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The costume for one of Cinderella's stepsisters, designed by Martin Pakledinaz. |
Costume Shop
How Costumes are Made
Costumes begin with a design, or a sketch, which is called a
rendering. This is either sent to the shop via a designer or made
in-house. Next, the draper, through discussion with the designer,
develops a pattern for the costume. After that comes the muslin stage
where dancers try on the costumes and the Costume Shop staff make
design changes. The process continues with a series of fittings until
the staff has fully developed the costume that the designer
intended. Decisions regarding fabric, color and dyeing are all made
within this process.
While the process itself is straight-forward, during every stage the
Costume Shop staff must keep in mind that ballet costumes must be able
to stand up to the stress of extraordinary movement and countless
launderings, while often being built to appear light and airy. It is
also imperative that the costumes not restrict the dancers' movement
in any way. Along with this, the costumes must also be rigged, often
ingeniously, to allow for easy alterations and for the dancer's quick
entry and exit from them.
The length of time needed to make the costumes for a show varies
widely. It depends on the number of costumes, and the degree of
intricacy of each piece. If the Costume Shop has a short period of
time in which to produce a large work, they will bring in extra
help. If a production is small, they are able to produce everything
they need on their own.
Costume Designer Martin Pakledinaz fits "Little Step
Sister's" costume on dancer Marisa Albee for Kent Stowell's Cinderella.
Photo by Jill Sabella. |
Marisa Albee as one of Cinderella's stepsisters in PNB's Cinderella.
Photo by David Cooper. |
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