Inside out
Project Title: Inside Out
Review
So far in the costume pathway, I have expanded my knowledge of different ways to communicate design ideas, and I feel that I have further developed my own style. I have learned a lot more about the history of costume, and about costumes from different eras. I definitely think that I would like to make a physical garment at the end of this project, because up until now I have been designing the costumes purely in 2D form. I like the idea of trying to solve a design problem within the costume design, which will be much easier to do if I use the 3D aspect.
Concept
My idea for this project is to come up with designs for a costume which essentially turns ‘inside out’ on the stage, but in a subtler way than just a quick change; I want it to actually transform in front of the audiences’ eyes. I have decided to design a costume for the lead character in Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little mermaid. The scene that I have chosen is the moment where the little mermaid, in human form, is rejected by the prince and refuses to kill him, resulting in her being transformed into a ‘luminous and ethereal earthbound spirit, a daughter of the air.’[1] I think that this will be a really interesting scene to try and translate into the costume, as she is not only turning from a human to a spirit, but is also experiencing rejection and heartbreak, and acting in complete selflessness.
Research
I intend to do primary research involving dancers, and will record through film, photography and drawing, studying the way that they move, so that I can research into ways that the costume can naturally transition into the spirit. Primary research into how that fabric moves and falls will also be quite important, as the movement of the fabric is something which will be essential when it comes to how the audience see the costume change. For contextual research, I am going to look at previous versions of the little mermaid story, including the original Hans Christian Anderson version, and also costumes from other ballet productions. I will also look at illustrators, fine artists work, films and early photography, including Edward Muybridge, Liz Rideal and Edmund Dulec.
Practical Methods and Skills
I will use a combination of digital and tradition methods including photoshop and using watercolours and marker pens to create the illustrations, which I have worked with previously in the pathway. I will also use a range of practical skills when it comes to making the actual garment, although I don’t know specifically what this will include as I haven’t decided on the design yet, which could include draping on the stand, pattern cutting, and other techniques such as embroidery.
Evaluation and Reflection
I find that using mind maps is a really good way to come up with and develop ideas, as well as fast paced quick sketches so that I can quickly work out which designs are physically possible and will fit the needs of the user. I will use notes in my sketchbook and on my blog to evaluate my ideas, as well as group crits and tutorials to gather other opinions, and weekly reflections on the learning experience mapped against my timeline to keep on track.
Presentation
I am aiming to produce a series of design ideas, and a final design, which might include technical drawings as it will be fairly complex, given the fact that it transforms on the stage in front of the audience. I also would like to make the costume itself so that I could see how it would work on a real person, and how the transformation would take place.
[1] En.wikipedia.org. (2018). The Little Mermaid. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid#Plot_summary [Accessed 19 Jan. 2018].
Research
I looked at different summaries of the original version of the little mermaid, including the full original story, which I found online. This helped inform me of the story that I wanted to follow, rather than the more mellow disney and other more recent versions. I have found that ballets are often extremely dramatic, which I think is partly because of the fact that there are no spoken words, so everything is told through the medium of dance. I have also had an appreciation for ballet and the dramatic style and over exaggerated storyline is one of my favourite things about it. The ballet world has such a gravitas and I think that trying to tell a more mellow and less heartbreaking version, would be disrespectful to the ballet community, and I think that the adherence to traditions such as these is what makes ballet so special.
From the research that I did on the previous versions of the story, I developed a character analysis and I also mapped her changes, and detailed the change that I want to focus on; human to spirit.
I created this mood board of spirit vs human ideas so that I could try and formulate a way to combine them and create the changing costume. I have included various 1830s dress styles, and Danish dresses from that time period, which is where the first telling of the little mermaid was published and set. For the spirit side of the mood board, I collected images of dancers which include fabric that is moving in an interesting way, and that I think almost becomes part of the air, which is a feature that I would like to include in the costume, as the little mermaid becomes 'A daughter of the air'.
I made a small mood board on ideas for a colour scheme for the 2 costumes. For the human costume, I chose a peachy orange colour for the main part of the costume. Orange has associations with autumn and the earth, which because of the changing seasons, can also represent change and movement in general, which is perfect for the character. I have used a muted peach colour, instead of a vibrant orange colour, because the little mermaid is quiet and shy, and is literally mute at this point as she has given up her beautiful voice to the sea witch. Orange is generally seen as a positive colour, which I think is an interesting visual metaphor, as I have combined it with a blue colour underneath as a feature colour. Blue is typically associated with sadness and heartbreak, so I think that visually this can be seen as covering over sadness with positivity, which is a representation of what is happening in her life at that point, because she is overcome with happiness at being close to the prince, but with a bittersweet undertone of heart break.
When the costume turns into the spirit costume, I would like the whole costume to be blue tones, which is a symbol of security and responsibility, which is what the little mermaid becomes, as she is now a daughter of the air, and is responsible for human happiness and safety.
Eadweard Muybridge
Eadwaerd Muybrigde is someone who I have looked at to help with my primary research, looking at his quick fire photography of dancers to capture the way that they move. I hope to do something similar, so that I can get an ideal of how the costume should move with the dancer, and to see if the movement is something that I can use in the transformation of the costume.
Dancer Photography
Liz Rideal
Similar to Muybridge, Liz Rideal is an artist who takes quick fire photographs of fabric moving through a space, and I am going to try this with some different fabrics to see how they would flow and move on stage, which will help me to determine which fabric will be the best to use in my costume.
Diana Dias Leao
Diana Dias Leao is a designer who came out with a collection of glass dresses, which I took inspiration from because of the blue and white colours that she uses, and because it forged the association with sea glass in my mind. Although it would be impractical to use glass in my costume, I think that I can take influence from the aesthetic. Glass also appears to have that magical, spiritual look, especially when light is shone through it, which would be perfect for the little mermaid in spirit form.
Edmund Dulac
Edmund Dulac is an illustrator who I have looked at before in previous projects, simply because I love the detail that his illustrations go into, which really helps to tell the story. I love the intricacy and detail in the design, which is something I could incorporate into my design, possibly through free hand embroidery. Silk painting would also lend itself really well to getting across Dulac’s style, and the silk would also work well on stage as it is very light weight and floaty.
Initial Ideas
I came up with some pages on initial ideas for each of the human and spirit parts of the costume, so that I could create a visual image of how I wanted it to look before I go back in and try to figure out how it is physically going to work and change into each other.
I then started to come up with design concepts for different ways of creating a changing costume, and techniques that I could incorporate into the design so that the dancer can change the costume on stage.
I then drew some designs on dancers, and blended them on photoshop so that they transform into each other, so that I can see how that might begin to work, and look from the audiences perspective.
WRITING
WRITING
Making
Above are my drawings and sketches to try and come up with a pattern that will work, before I start making the costume. I did this at the same time as draping the fabric on the stand so that I could come up with ideas that would be practical.
making
Peer Review
Again with this project, I found the peer review really helpful as now that we know each other better, it is easier to bounce ideas off one another and come up with creative solutions to the design briefs that we each completed. They helped me to figure out some targets to stick to for the FMP, which including making sure that I stuck to a time plan again, because it worked well with this project, and time management is something that I struggle with usually. They pointed out that I had pushed myself by taking on making the full costume, which I was happy about because I felt like I had taken the project as far as possible, and had reached its conclusion. They said that I had a good amount of research, and that I had done more primary research than in previous projects, which helped inform my project better I think. It was also useful seeing the challenges that my peers faced in this project, time management and over use of research being the main two, which is something that I can make sure to work on for my own project in stage 3.
Bibliography
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Anon., 2018. 1795–1820 in Western fashion [online]. Wikipedia. Available from: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1795–1820_in_Western_fashion
Anon., 2018. The Little Mermaid [online]. Hans Christian Andersen: The Little Mermaid. Available from: http://hca.gilead.org.il/li_merma.html
Anon., 2018. The Little Mermaid [online]. Northern Ballet. Available from: https://northernballet.com/the-little-mermaid
Anon., 2018. The Little Mermaid [online]. Wikipedia. Available from: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid
Anon., 2018. Handbook of Dance Stagecraft January 1956. Available from: http://www.d.umn.edu/~mharvey/handbook5601.html
Anon., 2018. Liz Rideal. Available from: http://lizrideal.com/
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Fowler, A. C., 2016. This dad's whimsical Disney princess costumes are nothing short of amazing [online]. Business Insider. Available from: http://www.businessinsider.com/dads-transforming-disney-princess-costumes-2016-6
Muybridge, E. J., 2018. Eadweard J. Muybridge. Woman Dancing (Fancy): Plate 187 from Animal Locomotion (1887). 1884-86 | MoMA [online]. The Museum of Modern Art. Available from: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/44243
Percival, J., West, G., Ferguson, S., and Izza, A. M. D., 1997. Northern Ballet Theatre: 1987-1997: a celebration. Leeds: Northern Ballet Theatre.
Porter, H., 2017. REVIEW: The Little Mermaid, Northern Ballet, Mayflower TheatreBy Hilary Porter [online]. Daily Echo. Available from: http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/leisure/news/15551014.amp
Racinet, M. A., 2012. The complete costume history. Koln: Taschen.
Rohdie, S., 2006. Montage. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Thorpe, J. R., 2017. The 9 Worst Parts Of The Original Little Mermaid [online]. Bustle. Available from: https://www.bustle.com/articles/65813-9-ways-the-original-little-mermaid-by-hans-christian-andersen-is-actually-seriously-disturbing
Winter, A., 2017. The Little Mermaid review at Mayflower Theatre, Southampton [online]. The Stage. Available from: https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2017/little-mermaid-review-mayflower-theatre-southampton/
XineAnn, 2018. Edmund Dulac Fairy Tale Illustrations at Art Passions [online]. Art Passions: Fairy Tales are the Myths We Live By. Available from: http://artpassions.net/dulac/dulac.html