Adam Kerr Costume

A record of process

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Heres a photo of one of my final costumes

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Here are some photos of the skirt I draped for my sequinned costume. Having never draped before I was initially skeptical about how it would turn out - however I was proud of the final result, and draping is definitely something which i would hope to do in the future. 

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Here you can see some process shots from the making of my sequinned garment. It was incredibly difficult to cut the sequinned fabric precisely, however, I did manage to cut and construct the garment for my second fitting - pictured above. 

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here are some images of my two patterns in various stages of their development. The patterns i created for these two costumes were extremely complex and featured many small panels which were extremely difficult to stitch together

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Heres an image of the samples board I created for my first meeting with Sweet Chairty’s costume designer - Susan Kulkarni.

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Here are some photos from my final toile fitting of my bodice. Here you can clearly see the alterations that need to be made, the darts need t be taken in, as do most of the side seams. In order for the back to sit tighter to the waist, I had to remove 3 centimetres from the waistline in every panel. 

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Here are some photos from my initial corset fitting - I was happy with the finished garment, althought there were a few minor construction problems. The corset was constructed in the same way as I had done last year, except the front and back panels were doubled for strength. Also the channels were on the inside instead of the exterior. 

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Heres a picture of my final dress just before my actress went on stage for her dress rehearsal. I was happy with the final outcome of my costume - however after the dress rehearsal it became clear that some parts of my costume needed alteration. The most obvious alteration was in the armbands, I didn’t realise how much my character moved and danced on stage, and subsequently the poppers on the armband repeatedly popped open. To combat this I re-made the armbands, using velcro instead of poppers, meaning my actress could tighten them more. In addition, my hem was not finished to the highest quality, so I re stitched it on the ‘babylock.’ 

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Final Fitting. After cutting out the 6 pieces required to create the correct amount of volume to my dress - I constructed the dress using 5mm French seams.The neckline is gathered to fit into the gold collar - however in my final fitting it was discovered that the armholes of the dress were sitting too low, meaning that the actresses bra could be seen. To combat this I decided to raise the neckline up about 4cm - creating a smaller armhole which wouldn’t drop low. I then decided that the cape would look far better if it were attached to the collar (like the under and overdress.) To make the collar more substantial it was decided that I would use two layers of the gold PVC and sandwich them with a piece of interfacing. This meant that the actress only had the fabric side of the PVC on her neck, making it far more comfortable. 

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Here are some photos I took on a recent visit to the Tate Britain. I’m obsessed with the Romantic movement in art, in particular the works of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/the-pre-raphaelites 

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For my second fitting with my actress and the designer, I was unable to complete my overdress, consequently I was only able to fit the underdress and a calico toile of my cape. It was decided that my characters cape would also attach at a bicep strap as well as the wrist, and that the underdress and overdress would both attach to the collar strap. 

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I was fortunate enough to see Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty at the Victoria and Albert Museum this weekend. McQueen is, and will continue to be, my greatest source of creative inspiration. The themes which his works of art concerned themselves resonate deeply with me: the Sublime, Gothic Romanticism, spectacle, theatricality, eroticism and the powerful contrast between beauty and the grotesque. His manipulation of form and structure, his ingenious use of material and his strong sense of concept make Alexander McQueen’s work incredibly relevant to my own practice. It proves that one can use fashion or costume as a vessel to tell a larger narrative, and create true works of art.   

Without a doubt, Savage Beauty is the best exhibition I have seen. It’s impeccable curation mirrored the inherent theatricality of McQueens body of work. The garments themselves were displayed like static sculptures or paintings, thematically arranged around the designers spectrum of references and obsessions. Truly inspiring, the exhibition’s sombre beauty has made me reflect on my own practice, the importance of curation, and how one can elevate costume and fashion into a narrative medium. 

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After my fitting - I began constructing new toile in order to understand fully what changes had to be made. I drafted a new pattern for the overdress, adding enough space for the gathering necessary to achieve the correct neckline. I also altered the shape of the sleeve. However - when I placed my toile of the underdress with the new overdress, the sleeves did not match. To combat this, I draped a new piece of calico onto the toile, and traced the line exactly, giving me a perfect match. I then traced these new pattern pieces onto paper, giving me my new pattern pieces, ready to cut on my real fabric. 

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Here are some pictures from my first toile fitting for my costume from BA DATE’s production of ‘ Friends of Narcissus.’ There were many alterations that needed to be made form my initial pattern draft and toile, so to give me a better idea, we cut and re-pinned my dress in the correct formation. these photos go y chronological order throughout the fitting, showing both the underdress, and the longer over dress. 

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This weekend I attended the ‘Chelsea in Bloom’ competition - hosted by the RHS as part of the Chelsea Flower Show. Retailers create horticultural displays in and around their shop windows, many using costume as an integral part of their visual merchandising. Even with a theme as commonly used as ‘Fairy Tales’ I think the competition was diverse and stretched beyond the commonplace tropes. Incredibly inspiring to my practice, the show made me reflect on how one can elevate a simple theme, and create true works of art.  

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Before I began making my costume for the performance of Friends of Narcissus - I did some visual research to aid my understanding of the costumes context - also to give me an idea of how the technicalities of my costume can be achieved

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With the main panels of our corset constructed, we began to add the channels which will hold the corsetry boning. To do this I trimmed down my seam allowance to about 0.5cm - then placed my bias binding directly on top of the seam. I stitched straight down the middle seam, ensuring that the new line of stitches falls directly over the previous seam, then topstitch the two sides to create the channels. To finish the boning - I folded and stitched the Rigilene boning in half do it was thinner and firmer, then cut to size and melted the ends (to avoid sharp edges poking through.)