Costume with Textiles: The Role and Development of Textiles in the Interpretation of Historical Dress for Contemporary Theatrical Costume

Costuming a theatrical show is a complex process, from the initial design concept to opening night, the journey through the design and construction of a period costume worn for a live performance requires collaboration and compromise with director, designer, performer and the costume team. Aesthetics of design, colour, silhouette, cut, fit, practicality and finish all need careful consideration. Key to this process is the choice of materials used to interpret the designer’s vision and portray the character of the performer to the audience. This research aims to document the role and development of textile design and implementation for theatrical performance costume, where a historical reference or period has been used as inspiration for the design concept. A selection of qualitative research methods are employed to collate and analyse information through historical research, object based research using case studies of surviving theatrical costumes and interviews with practitioners in this field.
The research questions have developed through a pedagogical interest in this subject as a lecturer on the Costume with Textiles BA (Hons) degree at The University of Huddersfield, as an experienced practitioner in the theatrical costume industry and as a researcher identifying a gap in the literature around this specific area of costume worn for live performance.