Bringing Gabrielle to life!

Salador Dali

In term 3 we were asked to work in a group of 5-6 and as a group design a set, costumes, make up, hair and prosthetics for our chosen concept (ours being surrealism - read about our design process here) for the play 'The Madwoman of Chaillot'.

My costume design for Gabrielle

We were then asked to realise 3 of our character designs. I was working with Liz Hedley to design for the character Gabrielle - The Madwoman of Chaillot. She's a sweet, light and fluffy woman dressed in 1880s fashion who keeps canaries and hears voices from her hot water bottle. We decided to play on the idea that she's living in a bit of a dreamland with her head in the clouds.



Everyone on my course is so talented and has a unique style. Here are some links to some of the girls on my course who are on Blogspot for this current project. It's so interesting to see what other people have come up with for the same play! Do take a look.
Charlotte Wainwright
Lucy Calder
Megan Doyle
Sanya Torkmorad-Jozavi

Here are some photos below of the process of constructing and realising my design for Gabrielle with hair and makeup artist Elizabeth Hedley.

The progression of making my final costume.
Fittings with my model, Jessica Foy

Gabrielle's final costume details

Elizabeth Hedley and Aurora Beadle applying the make-up and wigs on our presentation day

A special thank to Stefanie Kemp for being our make up
assistant on our presentation day

Gabrielle
Wig and Make up: Elizabeth Hedley
Costume: Bryony Hamer
The RagpickerWig, Makeup and Prosthetics: Aurora Beadle and Elizabeth Hedley (Stefanie Kemp - assistant)
Costume: Poppy Moorcroft

Gabrielle
Wig and Make up: Elizabeth Hedley
Costume: Bryony Hamer

I'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone in my group. They are all so talented and it has been a real privilege working with them all. I have learnt so much and learnt to appreciate how important it is to create the whole look for a character. Working in a group has been difficult at times but so fascinating to learn about the different sides of the design process and I hope to collaborate further with other students in the future!