Working with a company and for a designer has affected my process. 

Through working with the Actor’s Wheel, I had the performance context in mind constantly while selecting patterns and making, as we had to consider quick changes, comfort, and physicality of the actors. Specifically for the fashionista group, the costumes would be overdressed which was a new challenge, knowing that they needed to look fitted on one actor (Guy) but would be worn by others, without knowing who specifically. I enjoyed working with the actors, directors, and stage manager on both productions, and feel I have gained a network of people in the same creative industry via Marjon, especially through tech week and working backstage when I really got to talk to them more. I also found working as a group in making helpful, as fashionistas and droogs, as we shared lots of research and advice, supported each other in fittings, etc.

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.