What as a Costume Designer?The costume designer is responsible for designing all the costumes to be worn in a production. This involves close liaison with the set designer and the director to find a look and feel to complement their vision of a play. This tends to begin with finding appropriate reference materials - images, fabrics, textures, and period drawings - then devising costumes which achieve that within the budget available. The answer may be to go shopping: clothes and accessories such as hats, gloves or jewellery may be readily available from a theatrical costumier, or high street shops or markets. Alternatively, it may mean creating something absolutely new. The designer leads a team of people in the wardrobe department with a wide range of skills including tailoring, dressmaking, millinery, and dyeing. Then comes the costume fitting, and last-minute changes ready for the dress rehearsal. |  | |