OPPENHEIMER
COSTUME DESIGN
By Tom Morton Smith
Director - John Haider
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Costume Design - Alexandra Kay
Set Design - Jessica (Wenjing) Ji
Lighting designer - Yasmin Alayoubi
Production Photographer -Kirsten McTernan
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In developing the costume designs for this production, it was decided that the costumes should be the thing to root us in the place and period of the show. We wanted to use the costuming to explore the ideas of responsibility, relationships , both political and social conformity, and the weighty significance of uniform. I heavily researched the rules of period military uniform, as well as gaining a thorough knowledge of the real events, people and the fashions of mid-1930's through to 1945 in the United States of America, focusing on illustrated advertisements, propaganda posters, and artwork of the time to create our image of the developing 'American dream' of the 1940's.
RESEARCH
MOODBOARDS
DESIGN DRAWINGS​
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The inspiration behind the costume design was a grounding in the fashion of the United States of America 1930's through to 1945. Influenced by commercial illustrations by J.C Leyendecker, Norman Rockwell and war propaganda posters, the costumes were designed around our concept of a 'Tainted American Dream'. They were to be aspirational and presentational, people trying to construct their perfect image, in a time where America was beginning to construct its own.
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The role and symbolism of uniform was also explored, in the terms of the Military Uniforms and also the uniforms of the everyday.
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