Costume Crafts An Exploration Through Production Experience

• Main Author: Hathaway, Michelle L.
• Other Authors: Bussolati, Eugene
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: LSU 2010
• Subjects: Theatre
• Online Access: http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04162010-152611/

The process of developing Costume Crafts for any production begins with research into the given time-period of the proposed production. With the appropriate research into the fashions of the day and the available tools and techniques, the Craftsperson can collaborate with the Costume Designer to create that Designers vision. This project included two productions set in adjacent time-periods. The first step in the process was to research millinery fashions from 1910 through 1927 thus encompassing the time-periods set for each production. This research included the prevailing fashions of the day, the available materials, fabrics, and techniques employed in creating millinery. The next step involved meeting with each Costume Designer to assess the projected millinery requirements for each production. Although modern materials and fabrics are different from their historical counterparts, the actual creation of the millinery for each production employed many of the same techniques used during the time-periods in question. While exact historical representation is not the overall goal in theatrical millinery a complete understanding of historical materials and techniques can aide in a pleasing impression of a given era.