1. Costume Design What is the difference between clothes and costumes?
Clothes are usually more purpose-driven or practical.
Costumes are meant to express something important about the wearer.
[This of course does not mean that costumes aren’t practical or that clothes don’t express something about the wearer.]

2. Costume Design Design decisions are made based on two things:
The text (the script/screenplay)
The style and vision of the production. This is dictated by the director of the play/musical/film.

3. All decisions about design should be based on the text.
What does the text say about the time and place of the setting?
Historical and geographical context is an important jumping off point for all fields of design.
So once you determine these things, look up the fashions and ritual garments of the time and place.
Marie Antoinette at American Repertory Theater
The Book of Mormon on Broadway
Hindu festival in Kolkatta
Siberian reindeer hunter
Shamanic ritual in Mongolia

4. 2. What does the text clearly say about the characters?
Look at the character descriptions, what characters say about each other, how characters describe themselves.
What is their social class? What is their occupation? Do they discuss their clothing?
Glam rockers from The Lilly’s Revenge at American Repertory Theater (L) and costume for Prince Ferdinand from The Tempest (R)

5. 3. What is the aesthetic style and genre of the text
3. What is the aesthetic style and genre of the text? What is the mood or tone of the scenes in which the costumes will be worn?
How do the costumes need to be different if the genre is slapstick comedy compared to a dark tragedy?
How can the costumes portray or reinforce the mood of the text?

6. All decisions about design should also be based on the style and vision of the production.
This is determined by the director, who usually has final authority on all design decisions. How has the director decided to interpret the text?
Designers must meet with directors and other designers to create the stylistic world of the play.
The Lilly’s Revenge at American Repertory Theatre

7. From Die Soldaten at De Nederlandse Opera
From Die Soldaten at De Nederlandse Opera. Costumes by Wolfgang Gussmann and Frauke Schernau

8. Don’t be afraid to go “bare bones” with your design concept
Don’t be afraid to go “bare bones” with your design concept. This is often necessary in theatre, especially if actors play multiple characters.
It is common, especially in experimental theatre, for there to be one basic costume piece (a hat, a scarf, a coat, a mask) that is added to in order to create a character.
STAR TOO company in Dubai
Chekhov Lizard Brain by Pig Iron Theatre Co.
From the Edinburgh
Fringe Festival
Jane Austen’s Emma at Calvin College

9. Colors
The costume designer must consult with the lighting designer about colors, because if the lights are colored, they will change the color of the costumes. A green dress under red light looks brown! This can ruin your whole design concept.
Color can be used in many ways to instil certain moods in the audience.
Some designers use bright or pastel colors to denote young characters, while using darker colors to denote age.
You could use incredibly bright neon colors for a character who is alarmed or nervous or is delivering frightful news.
You could use dark colors for a character that has a dark mood.
Essentially: How can you use color to indicate the inner life of the character?
The color wheel.

10. A common technique is to create a uniform color palette and then add unique colors to emphasize a specific character.
Famous example from film history: The girl in the red coat in Schindler’s List

11. Line and Silhouette Silhouette (n):
The dark shape and outline of someone or something visible against a lighter background, especially in dim light.
In costume design, these refer to the shape of the costume—how the fold and cut of the cloth inspires the audience to recognize characters.
These are more complex concepts and require some understanding of fashion history.
The line and silhouette of the character can completely change the feeling the audience has about the character.

12. Line and Silhouette
Of course actors come in all shapes and sizes—each with their own lines and silhouettes. This is something the costumer must account for.

13. Line and Silhouette
But it’s not too hard to change the silhouette of a performer with just a little bit of imagination.

14. Line and Silhouette
These can be used to make a character seem unique or comical.
The color wheel.

15. Line and Silhouette
They can be used to make a character seem intimidating or cause anxiety in the audience.
The color wheel.

16. Line and Silhouette
They can be used to indicate an other-worldly, fantastical, or strange quality.

17. Line and Silhouette

18. Line and Silhouette
These two costumes are from roughly the same historical era and have roughly the same colours. What is the difference between the lines and silhouettes of each? What does the difference make you feel about these characters?

19. Line and Silhouette
What is the difference between the lines and silhouettes of each? What does the difference make you feel about these characters?

20. Line and Silhouette
What is the difference between the lines and silhouettes of each? What does the difference make you feel about these characters?