Boots

When designing a costume the whole of the costume needs to be thought about so not only the clothes but also the accessories. I think that accessories really make a costume, they fill in the extra gaps that make a character into a believable person. For example the character of Bella in Twilight (which I have watched far too many times for shame!) wears a number of rings and bracelets throughout all of the films, which is what a normal day to day person would do, we all have a favorite thing that we wear to death.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure I applied this to my characters that I was designing for in Jane Slayre. Jane for example has a crucifix necklace (presenting themes of religion, repelling vampyres, stereotypical anti vampyre ideas) as well as some boots that are semi practical and a bit of fun as well. My idea was that these boots would appear around the time that Jane and St. John start training together with St. John giving them to Jane as a gift. Following the idea of practicality I wanted something that resembled army boots, with a good grip but also a heel to add more femininity to the costume. Buying some boots from Ebay I then went to Etsy (fantastic if you are into crafty things) and bought some screw in studs. By piercing holes in certain places around the top of the boots I was able to screw in these studs and add my own little contemporary touch to some simple boots.

 Hi, and welcome to my blog, I'm aware that there may be a few new people having a look at this so I hope you enjoy it.

Jane Slayre, my final major project is taking up all my time and now that our final costumes have been handed in (pictures to come, or have a look at my twitter page @LizzieMNorris to get a sneak peak at backstage at the photoshoot) I have been concentrating on my final boards, boards with the design, indication of a scene, working drawings (shows how the costumes are to be made/ constructed) and all that other stuff that would be used within industry. So let me introduce you to my chosen characters....

The Vampyres

The narrative of Jane Slayre starts with her living in the home of her Aunt Reed, taumented by her cousins especially John Reed I designed these two characters as lavisly dressed and in vibrant colours. Gold is used to show wealth and similar colours used between Mrs Reed and her son John to present their connection. I had a little fun with John, which my tutors were surprised at but then understood when I explain (humerous situation) with modern themes showing through his clothing (vibrant jacket) but still retaining the Victorian silhouette, I chose to give him a tongue in cheek camp appearance, portraying the themes commonly seen in presentations of Vampyres of exploring sexuality.

The Zombie

Helen Burns was a difficult character to design for, but also the first that I actually illustrated and finished successfully. Jane's best friend at Lowood School, she falls ill and is re-animated as a zombie, lots of green goo and attempts at eating flesh, the usual zombie things. I wanted to make her attractive to follow the comic book themes but also show her decline in health through her clothing, using the colour of green as my designs progressed her clothing became more green. I was very limited with the silhouettes used for Helen as Victorian school clothing was limited but in the end, this image being my favorite, I decided upon a pinnafore over a long sleeved dress creating the idea of modern themes. Another important aspect to her costume are her boots, I have used army style boots a lot through the project, but Helen's representing the idea that she is being slowly recruited from being a school girl into a zombie.

The Love Interest

Mr Rochester was difficult. Edward Fairfax Rochester employs Jane as a Governess and over time they fall in love. Rochester is not mutated in any way, out of the charcters that I chose he is the most 'normal' so designing for him was difficult in trying to retain a contemporary tone but at the same time keeping him apart from all the other characters. Dressing him in matching suits and slim fitting lines to show his muscular stature I felt I was able to present him in not only a logically attractive manner (Victorian women loved a rich man) but also in a sexual manner, following through the iconic themes from super hero narratives of muscular men.

The Were Wolf

Bertha Rochester, Mr Rochester's estranged wife hidden away in the attic of Thornfield. Bertha was also difficult to design for, with an animalistic feel I wanted to retain the Victorian silhouette but give the appearance that she had been wearing the same clothes over and over and had ripped them to shreds with her fits of anger. Using faded colours to present age but previous splendor, and gold to create negative tones linking her to Vampyres her costume was created. Bertha is a character that if I was able to, I would go back and re-design as I feel that her costumes are not quite there yet and need more work on them.

The Vampyre Slayres

Miss Temple, Jane's first instructor in Vampyre slaying and teacher at Lowood School. I wanted to ensure that she had themes of Vampyre Slayres about her but also simplify her costume in comparison to Jane and St. John. With minimal embroidery I was able to achieve this but also using the same material as Jane and silver elements, the bodice and under sleeves, retaining the links between herself and Jane. Again if I had more time I would have liked to revisit her charcter as I feel it would benefit from further development.

 St. John Rivers was a lot of fun to design for, stern and silent he retains an attractiveness that no-one could have thought would belong to a clergyman. A good friend of Jane's he teaches her to slay Vampyres more effectively, educates, supports and encourages her. Creating this strong willed character was a lot of fun, as you can see I was able to spend a lot more time designing for him as he was a character that I knew I would be eventually making for. I have already spoken briefly about my choices for St. John in a previous post so I'm sorry if I do repeat myself.

Historical silhouettes that I used range from the time period to before the time period chosen, in particular the frock coat shown. I liked the idea that this was a family Vampyre Slaying coat (I wanted to have fun with this) that had been passed through generations to keep the wearer warm on their late night missions. being such a large piece of clothing it was my main focus on his costume with computerised embroidery winding around the front left skirt panel towards the centre back. (Photos to come of the final costume)

Jane Slayre. Below are three illustrations of Jane, each showing a slightly different stage in her costume progression. Black on black was the main theme for Jane, creating modern, and sophisticated themes. Creating a practical design for a female Vampyre Slayre in Victorian dress was possibly not the easiest task, but with the use of a draw string idea I was able to bring the skirt back and above the bustle to reveal some rather slinky bloomers underneath. Jane's costume has a number of contemporary inspired aspects to it, including beaded sleeves, visible zips enlarged embroidery scale, and not to mention the use of PVC and Leatherette. By using Victorian floral patterns I was able to retain the traditional feel but at the same time with the use of contemprary fabrics and altering the scale of these patterns create a larger than life mood.

The mantle designed and made for Jane came from the recurrance of mantles mention within the novel. I wanted to make sure that there was an element of armour within it, so designed it quilted at the neck and then cut into triangular shapes and then progressing into embroidery with silver foiled leather triangles. (Photos of the final costumes to follow)

I hope you have enjoyed my designs, and my brief descriptions of them. Official photos will follow shortly and to see the costumes on stage come to The University of Huddersfield, Costume Design with Textiles Graduate Degree Show on the 20th June, to buy tickets use the link below.

www.thelbt.org/Costume-Graduate-Degree-Show-0

Lizzie