Costume Design

Stage plays, movies, television, music videos, etc. would be pretty dull without costumes. The costumes worn by actors and performing artists tell the audience who they are and what their character represents. Lighting, makeup, and costumes are the foundation upon which a play, movie, television program, or video is built.

There are some very famous costume designers. You might not recognize the costume designer's name, but you will recognize the play or movie for which they designed costumes. Julie Taymor was the costume designer for "The Lion King" on Broadway. (I'll bet that one was a lot of fun!)

Bob Mackie was the costume designer for "On the Town," and Ann Curtis designed the costumes used in "Jekyll & Hyde." (Both of these plays were presented on Broadway.)

In movies and television, Adrian designed the costumes used in "The Wizard of Oz," Cecil Beaton designed costumes used in "My Fair Lady" and "Gigi," and Jean Louis designed costumes used in "From Here to Eternity," just to name a few.

Each play, movie, television program, and video production hires a costume designer. If you are interesting in a costume designing career, you will need training. There was a time when most costume-designing courses were taught by those who were successful costume designers themselves and who might or might not have any formal training in costume design. However, today most colleges and universities require that those who teach costume design have at least a master's degree in fine arts.

One of the most interesting costumes that have ever been designed was designed by John Napier. Napier was the winner of the 1983 Tony Award for Best Costume Design for the costumes that he designed for the Broadway musical "Cats." These costumes were full-body animal suits.