Defining the Character

The costume designer, possibly more than any other member of the creative team, is responsible for visually defining the characters on stage. The costumes should speak to the audience's subconscious to help them know a little bit about each character before they speak, or even if they remain silent and in the background. And the costumes must walk the careful line of helping to define these characters portrayed by the actors while also helping to establish and support the overall themes and mood of the show.

So how can a costume designer visually define characters? Through a combination of setting the character in time and space, establishing age and gender identity, establishing social status, establishing the personality of a character, and reflecting any changes in those during the play.

Time and Space

The clearest defining characteristic of a costume when establishing the time and space is the costume's silhouette. This is the overall shape of the clothes, excluding any choices in color, texture, or fabric types.

Each historical period and geographical location throughout human history has defining characteristics to their clothes, particularly their silhouettes. Elizabethan (second half of 16th century) dresses are drastically different than those in Europe during the 1920s. The average audience member will likely not know as many precise historical details as the designer. But by clearly defining the silhouette, the costume designer can subconsciously call upon the audience's basic knowledge of historical conventions to establish time and space (or simply the feeling of one) with a simple glance.

Establish age and gender identity

Playwrights choose particular ages and gender identities for their characters for a reason. It is important that the costume designer maintains those, unless the entire creative team decides otherwise. The characters of 'Romeo' and 'Juliet' should always project a sense of immaturity and youth, despite the potential age of the actors themselves. 'Merlin' should probably always project a sense of the wise old man.

The majority of these characterizations can be expressed by the costume designer through relatively simple gestures like the garment length, shape of the neckline, the cut of the garment, shape of the sleeves, type of accessories, or through color and fabric choices.

Establishing socio-economic status

In many plays, the social ranking of the characters (or differences between) can be a primary source of conflict in the plot. As a general rule - the simpler the cut and décor of the costume, the lower the status of the character. The more elaborate the cut and detailing. the higher the class status a character likely has.

Costumes should also match the character's profession. A factory worker requires different cuts, materials, and needs from their clothing than a business executive does. As a result, the costume designer will likely choose different fabrics, colors, and silhouette for one compared to the other (for example - denim overalls vs. a tailored suit).

Regardless of the nature of the conflict in the play, the socio-economic status of each character contributes something to the meaning of the play and the audience's understanding of it. Therefore, correct establishing of these character traits is an important part of the costume designer's work.

Establishing personality

The costume designer should also assist the actor in the portrayal of the character's personality. The clothing's cut, color, fit, trim, and accessories can all express something key about the character's personality without the actor needing to speak a word.

This tends to be the moment that a costume designer can make a broad gesture or large-scale visual clue with their work. An eccentric character might wear a unique silhouette, pattern, or color combination that helps them stand out. A character who is more reserved or introverted might wear a cut that is fairly generic and neutral in color.

This also plays off of audience expectations and stereotypes. Velma in Chicago is a sultry and savvy woman, so her clothes typically feature a lower neckline, asymmetrical skirt line, and other choices like red, lush fabrics with black fringe. But there are also choices that are taken out of the costume designer's hands as a result. Belle from Beauty and the Beast always needs a yellow dress for the ballroom scene. Annie always needs to be in a knee-length red dress with white trim. If the costume designer makes a different choice, then the audience likely won't accept the design as appropriate or accurate.

Decisions about personality design choices are always made in collaboration with the director, and sometimes even the actor themselves. The clothing should help the actor complete their portrayal of their character. If they feel a disconnect between their character and how they look, that can hurt their ability to embody the character on-stage. That is not to say that an actor has veto power over what they wear. They may or they may not. That is a privilege that is earned through their work on-stage and their relationship with costume designer. However, this conversation is one that many costume designers will have with the actor during an initial costume fitting, or the trying on of the costume or costume mock-ups by the actor during the build phase of the design.

Reflecting changes

Characters in a play are hardly ever two-dimensional. They go through particular experiences, challenges, events, and either progressions or regressions as a result of the plot action. Some are dramatic and obvious. Others take place gradually and subtly.

One of the easiest ways to reflect any changes for the character is through a change of costume. For a rich, aristocrat who falls from grace, this would likely be a massive change - something like elaborate, lush, and lux clothing full of detailing, trim, and a tailored look, to something loose cut, dirty, ripped, and course fabric.

These changes can also be more subtle, like for the character of Amir in the play Disgraced. He is a businessman who messes up his career and personal life through the combination of racism and poor decisions. His demise into stress and shame is often done through simpler gestures like the loosening of his tie, taking off his suit jacket, unbuttoning the top few buttons of the shirt, and rolling up his sleeves.