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.
Obviously dancers have to be able to move freely in their costumes than, say, opera singers. Are there any tricks of the trade to accomplish this?
The choice of fabric is crucial: how it falls, its flexibility, and its ability to withstand strain and constant laundering. When drawing the costume on the figure, the designer has to bear in mind the skeletal and muscular structure of the human body. The cut of the design lines, in relation to the rotation of the body joints, often requires the cutter to adapt traditional pattern blocks.
What is the first thing you do when commissioned to design costumes?
I listen to the music as many times as I can, as often your mood at the particular moment of listening can affect your interpretative skills. But the very first time you hear the music is a moment that never returns and is particularly special.
You started out designing costumes for plays. How did you come to design dance costumes?
Dame Peggy van Praagh asked Kristian Fredrikson to suggest a designer for Barry Moreland’s ballet Trocadero, and he recommended me for the commission. I was very familiar with the world of ballet as my mother danced in the 1940’s with the Borovansky Ballet.
Is your approach different when designing costumes for the various art forms: theatre, dance and opera?
Yes, it is often a question of scale, though there are basic principles that apply to all areas of theatrical design.
You’ve designed extensively for television. How does that differ from designing for the stage?
You become aware of ‘the close-up’ in film and television. The area around the face and hands becomes important in terms of detail. Though you have to take ‘the big picture’ into consideration as well and plot the ‘extras’ palette carefully to support the principal characters. The costume designer, because of the size of the cast, often has the added task of combining hire costumes with those they have specifically designed for the film.
What do you do when you’re not designing?
I love gardening, travel, going to films and theatre, though I do spend a lot of time and energy working on a travel scholarship for theatrical designers and makers. The scholarship was established to create an ongoing memorial to the career of the late Kristian Fredrikson.
A former dancer, Lydia Gibala is now studying for a Masters in Marketing at RMIT University and recently completed an internship with The Australian Ballet’s marketing team.
For further information about the Kristian Fredrikson scholarship visit www.fredriksonscholarship.org.
Edge of night plays in Melbourne and Sydney in August and November
Image: Artists of The Australian Ballet in Molto Vivace 2003. Photography Jim McFarlane
