29 July 2010
By Anna Sutton
filed under Costume, The Nutcracker
Sir Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker is like the first decoration you hang at Christmas time and the last one you put away. It is, in fact, so beautiful that its festivity endures all year round. For costume and set designer John Macfarlane, it was crucial that the design also reflected the darkness inherent in the story.
Macfarlane uses grand colour schemes and a painterly approach throughout the production. He drew on Edwardian influences for the Christmas party scene of act one, with the influence of the Ingmar Bergman film Fanny and Alexander extending to all aspects of its costumes and austere sets.
The atmosphere in the Stahlbaum residence is – despite its grand mantelpiece, flickering candelight and brightly baubled Christmas tree – as cold as the rear window that illuminates the blue harshness of a snowy landscape. There is all the regality of a salon without the intimacy of a family home: full-length maid uniforms with bonnets and aprons; frock coats and smart gold-trimmed navy suits for the gentlemen, and prancing girls in wheat muslin dresses spilling with frills. While being beautiful they all point to the regimented sensibilities from which our wide-eyed Clara escapes into the world of imagination. Read the rest of this entry »
26 July 2010
By Lydia Gibala
filed under Costume, Edge of night
Veteran costume designer Anna French continues to amaze us with her exquisite and, in the case of Molto Vivace, cheeky garments. We spoke to Anna about her collaboration with Stephen Baynes on Molto Vivace and she gave us some insight into the intricacies of costume design.
You’ve worked with Stephen Baynes before on 1914 and Requiem, both distinctly different to Molto Vivace. What most heavily influences the style of your designs?
I have designed the costumes for seven of Stephen Baynes’ ballets and they were all very different. Sometimes there was an established narrative, other times we were interpreting the nature of the music. My costume designs are influenced by the choreographer’s style, the choice of music, the size and nature of the performance space, the set design and the particular dancer who will be wearing the costume.
Do you watch many rehearsals prior to designing the costumes?
I try to watch as many as I can. It reinforces my connection with the choreography, allows me to visualise the costume in motion and realistically review the demands made of the garment. But, most of all, it allows you the privilege of witnessing the development of the choreography.
The music in Molto Vivace is by Handel who composed music around the 17th and 18th centuries, and yet the costumes are quite modern and funky. Can you talk about how Handel’s score fits with the costumes?
Stephen had a very particular attitude to the music which really influenced both the set and costume design. There was a formality on the surface of the music disguising a mad frivolity beneath. I tried to echo this in the costume designs in particular with the eclectic fabric choices, colours, and the silhouette. Read the rest of this entry »
12 July 2010
By Martyn Pedler
filed under Costume, Edge of night
Tim Harbour’s Halcyon began with a single image: a goddess, transformed into a bird, flying like an arrow into a storm. Tim enlisted designer Alexis George to recreate his visions on the ballet stage with a unique collection of danceable, period-style costumes. Martyn Pedler caught up with Alexis to talk about how she began designing costumes for the new ballet.
When Tim first told you the Halcyon story, did images immediately start to turn in your head?
It was actually quite immediate. Especially when the narrative is set in a particular time and place. Greek gods have such a striking visual image, so that was a really great starting point for me.
Tim said that he gathered a folder of images that inspired him during the initial stages of the creative process. Did he bring those to you as well?
Yes, that’s correct. He had a few paintings of the Halcyon goddess and her lover Ceyx. In particular, Tim liked the way the wind swirled the fabric, and the movement that was in the painting. Read the rest of this entry »
21 May 2010
By Peggy Moad
filed under Costume, Peggy
Peggy! Finally my own ballet programme!
Well, kind of …
I’ve been looking forward to this programme all year. It has just come in from the store and Marsia, Jessie and I unpacked it today. Personally I love a man in a ballet jacket and pair of tights, and this programme is all of that. For me, ballet is all about bling and the men in bling. I pulled out pink velvet jackets with silver bows, green waistcoats with peplums, and cream puff-sleeved shirts to go with them, and got very excited. Most of these costumes are from another era, a time when ballet looked like ballet and, well, people were generally much smaller back then. These days my boys are men and they’re built like men. Think ‘couture for hard yakka’. So when I pulled out beautiful silver brocade (dyed purple) jackets covered with silver trim my eyes lit up and I thought: we’ll get to remake that!
I also get to see these jackets on bodies in a different setting; sometimes over rehearsal clothes, sometimes with jeans. It can get a little Adam Ant; a little bit glam-punk; a little Gaultier. Read the rest of this entry »
14 May 2010
By Isabel Dunstan
filed under Ballet V Fashion, Bodytorque, Costume
Bodytorque choreographer Damien Welch set out to create a ballet about the relationship between personality and clothing choice. “I have my own love-hate relationship with fashion”, Damien says. “Birthday Suit comes from my belief that we would be happier (and colder) if we all just stayed naked.” For fashion designer Georgia Clark, Birthday Suit gave her the perfect opportunity to observe the various ways in which people express their identities in their day-to-day existence. We caught up with Georgia to talk about her interest in industrial workwear, and the everyday things that inspire her.
Tell us about your first meeting with Damien; did you find you were on the same page in terms of creative concepts?
Damien had a clear idea of the costumes at our first meeting, I liked his ideas and we went from there.
Your designs for Bodytorque are inspired by the way everyday people express their identities through clothing. Did you conduct stealth research on Melbourne’s streets?
I wanted to know what people were wearing under their clothes. So I conducted some of my research through conversations with retail sales staff in high street stores. Department store staff members are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the current tastes and trends of all types of people. Read the rest of this entry »
29 April 2010
By Isabel Dunstan
filed under Ballet V Fashion, Bodytorque, Costume
Georgia Lazzaro is currently in New York on an internship with Narciso Rodriguez and Calvin Klein and Crystal Dunn works for Melbourne-based label MATERIALBYPRODUCT. Early in the year Georgia and Crystal came together to design costumes for Alice Topp’s Trace, an intimate pas de deux performed by Vivienne Wong and Calvin Hannaford for Bodytorque.à la mode. We spoke to Georgia and Crystal about how they transformed basic hosiery into costumes fit for the ballet stage.
What has it been like working as the only design duo in Bodytorque?
We’ve really enjoyed working together, and have found that our thinking has been in sync the whole way through. It has been so great to have another person to bounce ideas off and get ideas from.
Do you find your ideas complement one another?
The Trace costumes are almost a perfect intersection of our ideas and ways of thinking. We are both fascinated by gesture; the motions of garments; the actions of bodies; the way the two relate to each other. We are both very interested in the language of fashion, and in the way fashion, objects, images and events relate to the living body.
Have you worked as a partnership before?
Not really, although at uni we spent time critiquing each others’ work. We will definitely work together in the future, though!
How did you respond to Alice’s choreographic concept during the initial stages?
When we read Alice’s outline of her concept for the piece – an intimate pas de deux exploring the traces of moments and memories – we were very excited as we felt it fit so perfectly with ideas that we had already been exploring for the Bodytorque promotional images, which we styled. Read the rest of this entry »
23 April 2010
By Isabel Dunstan
filed under Ballet V Fashion, Bodytorque, Costume
Considered the first female dandy, the Marchesa Luisa Casati was muse to a list of painters, photographers, fashion designers, writers and European thinkers. She was photographed by Man Ray, dressed by Paul Poiret, and directly inspired Cartier’s ‘Panthere’ jewellery series. In the streets of Paris at midnight the Marchesa, with wildly teased hair and kohl-blackened eyes, could be seen taking her pet panthers for a stroll. The Marchesa Casati was – in her prime – the most scandalous and daring woman of her day. Bodytorque choreographer Timothy Brown is the latest artist to to draw inspiration from the Marchesa for his new ballet Nocturnal Phantasm. Bridie O’Leary, the costume designer for Timothy’s work, chatted to us about how she recreated the Marchesa for the ballet stage. The sketch above is from Bridie’s last millinery collection.
Tell us about the design brief that Tim gave you …
The brief was very extensive. It not only included his design brief, but a biography on fashion muse Marchesa Luisa Casati, a detailed description of the music, and notes on his style of choreography. The general idea was to explore the eccentric, macabre and dramatic traits of the Marchesa. The broader themes were based on the antiquity of the fashions and social high-life of the early 20th century art scene, including the artwork of Erté. The suggested colour palette included the use of monochrome greys and silvers – inspired by the silver screen – with particular attention to the textures and shine of the fabrics. Most of all, Tim wanted to create a sense of drama and tragedy.
And how have you interpreted his ideas?
Firstly, I got a hold of as much as I could on Marchesa Casati and Erté; in particular, paintings of the Marchesa and Erté’s illustrations. The idea was to represent the dramatic glamour and grotesque beauty of the Marchesa’s character that was represented in famous paintings and illustrations, and photos taken of her during her wealthy years, through to her downfall and ultimate poverty. I decided that it was imperative to emphasise the creation of the silver screen. The grey, black and silvery hues and textures would help to capture this. The dancers surrounding the Marchesa loosely reference the Belle Époque style of the period while exaggerating a kind of eeriness and keeping that neo-Gothic edge. I decided red was an excellent colour to use as a highlight not only for its striking appearance on stage but also as an ode to Marchesa’s flame-red hair. The trick was to balance the decorative and excessive qualities in the designs with a modern and minimal style … so as not to hinder the dancers, or overpower the choreography. Read the rest of this entry »
16 April 2010
By Isabel Dunstan
filed under Ballet V Fashion, Bodytorque, Costume
When Bodytorque.à la mode choreographer Robert Curran and fashion designer Ryan Euinton met for the first time to brainstorm costume designs for Fold, they were on the same page. Robert wanted to explore ideas of flesh, layers, and touch; Ryan’s work had explored these themes before (pictured above). Ryan let us in on how he approached the costume designs for Fold.
Tell us about the design brief you were given for Fold …
Robert Curran spoke to me about the ideas, feelings, colours and textures of the piece. From the very start we knew the title of the work – Fold – and that it would involve an exploration of skin and the body. Bodytorque 2010 focuses on fashion so, naturally, we wanted the piece to stand alone as a product of fashion.
Your RMIT graduate work centered on ideas of covering and uncovering the body; have these ideas filtered into your Bodytorque work?
Yes, definitely. As a group of designers working on the various ballets within the programme, we all remarked how there was piece almost waiting for each of us.
What are some words that were flying around your head when you were designing this piece?
Corsets, legs, flesh. Read the rest of this entry »
31 March 2010
By Isabel Dunstan
filed under Ballet V Fashion, Bodytorque, Costume
Melanie Bower has swiftly become one of Australia’s most exciting breakthrough designers. Her autumn-winter collection (pictured above), fresh off the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival runway, straddles the stylistic extremes of austerity and hedonism. For the upcoming season of Bodytorque.à la mode Melanie has designed costumes for Daniel Gaudiello’s new ballet South of Eden, a piece about female escorts working in a hotel, waiting for the right man to come along and take them away. We chatted to Melanie about what inspires her work and the experience of designing for dance.
Can you tell us a little about the work you’ve designed for Daniel Gaudiello’s South of Eden?
In keeping with Daniel’s inspiration for the piece, the costumes are very body conscious and rely heavily on textural fabrics and cut-outs to abstract and sometimes fetishise the dancers’ bodies.
What is it about the work of Helmut Newton that has inspired your designs for this ballet?
For me, Helmut Newton’s work was a great influence because of the way he explored the relationship between sex and power.
What are you hoping to bring to the ballet stage?
I hope my preoccupation with fashion will allow me to bring something fresh. If nothing else, I think, as newcomers, the costume designers for this season of Bodytorque will break conventions, because we don’t know them all!
What has it been like designing for dance?
It has been exciting and challenging. I’ve had to rely heavily on the expertise and knowledge of the amazing wardrobe department at The Australian Ballet.
Read the rest of this entry »
19 February 2010
By Isabel Dunstan
filed under Ballet V Fashion, Costume
“Bodymap,” dancer and choreographer Michael Clark says, “is trying to do the same kind of thing I’m trying to do with classical ballet, but with design – taking very basic design and trying to look at it in a different way.” FOLLOW ME Magazine, August 1987.
Classical ballet was in for a shock when the baby-faced “Nijinsky with a Mohawk” Michael Clark, the enfant terrible of ballet, collaborated with David Holah and Stevie Stewart, designers of Central Saint Martin’s most forward-thinking label Bodymap.
In the 1980s, ballet was gripped at the throat by the anarchic youth culture of sex, fashion and performance art. It wasn’t just the look of the dancers that changed but the feel and sound of ballet as well. Clark enlisted the help of avant-garde performance artist Leigh Bowery and live music by post-punk groups in the London scene: Wire, The Fall and Laibach.
In Clark’s large-scale production No Fire Escape in Hell (1986) dancers wore hand-printed, buttock-baring unitards with batwing sleeves and strapped-on rubber appendages from sex shops. Leigh Bowery – a magnificent sight in ten-inch heels – wielded a chainsaw.
Ballet once again had influence on the catwalk. Clark regularly performed at Bodymap and Vivienne Westwood fashion shows, and in film clips. In Scritti Politti’s clip for ‘Wood Beez (Pray like Aretha Franklin) 1985’, Clark performs clad head-to-toe in Bodymap. Youth culture penetrated ballet and it never looked so good.
Michael Clark pushes the boundaries of ballet to this day; the collaborators have changed, the music is different, but the spirit of style, design and anarchy live on.
Mia Veur is a freelance womenswear buyer and stylist
