May 2001: Design Notes

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The List - The Process of Design

On Design - Professional designers develop a system for taking their concepts to finished costumes. No matter if you are making a simple dress from a commercial pattern or invening a multi-piece ensemble from scratch, having a method for working out your designs, getting it onto paper and then into fabric will prevent the formation of those dreaded UFO's - Un-Finished Objects.

Inspiration - The initial spark for a design can come from nearly anywhere. A piece of jewelry, a length of cloth, or seeing a fabulous and eye-catching costume on a fellow dancer, a web site, or in a magazine can trigger ideas for new costume designs. Designers keep their eyes peeled and minds open for ideas to trigger new design concepts. As you plan and design your costumes pay attention to those creative sparks as they fly.

Sketch - Once you have an inspiration, take the time to draw it out. Even if you don't think you can draw, give it a try. Make notes on your sketch to indicate details that you cannot effectively draw. A croquis, or stock figure, can help you by providing a blank template that maps out the proportion of the body and allows you to just draw the garments right on top.

Swatch - Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to buy all of the materials required for a costume in one place. And while you might have a fabulous concept for a costume, if you cannot find the materials you envision, the costume will be impossible to execute. A swatching trip will give you an idea of what materials are actually available in your area. Creating your own resource list of suppliers in your own neighborhood, on the internet and via mail order to call on when shopping for costume elements. If you can, get small samples of the possible materials. Make sure you label your swatches with the cost, fiber content, width, and shop.

Rework and Finalize - Once you know what materials are available, it's time to rework, refine your costume. After your swatching trip, you might find that your initial ideas, while beautiful, might take too much time or cost too much money! During this phase you will make or adapt patterns for making the costume pieces, so that you can estimate your required yardage, beads, and other surface design elements. This is also the time you finalize your budget based on the results of your swatching trip.

Shop - Once you have your list of supplies and the quantities of materials needed, you are ready to go out and actually shop. Use the notes you made during your swatching trip to locate all of the materials you have been searching for. Be strong and stick to your budget!

Sew - Making the costume is probably the most time consuming part of the design process. Make sure to take your time! Many dancers rush through making their garments. By going slow, you can pay attention to the details. Quality construction can be even more important than cost of the materials and supplies.

Document - Once you have made your costume, make sure that you get pictures of the costume. If you can, get shots from all angles, especially front, 3/4 view, side and back shots. Shots of the costume in motion will preserve the quality of motion. Archiving videotape of the ensemble during a performance will demonstrate it's full range of motion.