Costumes
From my work in the Cal Poly Costume shop during class, design renderings, and Assistant Costuming Designing for "Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play".
Mrs. Gottlieb's Dress-
Dead Man's Cellphone
Made by me, includes box pleats and darts. 2023.
Design renderings for Hansel & Gretel
The setting I chose was 1500s Ireland. Each character pictured here is themed around a different type of tree, as wood was thought to have specific properties. Hansel is oak, Gretel is willow, their Father is ash, and the Witch is yew.
Hansel, Gretel and their Father all wear the Léine, a traditional garment worn long and tucked up. Hansel and his Father wear jackets called brats over the Léine, while Gretel wears an overdress.
The Witch is loosely garbed in a green robe to symbolize her distance from traditional society. As silver/white animals play a large role in the story, she also wears a cloak of silver feathers.
Conceptual design renderings for a "Hero & Villain"
For this project, we were given a flower and we had to somehow make that into a costume design for a hero of villain character. I received a picture of a White Spider Lily, and after doing some research, I decided to turn the flower into the poisonous villain of a 1960s gambling ring. Naturally, her heroic foil had to be the flower's pollinator- The Sphinx Moth.
Costume Designs for Intimate Apparel
by Lynn Nottage
For this project, I was asked to create eight different designs for six characters, with two looks for two of them. The Play, Intimate Apparel, is set in New York City in the 1910s, and follows Esther, a black seamstress who makes and sells undergarments, corsets, and other intimate apparel for her customers.
Esther is a very hopeful, easy-going character, who sometimes lets others walk all over her due to her generous nature. I clothed her in soft greens and whites to reflect this, while keeping her outfits practical to her economic and social standing. She is a woman who works with her hands (and sewing machine) for a living.
Mrs. Dickson is the landlady of the boarding house where Esther lives in Act 1. She serves as sort of a motherly figure to Esther- giving her relationship advice and playfully pushing her to get hitched. A widow herself, Mrs. Dickson didn't let the death of her husband stop her from making a place for herself in the world. In the end, she welcomes Esther back when all seems lost.
Mayme is a very complex character. She is a friend to Esther, whom Esther often makes corsets for out of the scrap left over from wealthy clients. Mayme works at a brothel, and dreams of becoming a stage performer. She soothes herself by playing ragtime on the piano. In the scene where we first meet her, she is distressed because one of her clients had just torn her silk robe.
In the end, it is revealed that Mayme is Goerge's secret mistress. Esther finds out when she walks in on Mayme wearing the smoking jacket that Esther made for George. Mayme claims she didn't know, but Esther is heartbroken and doesn't fully trust her.
Mrs. Van Buren is one of Esther's wealthy clients, whom Esther often makes house visits to measure for corsets. As a white woman married to a wealthy husband, Mrs. Van Buren tries to get his attention by her undergarments, and strikes up a unique customer-employee relationship with Esther despite their social status differences. However, Mrs. Van Buren fundamentally misunderstands her position of privilege, and ultimately alienates Esther when she decides to kiss her.
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Her corset is described in great detail, with blue beading and pink flowers.
Mr. Marks is the Orthodox Jewish man that Esther buys her fabric from. He often sets aside special bolts for her and goes as far as to flirt with her. Esther appreciates his warmness but is hesitant to pursue a relationship out of societal expectations, and then of course, she's married to George.
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A man who tries to always present the best of his wares, Mr. Marks doesn't have anyone looking out for him, as evident in the button on his suit that he cannot be bothered to sew back on.
George is the man that Esther falls in love with through his letters. Throughout the play, we see vignettes of him in his work clothes, what Esther imagines him to be wearing. I did extensive visual research on what real workers on the Panama Canal wore for George's outfit.
Assistant Costume Design for Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play
As Assistant Costume Designer, I was in charge of fabricating the staves the ensemble held in Act 3, with mosaic renditions of their "Simpsons" characters on the disks. The staves were made out of wood, foam, tape and dowels spray painted silver and gold, with lokes of adhesive tacky glue to get the paper images to stay on.
I was also in charge of pulling from our costume storage for the cast's Act 1 looks. I had a lot of fun with the unique challenge of finding clothes that fit everyone, were realistic to a post-nuclear meltdown setting, and gave off the vibes of each character.