Costume Design Research Articles

Antimicrobial Properties of Bamboo Fibres

N Gokarneshan1,* and Anish khan2 Author Affiliations 1Department of costume design and fashion, SNS Rajalakshmi college of arts and science, India 2Chemistry department, Faculty of science, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia Received: December 12, 2020 | Published: December 23, 2020 Corresponding author: N Gokarneshan, Department of costume design and fashion, SNS Rajalakshmi college of arts and science, Coimbatore, India DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2020.32.005309

TOWARDS AN ANALYSIS OF THE DRAMATURGICAL FUNCTION OF THE VIDEOSTAGE

The videostage is the field of design in the stage arts that rai- ses from the incorporated technology to the staging, and hence joins the scenography, illumination, costume design, makeup, sound design and graphic design as a part of the stage plastic and the stage sound. Thanks to the experimentation and the increasingly developed and accessible te- chnology, multiple creators have incorporated the videostage into their spectacles, establishing different relations with the scene. This paper studies the state of the art about such relations as generators of contrasts and harmonies depending on their juxtaposition or super- position, which creates a specific theatrical event whose characteristics are not able to exist separately on stage or in the video. Following the premise that a dramaturgical logic must integrate the vi- deostage into the global proposal of the sense of a production, this paper proposes and develops a classification of dramaturgical functions with which the videostage can be used in the theatre. Each of them is exem- plified with spectacles in which they are used. The contemporary uses are also related to the first practices with the audiovisual on stage. The objective is to create an advance in the, for the moment, few methodolo- gical tools which enable an analysis of spectacles with videostage.

Ethics of homeless representation in costume design

Marisol, set in 1993 New York City, depicts the end of the world from the perspective of a twenty-something Puerto Rican white collar woman who loses her guardian angel. In approaching the costume design for this play I encountered a deeply concerning question: how can I design costumes for homeless characters without appropriating the physical appearance of people who experience homelessness in real life? Homeless characters are represented in many iconic plays in English language theatre, from Angels in America to Oliver!, and costume designers are frequently asked to address the ethics of representation with their design choices. In this short article I share my process in sourcing primary reference images for homeless characters without appropriating the exclusionary violence of the people who are considered ‘out of place’ in today’s New York City. I considered the ethics of different approaches to sourcing primary research that I have used in the past but ultimately chose to give up ‘authenticity’ for ethics. For the design I used reference images sourced from Japanese label N. Hoolywood’s Fall 2017 Menswear Collection, a fashion design that directly appropriates people who experience homelessness. My choice to frame homelessness through the lens of fashion served our production of Marisol only because of its design concept but leaves open the question of how to ethically design costumes for homeless characters in other plays.

An ‘armour’ against anguish: Costume design considerations around protecting actors in emotionally distressing roles

Actors and singers frequently portray characters who experience distressing events, yet this may cause anguish for the performers themselves and require them to perform personal emotional management to cope with their own feelings during a production. This case study discusses and documents my costume design ethos and processes for the Sydney 2018 production of Clare Barron’s play, You Got Older (2015), which required the two lead actors to play characters who were experiencing profound fear, grief and loss. The design approach drew on Monks’s work on the relationship that actors have with their costumes and d’Anjou’s interpretation of Sartrean ethics within the context of a design practice. Once I had determined that the nature of my role as designer for this production would be to offer the actors emotional support through costume, I applied Woodward’s notion of comfort in everyday dress to the context of performance costume to ascertain how costume might contain a talisman and/or function as a form of psychological, ‘soft armour’ within the context of the play. Finally, this report uses Tonkinwise’s writing on ethical design alongside a semi-structured interview with the lead actor in You Got Older, Harriet Gordon-Anderson, to examine the forms that such protections took within my designs for the play and offers methodological considerations regarding designing costumes to protect and comfort performers playing emotionally distressing roles, should the actors require it.

Storytelling through the Mise en Scene in the film The Grand Budapest Hotel

This study aims to analyze the film The Grand Budapest hotel from the mise en scene aspect applied in the film. Mise en scene to be analyzed in this film includes: property settings, wardrobe, makeup, and lighting. The method used in this research is a qualitative method with a content analysis approach, namely mentioning the mise en scene aspects of the film The Grand Budapest Hotel descriptively and then analyzing the impression that the film creates. The results obtained from this study are wardrobe selection, lighting arrangement and proper property settings that will produce a great films from cinematic and narrative aspects. Researchers hope that this research can provide a general description of the mise en scene and the aspects of the costume, lighting and property design of The Grand Budapest hotel. The conclusion of this research is that the use of mise en scene in the film The Grand Budapest Hotel is very good in terms of costumes, lighting and property design, so that the narrative and message in the film can be conveyed well to the audience. The costumes used give the impression of harmony between costume design and property design, property design gives the impression of unity between scenes and other scenes and the last is the lighting arrangement that combines low key and high key techniques to give the impression of a deep emotional change in a scene.

Cuttlefish – performing body

This research report discusses and reflects on the development of the costume design and choreography of the performance piece Cuttlefish, 2017–19. In the performance, the costumes played an essential role as they completely transformed the movements and forms of the dancers. To enable this, costumes were designed as temporal forms, garments that contain a particular movement language based on the structural possibilities of the body. The costumes are discussed here from two perspectives: in relation to their role in constructing a narrative for the audience, choreographer and dancers and secondly concerning the practical aspects of their development as temporal forms. The suggestion is that garments constitute material opportunities, designed to provide a system of possible movements and expressions that the choreographer and dancer can explore. The result has implications for both fields of fashion design and costume design as it proposes fundamental parameters for a method of constructing garment as temporal form.

Modern Crimean Tatar national costume: succession and novelties (based on the example of Crimean dress designers)

This article analyzes the modern Crimean Tatar costume from the perspective of succession of the traditional elements. The author systematizes general approaches towards design of the traditional and modern costume, indicating the characteristic features. At the present stage, the elements of the traditional Crimean Tatar costume are growing in popularity. Interpretation and modern stylization of the traditional elements of national costume leads to the formation of the unique style. The leading phenomenon in the approach towards design of the modern national costume is the scientific basis, which helps to preserve the traditional elements. The object of this research is the modern Crimean Tatar costume, while the subject is decorative and graphic approaches towards design. The primary task consists in determination of the principles of creation of Crimean Tatar image and its implementation into Crimean modern culture. The novelty of this research is defined by insufficient examination of the modern Crimean Tatar costume on the scientific level, although actively implemented into modern youth culture. The creative direction in the works of modern Crimean Tatar designers is divided into three approaches: verbatim reproduction of ethnic costume (mostly used wedding gear and theater costumes), authorial interpretation, and avant-garde approach, using metaphors as the basics of style. It is noted that in the approach with allusive metaphors it enough to complement modern costume with headwear similar to the traditional to add national flavor to the image. The author underlines the importance of development of modern Crimean fashion in all three directions, as each approach has a particular function.

СТИЛЬОВИЙ СИНТЕЗ ЯК ПЕРСПЕКТИВНИЙ МЕТОД У ФОРМУВАННІ СУЧАСНОГО ЖІНОЧОГО ОБРАЗУ

The aim of the article is to analyze the stylistic synthesis examples in the design of a modern costume, and to identify the actual combinations of two or more styles in one image which are preferred by Ukrainian designers. Models of modern women’s clothing, represented on the Ukrainian market by designers, trade locations, and printed fashion magazines has been used asthe objects of the analysis. Methodology.The systematic approach has been used for examination of the modern design activities as result of the postmodern culture influence and for detection of the relationship between artistic phenomena and the design practice. Art analysis has been used for the analysis of the shape, silhouette, costume plasticity, and allowed to reveal the main ways of different styles elements combination into a single structural integrity. Resalts. The interpretation of the different styles interaction problem in art and dsign by art theorists and costume practitioners has been given in the study. The analysis of women's clothing models represented on the Ukrainian market by such designers as Nadya Dzyak, Ksenia Schnaider, and such Ukrainian brands as RITO, Jul through the Ukrainian Fashion Week web-resource, own web-sites and online stores, and published by TRserial and ELLE has been provided. The fact that modern costume designers are vibrantly trying to combine components ofdifferent styles in one image, which allows obtaining a variety that reflects a wide range of human needs and preferences, has been demonstrated. Scientific novelty. The study of stylistic synthesis as a separate direction in the costume design has been represented. The visual series that allows studying of the stylistic combinations variability and identifying the need of stylistic synthesis introduction into the theory and practice of design techniques have been formed with the help of the selective method. The main directions of different styles synthesis in the designers developments have been determined. The practical significance. The analysis of stylistic synthesis promising techniques in the modern women's costume can supplement the insufficiently studied areas in the theory and practice of design. The results of the study can be used as practical recommendations for costume design and fashionable image formation based on the stylistic synthesis.

THEATRE COSTUME AS A FACTOR OF ARCHITECTONICS OF THEATRE SPACE (COSTUME DESIGN FOR THE PENELOPIAD)

The costume design by Andrew Nasturzio and Alessia Urbani for The Penelopiad at the Ryerson Theatre brought an innovative, creative and a unique design approach by embracing the challenges of the production

The Skin of our Teeth, by Ellen Geer Will

The Skin of our Teeth, by Ellen Geer Will

Dalla formazione in scenografia alla Rai. Giosetta Fioroni costumista e Pino Pascali scenografo per la nascente televisione italiana

Giosetta Fioroni and Pino Pascali have worked in different years for the nascent national television. Fioroni was engaged as a costume designer between 1955 and 1957; while Pascali as set designer between 1963-1967. For both – educated in scenography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome – these commissioned works precede their debut as research artists. The programs examined, Gli interessi creati and Biblioteca di Studio Uno, represent case studies of Fioroni and Pascali's way of working with the scenic and then with the television language. This contribution intends to examine the works commissioned by Rai to Giosetta Fioroni and Pino Pascali, highlighting how these episodes are exemplary to understand the impact of the academic training from the intermediate stage of their artistic career, up to the synthesis made in the mature works of the two artists.

Contemporary Art Characteristics of Original Costume Design

Contemporary Art Characteristics of Original Costume Design

Research trend of Korean costume design

Research trend of Korean costume design

Asserting the dominance of Igbo cultural motifs in Nollywood costumes: An analysis of select Nollywood films

It is taken for granted that Igbo cultural motifs are pivotal to the formation of Nollywood costumes. The researcher thus finds the examination of the evolution of Nollywood costumes an important subject that requires urgent attention. The aim of this examination is to assert the dominance of Igbo cultural motifs in Nollywood costumes. Qualitative research method was adopted for the research. Using ethnographic research approach, the researcher had sought the opinions of experts in traditional Igbo aesthetics and symbols. The study finds semiotic theory appropriate model for the costume analysis. Findings from this research reveal that Igbo dress culture was pivotal to the development of Nollywood costumes and has continued to play significant roles in costuming Nollywood characters. This research recommends that Nollywood costume designers should focus more on the communicative essence of costumes and their effectiveness in preserving culture. Costume designers should also be given ample time and budget to carry out an ethnographic research in order to employ motifs appropriately. The case studies used for the research were Ijele, My Rising Sun, Living in bondage and The Priestess.
 Keywords: Igbo cultural motifs, Costumes, Nollywood, Dominance, Dress culture, Prototype

BODY FRAGMENTED - temporal expressions

In response to digital technology, new methods, thinking and aesthetics have emerged that challenge the way we design. In particular, the extraction of movement introduced by motion-capture technology propose a design process wherein the motion rather than the form is used as a material in a design process. In such a process the motion is extracted form a defined set of points that creates a digital representation. In this exposition, the strategies utilized when capturing a motion is translated into the process of garment making with the purpose to challenge bodily aesthetics through dress. Practically, this exposition builds on two independent studies with the shared aim to define parameters for transformations of the moving body’s expression applied to a garment making process. Yet, the transformation is approached from two perspectives; the first study is non-material and borrows theory and references from the field of dance and motion capturing technology. It maps the body as a point-based system based on the body as a moving form and pin-points body functions that affect these points. This part serves as a foundation for the second study that adds material aspects, in particular, it maps material parameters that relate to how the material is arranged in relation to these points. In conclusion, strategies of extraction of movement as attachments and the scale of fragmentation of materials are considered the main contribution to the garment making process. As it proposes a new usage of movement, the work has implications for fashion design, costume design but also other body movement-based mediums as it is about the expression of body movement and not just the body as a form.

Designing of children’s stage costume using bionic objects

The article is devoted to the actual problem in design projection of children’s choreographic costumes based on a bionic creative source. The analysis aimed to identify the scope of use of vegetables as a creative source for the production of fashion collections. It has been found that designers use vegetables for making clothes, for sketching the models of clothes, as well as a source of inspiration for form, decoration and colour choices. A figurative and stylistic analysis of bionic creative sources and the transformation of plant images into stage costumes for a children’s dance show was carried out in order to come up with models of stage costumes. During the process of costume design, the following principles were adopted: imitation of the bioform in separate elements of the costume, analogousness of silhouette solutions to natural bioforms, bionic design projection with the identification of functionality, and figurative and associative expressiveness of the costume. As a final step, the scenario of performance, as well as the requirements of the children and the creative source were considered when designing a collection of children’s stage costumes.

INTEGRATION OF DIFFERENT ART TYPES IN THE PROCESS OF FORMATION OF FUTURE TEACHERS OF CHOREOGRAPHY INTERPRETATION COMPETENCE

The aim of the article is to actualize the integration of different arts in the process of forming the interpretive competence of future teachers of choreography, based on the functional model of art, namely its hedonistic, aesthetic, cognitive, educational, social-transforming and information-communicative functions. The process of interpretation of the artistʼs creative concept in the plane of choreographic art is determined by the ability of the teacher-choreographer to integrate the universal artistic heritage. At the heart of any movement there is always a relationship with the musical accompaniment, which is due to the synthesis of the concept of composer and choreographer. In turn, due to the general canons of world art, each choreographic pose gives a stylistic color to the composition. The design of scenery and costumes is based on the tendencies of artistic creativity, and drama is based on the functional canons of the theatrical act.The methodology of integration of different types of arts in the process of professional training is based on the syntheticity of the categorical apparatus of art and the sensualism of human perception. The process of integration is considered in terms of the application of pedagogical principles and methods of synthesis of universal cultural heritage. The article presents an analysis of the scientific literature on the definition of “integration”, “integration classes”, pedagogical principles of “integration of different arts in the process of professional training”. It is proved that the integration of musical, artistic and theatrical arts plays a crucial role in the process of forming the interpretive competence of future teachers of choreography and determines the positive dynamics of the development of creative abilities.

‘We are not Exiles, we are Messengers’: George Riabov and his Collection of Russian Theatre Design (USA)

This article is devoted to the history of George Riabov’s collection of Russian art. Among art collections outside of Russia, the George Riabov Collection of Russian Art is unique due to its scope. It includes icons from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries, graphic arts and sculpture from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, as well as ‘lubki’, posters and illustrated books from the early 1900s to the 1930s, nonconformist art of the former Soviet Union from the 1960s–1970s, and the works of Russian émigré artists. Consisting of important works of Russian art across the centuries, the Riabov Collection also features some major examples of stage and costume designs for theater, ballet, and opera created by the early twentieth-century artists. In 1990, Riabov donated his vast collection to The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (USA). The article traces the history of the Riabov collection and also places a number of important costume and stage designs in the collection in the context of the development of Russian theatrical design in pre- and post-revolutionary era.
 Keywords: Riabov collection, Russian art, theater design, émigré artists, World of Art, Ballets Russes, art collecting

The Other Sex of Polish Cinema. The Contribution of Female Filmmakers to Feature Film Production in the People’s Republic of Poland

The paper is dedicated to the Polish female filmmakers – contributors to feature film production from the period 1945–1989 in the Polish state film industry. The theoretical framework is based on women’s studies and production studies. Author presents and comments on the numbers from the quantitative research, including credits of feature films production, divided into key positions: director, scriptwriter, cinematographer, music, editor, production manager, set designer and assistant director, costume designer. The results are presented in graphics and commented in 5 years blocs. The analysis leads to the conclusions describing the specificity of emancipation in socialist Poland in the area of creative work.

Éminence Grise or a Mentor? More on Ester Krumbachová

A graduate of painting and graphic arts at the Higher School of Arts and Crafts in Brno, Ester Krumbachová became known in her professional life as a costume designer, set designer, scriptwriter, author and finally a director. However, she was often pushed to the margins of authorship with the label of “inspiration and just a muse”. There are at least a few basic themes that organize the specificity of Ester’s artistic discourse. There are costumes, and props for which she was responsible: hats, shawls, black umbrellas, silk shirts, camp coats or overalls made out of newspaper and twine. But the whole galaxy of food, meal preparation, feeding and gluttony demands describing. The films Ester was involved in, as a writer or director, are woven from it. The specificity of the interior, often adjacent to the “metaphorical and mental” map of the artist’s apartment, becomes an important background for the platform of culinary images. The recorded registers seem to speak of food and clothes, typically female areas of interest and activity. The main aim of this article will be to treat them as semantically important mechanisms of communication, mostly visual and non-verbal.