eHow launches Android app: Get the best of eHow on the go.

  • Bookmark and Share

Costume Design

    Costume Design Editor's Picks

    • Fashion Colleges in Italy

      Italians are known for their fashion sense, and many of their designers have become household names around the world. Gucci, Versace, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana are some of the most famous.

      The demand for more Italian fashion design has created the need for training across the whole spectrum of fashion, and Italy has responded... more »

    • Best Career Choice for a Fashion Designer

      If you are a trained fashion designer, there are many different fields you can go into. Whether you want to launch your own fashion design company or work for an established brand, the choice of which career path to take as a fashion designer should be driven by your interests. Aside from fashion and clothing, also evaluate what other... more »

    • How to Get Into a Career in Fashion

      There is no right way to enter into a fashion career. For every student that attends school and gets a degree in design, you will hear stories about the greats who got there by different means. For example, one famous designer created ties, another opened up a store, and still another started as a seamstress. But should you interview... more »

    • How to Write a Theatre Resume

      Whenever you go for a theater audition, you're likely to be asked to bring along a professional resume of your acting credits. In cattle-call auditions, a resume not only helps a director remember who read what, but can also be easily put on file for future casting opportunities or referrals to other production companies. Here's how... more »

    • How to Make a Costume Design Portfolio

      Putting together a good portfolio is an essential part of getting costume design jobs. The portfolio will be looked at by potential employers as a representation of your work. For a designer, the portfolio is just as important as a resume and the interview itself. more »

    Costume Design Articles

    • How to Perform a Step Routine

      Stepping connects African American culture with elements of African dance and rhythms. Although stepping is predominately known as a black... more »

    • About Bollywood Movies

      The term "Bollywood" refers to movies made in India, and more specifically the filmmaking industry based in Mumbai (Bombay). As a nation, India is... more »

    • How to Be a Wardrobe Consultant

      If you have a great fashion sense and a flair for trends and what looks good, a career as a wardrobe consultant may be perfect for you. This can... more »

    • How to Make Theater Props

      Theater props are often necessary to fulfill the vision of the playwright and director in a stage production. Use a little ingenuity and common... more »

    Wikipedia

    Costume design

    Costume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such. Costume design should not be confused with Costume coordination which merely involves altering existing clothing.

    Four types of costumes are used in theatrical de­sign, Historical, fantastic, dance, and modern.

    Designs are first sketched out, and approved then either draped on a form or a pattern drafted. Along with the fabricated portion, the costume may require accessories such as footwear, hats and head dresses for the actors to wear, but it may also include designing masks, makeup, wigs, underwear or other unusual specialty items, such as the full body animal suits for the characters in the musical Cats (designed by John Napier, winner of the 1983 Tony Award for Best Costume Design). Costumes budgets will generally be as high a cost as other departments or theatrical needs such as set design.

    History

    In its earliest form, costumes consisted of theatrical prop masks from the time of the ancient greeks. Costume design evolved as the need for more elaborate and detailed characterizations were needed as the performances became more intricate and more complex characters began to emerge on stage. Defining each character separately allowing the audience the ability to follow a storyline with a conceptualised look defined prior to a performance was, and is needed as part of preproduction preparations.

    Early performers were generally male, therefore costuming was needed for gender disguise so as to create the illusion of the opposite sex. Costuming also helps create other character building imagery such as age. The leading characters will have more detail and design to make them stand out and relate a sense of trust to the audience. Styles and technique has cha read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costume+design

    Related Ads

    Costume Design People & Community

    Connect with people who share your interest by joining one of our Groups:

    Topic Contributors
    Get Free Arts & Entertainment Newsletters

    Copyright © 1999-2009 eHow, Inc. Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the eHow Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.   en-US Portions of this page are modifications based on work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License.

    Demand Media