Liverpool Playhouse 2001 Designer: David Collis
“The clothes, all tonally related to the set, added to the sense of chiaroscuro, restlessness and menace that pervades the narrative.”
Compare the more realistic paintings favoured by this designer with the sketches on the previous page.
A Servant to Two Masters
Peter Burke Theatre 2006 Design for Truffaldino
Designer: Thomasin Bailey
Notice here how the costume changed bet ween the sketch stage and the
manufacture - though the initial idea does find expression in the floor
pattern used on the set!
You do have to be adaptable as a designer and know when to alter your ideas - and when to stick to them stubbornly.
A Servant to Two Masters
Peter Burke Theatre 2006 Design for Clarice
Once your ideas have been accepted by the director, you can begin the manufacture of your costume
Follow the Costume lessons on the Drama Moodle (Technical Courses) for lots of information about making a costume.
There are a number of excellent books in the library, published by the Society of British Theatre Designers, which you should have a look at. They include:
Time & Space 2D/3D
