Designing Concord

The new designs for the Concord season are in, and Millinery is a very happy department. After the hard slog of refurbishing Nutcracker it is nice to be making a show, or rather two, from scratch. Both new ballets have visiting choreographers and designs have been signed off relatively late in the day, but what is making us really happy is the differences between them.

For Scuola di Ballo we are working with our trusted friend Hugh Colman, whose designs are always a joy to make. This time around we are blocking felt tricorns for policemen and making an exaggerated frilled bonnet for Lucrezia,  as well as earrings for the girls and a few shoe buckles for the boys. Although not historically accurate, the designs have taken their inspiration from the 18th century, which is a maker’s delight with its wonderfully rich fabrics and fantastic shapes. As far as the making goes, we are using traditional materials and techniques that milliners have used for decades. So often we are pushing boundaries with the materials we use, and how we use them, that it’s always lovely to hand-block a tricorn brim or make a silk bow. Hugh has chosen wonderful warm colours and l have no doubt the piece will be beautiful on stage.

Dyad 1929, designed by Moritz Junge, is another thing entirely. It’s a very modern piece, with designs based in geometric shapes and strong angles. A single pair of wings has sent me running into the arms of prop maker Al Martinez.  At his fantastic studio l have played with angle grinders, drills and linishers, and heated, hammered and shaped steel in the forge, all the while being lucky enough to have Al share his vast knowledge with me, quietly and gently become a mentor. The wings will look like amazing (I hope!), and what l have learned in the process will be invaluable to me in the future.

One of the things l love most about my job is being surrounded by such cleverness and skill. When that cleverness and skill is so willingly shared it makes me wonder how l could ever do anything else.

Photography by Teagan Glenane