This was a collaboration unit. As a class, we were asked to create the designs and costumes for characters from Alice in Wonderland and Katie Capstick and I were chosen to work together on the Queen of Hearts.
Our basic parameters were that the designs should be loosely based on 18th and 19th-century Western silhouettes. We were allowed to use the university’s costume blocks to help construct the costumes, but we were also encouraged to explore the possibilities of creating a fantasy character and pushing beyond those historical parameters.
Initially, Katie and I created three different designs and then chose the one we felt was most suitable. I must admit that, as I was going to be the one wearing the costume, I was heavily influenced by the Victorian period of the Alice in Wonderland books. I pushed quite strongly for a Victorian bustle dress and Katie graciously acquiesced.
From there, we went back over my initial design together, changing and adjusting things until we were both happy with the finished concept. I then traced a photograph of myself to get the proportions right and developed the final design that we used for the costume.
I did, however, have a couple of problems with this unit. Firstly, I have never been involved in a collaboration that worked particularly well. Planning, logistics and other people’s timekeeping have always seemed to become problems in every collaborative project I have been part of. I am, quite simply, someone who prefers to work alone when I am creating things.
Katie, however, was probably the best collaborative partner I have ever worked with. She turned up on time, was willing to put forward her own ideas and opinions and did her share of the work without having to be chased. This may sound like a fairly basic requirement for collaboration, but in my experience it is surprisingly valuable!
My other problem was the design drawing itself. I hated it. I think it was probably the same problem I have when I see photographs of myself: an instant dislike of what I am looking at. It is difficult to be objective when the person staring back at you is, well, you.
Looking back at the project, I am happy with the work Katie and I produced and proud of the finished costume. However, I also think we could have pushed the design much further. Ultimately, we created a Victorian costume with Queen of Hearts decoration added to it. It worked and it fulfilled the brief, but it didn’t completely explore the idea of creating a fantasy character within those historical parameters.
Perhaps that is one of the things I have learned from looking back at my work. Sometimes fulfilling the brief isn’t quite the same thing as pushing an idea as far as it could go. At the time I was proud of what we had achieved and I still am, but with the benefit of hindsight I can see that we stopped just before the design became something more imaginative and distinctive.
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