The Design Process in Costuming*
ROP Stagehand Technician
Commitment
In order to accomplish your best work you have to promise yourself that you will perform the task to the
best of your ability.
Analysis
The type of information that is needed to clarify and refine the challenge can be gathered by reading the
script and asking questions of the other members of the production design team. Typical questions that
relate specifically to costume design include:
1. What is the costume budget?
2. What is the production concept?
3. Are we going to be producing the play in the period in which it is writeen? What is that period?
4. When is the first dress rehearsal?
5. Does the director want a costume parade?
6. What does the set design look like? What is its color palette?
7. What is the lighting designer’s color palette?
Some questions will be answered when you study the script. Others will be discussed and answered
during the production conferences, in which the director and all designers freely exchange ideas and
information.
The second phase of analysis involves discovering areas and subjects that will require further
research. Note these areas so that you can investigate them during the next phase of the design process.
Research
Research is divided into two separate areas: background research and conceptual research. The primary
function of background research is to answer the questions generated during the analysis phase. The vast
majority of costume designs are based on a fairly realistic interpretation of the style of clothing worn
during some particular period of history. For this reason it is particularly important in costume design to
consult primary research materials whenever possible.
Primary research items include clothing and accessories actually made during the period under
investigation. The reason for primary research is to obtain the most accurate information about the
period silhouette, the type and nature of the fabrics used, and construction techniques. Nothing tells you
more about the design and construction of a dress of the 1890s than examining a dress made in the
1890s.
If primary sources are not available for examination, then the costume designer’s research
naturally expands to include examining photographs of actual garments of the period, museum displays
of actual clothing and accessories, paintings appropriate to the time and locale of the intended
production, and texts on the history of clothing and costumes.
The further back one goes in history, the greater will be the variations in the style of clothing
from region to region and country to country. Before 1800 land transportation was by foot, horse,
carriage, or cart. Travel between continents was by sailing ship. With the development o steamships,
railroads, and the telegraph, the time that it took for information to tracel from one place to another
*From Theatrical Design and Production: An Introduction to Scenic Design and Construction, Lighting, Sound, Costume,
and Makeup.6th Edition. By J. Michael Gillette. McGraw Hill.
shrank from months and years to merely minutes and days. Consequently, the readily identifiable
regional variations in the style of clothing began to diminish as the interchange of ideas, goods, and
services became easier.
Even in our own age of information, regional differences in dress are still alive and well. But the
current variations in clothing between region and countries are generally more subtle today than they
were even one hundred years ago.
During conceptual research, you need to visualize as many potential solutions to the design
challenge as possible. Sketch a lot of ideas. Gather fabric samples that might be appropriate for material
from which to construct the various costumes and attach them to the sketches.
Incubation
Rest. Relax. Get away from the project. Work on something else. Go for a walk. Go to the library. Go
see a play or movie. Do anything but work on or think about the project.
Selection
After you have selected the appropriate overall costume concept for the production, you will also need
to select the appropriate design idea that will be used for each individual costume in the production.
Implementation
The implementation phase in costume design involves the drawing and painting of costume renderings,
the selection of the appropriate fabrics for each design, and sometimes the supervision of the
construction of each garment. (To be technically correct, the costume designer is responsible for the
appearance, not the construction, of the finished costume. It is the costumer, not the costume designer
who is responsible for the supervision of the actual making of the costumes. In some production
companies, these lines of responsibility become fuzzy.)
Evaluation
Finally, take an objective look at the communication process that has taken place between you and the
other members of the production team and your own use of the design process. The purpose of this
evaluation is to discern ways in which you could improve your communication with other members of
the production design team as well as your use of the design process.
*From Theatrical Design and Production: An Introduction to Scenic Design and Construction, Lighting, Sound, Costume,
and Makeup.6th Edition. By J. Michael Gillette. McGraw Hill.