COSTUME DESIGN

Costume Design

How important are the clothes you wear to you?

What is your favorite or coolest outfit or item of clothing that you have worn in your entire life? Why?

Clothes can immediately communicate…

Position and status Gender Occupation Occasion A bit about personality (is the person

flamboyant? Modest? Independent? A conformist? Etc)

WHAT ARE COSTUMES?

The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, time, class, social status, or age.

WHAT ARE COSTUMES?

They are more than just the clothes that actors wear in a play.

• They help portray the character.

• Help the audience understand the time and place of the story.

WHAT REQUIREMENTS MUST A DESIGNER MEET?

1. The costumes of the designer must readily reveal to the audience the character’s personality.• The first impression of a character is

almost always visual. 4 Minute Sell

• 55% Appearance• 38% Voice• 7% Dialogue

• Costume designs are many times the most memorable part of a character.

2. The costumes must reveal the character’s:

AGE OCCUPATION WEALTH SOCIAL POSITION

WHAT REQUIREMENTS MUST A DESIGNER MEET?

3. The costumes must reflect the setting, tone, and style of the play, and indicate both time and place.

WHAT REQUIREMENTS MUST A DESIGNER MEET?

The Costume Designer's Objectives

They also set Tone and Style

DIY - Costume

There are 4 things to consider when planning a costume.

Just as the elements of a painting work together to create a harmonious image, costumes must work with the lighting and sets to create the stage image.

Color, shape, line, and texture are all considered when designing costumes.

1. Consider the color.

Proper choice of color will help establish the play’s mood and the personality of the character. • Blues and greens are restful• Red coveys danger or anger• Black denotes tragedy• Purple suggest royalty• White is associated with purity and innocence

Blade Runner

A dismal, oppressive future world, such as the one depicted in the film Blade Runner (1982), used cool, dark shades to evoke a bleak mood.

Little Miss Sunshine

The costume designer used different colors to subtly indicate the personality of each member of the dysfunctional family in Little Miss Sunshine (2006).

While the costumes’ colors may go unnoticed by the audience, they subconsciously affect viewers’

perceptions of the characters.

Costumes are also used to focus attention on the major actors and the important action in a scene.

The sandy earth tones of their costumes echoed the film’s desert setting and provided a neutral background against which Roberts’s bright and provocative outfits stood out.

Costume designer for Erin Brockovich (2000), dressed the secondary characters in colors that would not detract attention from star Julia Roberts

Gary JonesCostume Designer

Next Time

Shape Line Texture