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Monday, April 17, 2023
'Tiny Beautiful Things' Costume Designer Breaks Down Kathryn Hahn and Merritt Weaver's Outfits
Variety: In preparation for her latest production, “Tiny Beautiful Things,” costume designer Alana Morshead “stalked every book [Cheryl Strayed] wrote and everything [she] ever said, and put it into this show.”
3 comments:
Jessica Williams
said...
I very frequently tease some of my designer friends about how much they think through every single choice before they put it on stage. I tease them about how much time it takes. I tease them about how there is no way the audience will understand all the meaning behind their designs. I tease them about the “elevated” language they insist on using in reference to all their designs. It wasn’t until I started to design that I began to understand why it is so important. It is the medium through which we can best understand the story being told. The entire audience may not understand every aspect of the design but there will always be at least one member of the audience who understands at least one aspect of it and that will make the experience so much more impactful for that one audience member and that makes it all worth it.
I appreciated how each character's attire was carefully chosen to match their personality and plot arc, which enhances the viewing experience overall. It's fascinating to understand how the performers and the costume designer work together to make sure that the attire seems appropriate for the role. I also love how the costume designer focused on sustainability in their material selections and utilization of rented clothing. It's encouraging to see a production making efforts to lessen its negative effects on the environment. The essay also emphasizes how crucial costume design is to storytelling and how it may help viewers better comprehend the characters and their travels. The creative process of costume design and its importance in bringing a show to life are excellently represented within this article. The designer and the writer did a great job in describing the process and the multiple outlets designers go to inorder to create their vision.
This is not a show I have watched or a story I am very familiar with but it seems like the costume designer puts a ton of thought into every single piece of clothing. I love how she kind wants all of the cloths to have a certain lived in look which is not something I feel like we see enough. Since she pulled from mostly true vintage pieces that kind of lived in look is so true to what she was looking for. These pieces have already lived a full life in somebody’s closet and was probably cherished the same way cloth we were for special occasions are cherished today. I love how closely the costume designer worked with the original author trying to get the look as close as possible to what the people this story is based off would have worn. I think the idea of receiving the ugliest yet well intentioned gift is something we could all relate to.
3 comments:
I very frequently tease some of my designer friends about how much they think through every single choice before they put it on stage. I tease them about how much time it takes. I tease them about how there is no way the audience will understand all the meaning behind their designs. I tease them about the “elevated” language they insist on using in reference to all their designs. It wasn’t until I started to design that I began to understand why it is so important. It is the medium through which we can best understand the story being told. The entire audience may not understand every aspect of the design but there will always be at least one member of the audience who understands at least one aspect of it and that will make the experience so much more impactful for that one audience member and that makes it all worth it.
I appreciated how each character's attire was carefully chosen to match their personality and plot arc, which enhances the viewing experience overall. It's fascinating to understand how the performers and the costume designer work together to make sure that the attire seems appropriate for the role. I also love how the costume designer focused on sustainability in their material selections and utilization of rented clothing. It's encouraging to see a production making efforts to lessen its negative effects on the environment. The essay also emphasizes how crucial costume design is to storytelling and how it may help viewers better comprehend the characters and their travels. The creative process of costume design and its importance in bringing a show to life are excellently represented within this article. The designer and the writer did a great job in describing the process and the multiple outlets designers go to inorder to create their vision.
This is not a show I have watched or a story I am very familiar with but it seems like the costume designer puts a ton of thought into every single piece of clothing. I love how she kind wants all of the cloths to have a certain lived in look which is not something I feel like we see enough. Since she pulled from mostly true vintage pieces that kind of lived in look is so true to what she was looking for. These pieces have already lived a full life in somebody’s closet and was probably cherished the same way cloth we were for special occasions are cherished today. I love how closely the costume designer worked with the original author trying to get the look as close as possible to what the people this story is based off would have worn. I think the idea of receiving the ugliest yet well intentioned gift is something we could all relate to.
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