Working with a company and for a designer has affected my process.
Interpreting from a designer
led to a different kind of research to what I usually do. Rather than lots of
historical research, I instead had to follow the director’s and designer’s
vision, so did much more visual and practical research. The range of
mood/vision boards I made early in the project were a useful reference all in
one place while adapting the pattern and making, which informed decisions (e.g.
which pocket samples to make). To offer a variety to the designer, I also had
to research much further into fabrics and their qualities, and got 20+ samples
this time, which has helped broaden my knowledge of different fabrics. I
prioritised making samples to have them in time to show the designer and actor
in fittings, so made a large amount of samples, especially printing, since this
was the key part of the costume.
In the end, both directors Kevin and Natasha were very pleased with the costumes and overall look of their shows, and the costumes really helped to ground the plays in their settings. The mixture of made and sourced and adapted costumes worked seamlessly, and the number of costumes gave the worlds a larger feel and scope for the audience. The designer Fiona was also happy with the final effect and during tech week on Clockwork said we had all realised her designs.
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