Posts filed under: Costume

When Peter Farmer was designing the sets and costumes for Stanton Welch’s Madame Butterfly, he would leave his calico-covered desk at 3pm sharp and announce to his staff: “I’m off for a bubble bath and some chocolates.” It was a daily routine so unwavering “you could just about set your watch by it”. So Michael Williams, wardrobe production manager of The Australian Ballet, tells me as we enter a maze-like workroom where glinting organza ball gowns nestle against rows of creamy naval jackets. Inside the wardrobe department of The Primrose Potter Australian Ballet Centre, seamstresses are fastening hems with precision. Mannequins are draped with swathes of silk, piles of tulle sprout from table corners, and huge wicker baskets filled with boots and slippers line the walls. The gentle hum of sewing machines signals that the wardrobe department is busy breathing new life into the costumes of Madame Butterfly.

From the very first scene, in which Madame Butterfly stands centre stage with billowing fabric banners radiating outwards, towards the wings, the poignancy of her story is established. Peter, one of the dance world’s most experienced and revered designers, is renowned for his beautiful and comfortable costumes which enable the dancers to move unencumbered by stiff bodices or heavy skirts. However, in Madame Butterfly, it is Peter’s ability to express the delicacy of women and the masculinity of men that could be the most successful aspect of his designs. Sculptural black headdresses worn by the Japanese men might have been plucked out of a Philip Treacy showroom, whereas Butterfly’s girlfriends wear flowers in their hair so delicate it is as though each young woman has been sprinkled with cherry blossoms. The arch of each geisha’s gauzy fan merely highlights the steeliness of the men’s swords. The inky black hues of the dominating Japanese males seem only to illuminate the pathos of Butterfly’s story, as she floats through each movement veiled in impossibly light silks. (more…)