Blog post 3
Within the Better Lives unit, I have partaken in the activities which have been with the Navigating through clothing group which is based around costume design. We had been told to create a costume design based around a character which is from Hansel and Gretel, however the costume needs to be made for a performance of our choice and also be influenced by a continent. I had chosen to create an Asian inspired costume for the Duck, which will be appropriate for a theatre production.
I had enjoyed being part of the Navigating Through Clothing sector of the unit as I had been allowed creative freedom with my designs. As well as this, going to the British Museum and looking at the costume section at the National Theatre had also allowed me to be heavily educated on how costume is made and designed for the stage. My time at the British Museum had allowed me to be inspired by the different cultures and get ideas of new textures and designs which I may feature for my own designs. As well as this, certain lectures had also allowed me to deepen my thinking skills and creative skills when coming up with a character behind my Duck, as this character doesn’t really have a big part in the story; only being mentioned once. I had to use initiative a come up with a back story and meaning for my character. This had allowed me to reflect on the diversity theme of the unit, as I had been educating myself on the different cultures and coming up with different styles of costume for my simple character; trying to think outside the box.
As well as this, whilst designing my costume, I had managed to come up with ideas which allowed me to ensure that my costume is sustainable, I had wanted to make sure that the materials that I use are not from real animals and are recycled materials. As well as this, I can use the materials that are already on hand, and also use thrifted pieces of clothing to create different parts of the costume. The idea behind my Duck was to make it seem very empowered and to make the costume look as if the Duck is the saviour for the children.
During this pandemic, I have had to think of innovative ways to create a costume and also think about ways in which the costume would have to be tailored to my actor/actress. By doing this I have to take social responsibility to be smart and use all the resources around me, such as tools like Zoom and Facetime; to ensure that my costume is not only suitable for the actress, however, is suitable for the production that it will appear in.
The Better Lives unit has definitely helped me understand more about these themes, as well as opening up my mind to the things that can easily be changed to ensure that I am being more aware of the materials that I buy and their damage to the environment and others.