Dangerous Liaisons - 18th Century Menswear

So I have had a particularly hectic term at LCF! The work load has increased and I learnt lots of new skills which I had to take in in such a short space of time. I enjoyed learning how to do men's tailoring where I learnt how to make an 18th century shirt, breeches and frock coat. I know my costume is not perfect but I am pretty pleased with it as a first attempt.

I designed for one of the main character's, Valmont, in Christopher Hampton's adaptation of the novel Dangerous Liaisons. My interpretation of the play involved making Valmont a schizophrenic who is being controlled by Merteuil to seduce women. In scene 10 Valmont reveals that he has gotten one of his lovers pregnant so I decided to use feminine shapes such as the ovaries to inspire my fabric design. I have appliquéd and embroidered them subtly into the brocade coat. Throughout Act 2 Valmont's costume looses colour as he is beginning to realise that he is loosing his mind. I have designed and realised the costume for scene 16.
I will post more about the design side of this project soon!

A massive thank you to lovely Harry for taking the time to come out to see me for fittings and making such a fab model. I really hope 18th Century comes back in fashion soon as he looks pretty fantastic!

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!