Fashion Off the Streets: Costume Design
- Bella LoRe
- May 26, 2016
- 2 min read
Everyday we are surrounded by fashion. We see our friends at work or school each with their specific style, and we all have that one friend that you can spot a mile away simply because no one dresses like they do. But fashion has many forms that we may not see everyday.
Above: Image from theballetblogger.com
As a dancer, I know that a costume designers work is not all gluing pompoms onto leotards and sewing together yards of tulle (although yes, that does happen). You have to create masterpieces that not only look stunning up close but also from a balcony. Many ballet and dance costumes are hand made, resulting not only in a stunning work of artistry but also a lot of time is devoted to one costume. Some costumes have to have hundreds of beads and jewels hand sewn onto them, or silken flower petals dyed by hand and appliquéd onto a long romantic tutu. Many times costumes are designed and sewn, tried on by a dancer, and then the entire design might have to change to better fit the dancer or the character.The pieces that costume designers create have to fit the dancer perfectly to become an extension of their shape, and allow them to do who knows how many pirouettes without tripping over something and making a complete fool of themselves. And yes, I have experienced this. Don't even ask about the cookie on stage incident. Not everything about a dancers life is glamourous. And costume designers have to make it appear as glamorous as possible.
Fashion designers and costume designers may not be one and the same, but the may be more similar than you might think. The great Queen of fashion herself, Coco Chanel, began her fashion career designing costumes for movie sets. Costume design is more structured than fashion design. You know the character, the style, the era. Your job is to make sure the audience does too. With fashion design, you take your vision and have other's interpret it, and sometimes it is OK if the don't understand exactly what you are going for. Your story is open to interpretation.
The fashion in a performance (and the performance itself) needs to have a certain pizzazz about it. A good show wows the audience, it dazzles them, it makes them feel something. Although the stunning speeches delivered by actors or the breathtaking pas des deux done by two dancers certainly make the show, the costumes are another level of artistry present in any production. From a costume alone you can tell the audience many parts of the story. When and where the character lived, what their lives are like, and you get a taste of the characters personality. Costumes help the audience connect with the people onstage.
XO, Bella
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