Costume Design - History

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. In Asia, the men would dress up as women. 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 changed over the centuries but have maintained basic principles of clothing design yet geared towards pushing the characters traits out in its appearance. The designer meets the cast, measuring each performer and making certain that the costumes will be appropriate for each individual.