serenitymasonbcufashion

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

Conclusion to the final module

This module has been a very unique experience, working alongside the REP has further enhanced my experience working in costuming and theatre. It has also given me unique challenges that allowed me to explore and build on my skills as well as showing me areas I can improve such as zippers in trousers. Immersing myself into a world surrounding the Lord of flies I felt really helped develop my concept even if time consuming. I hope it fleshed out the world I was in to those that view my work as much as it acted as a crutch for me whenever I needed to channel the reasonings behind Rogers turn to evil. I also created a good range of samples that really laid a road of options for me when finalising outcomes. it spoilt me for choices really but in the end I found a balance between crazy and too crazy.

I think for future reference I should also try and get on top of the base costume components as soon as I am able as I found myself in a predicament securing the shirt in the right size and lacked the time to scratch make one. however this is a simple oversight and with it being just a basic shirt I am sure this can be acquired and made for the REP before the show with no issues.

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

Rogers shorts were definitely the harder part of the costume. I myself have not made many pairs of trousers and my last pair was over five years ago so it has been a good while. This did however mean I got to experience the learning curves all over again and I definitely struggled getting the zip perfect first time round. What did go well though was the application of my samples. I am really happy with how thrown together they look with the couched twine and with the cloak I feel these pieces will match up great. I am hoping to get a fitting arranged after hand in to ensure any adjustments that need doing can be done with ample time before curtains up. I think for next time I definitely need to review how to create certain aspects of the construction, primarily the zip so I don't fall to the same complications

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

Rogers cloak

Herer is the final outcome for Rogers cloak. It is severely deteriorated and torn up from being on the island. Considered a remnant of the plane wreckage maybe this cloak was a previous sentimental item of Roger's hence his attachment to it. Constructed from a lightweight poly wool this cloak is light and easy to move in, I was considering the actors needs during the fabric phase and chose accordingly to allow them maximum mobility and functionality during their performance. With the torn up hood up this cloak really does hit that sinister aura I was aiming to show and I am happy with this outcome. It's actually difficult to pull critical thinking when I am pleased with the outcome with it having achieved everything I set out to do but the only thing I can come up with is next time making it even more distressed and possibly having more layers to give it extra flow when moving.

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

Creating the shin guard for Roger represented unique challenges. Here I placed all my sampling and concepts for what would become the piece earlier shown in my blog.

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

Just a last minute piece I created in the print workshop due to filming. I tried to recreate a potential propaganda piece for a futuristic world trying to justify war and the exploitation of the lower classes

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

To really get a feel for what this costume will include I decided to create a series of samples (excluding the far right piece, the fabric came with the embroidered work already) and display them on a page for reference.

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

Final concept

This is the final concept I landed on with Roger. Making use of the armoured pad on the shin and earlier explored ideas I threw in the shorts and cloak. I wanted to keep the shirt simple and recognisable as a school shirt. This does mean I can spend more attention on the more significant features of the costume and ensure they are impactful and look good. The shorts have more development here with a range of patchwork presumably put on by Roger with whatever fabrics or pieces he could find as his old clothes begin decaying along with what is left of his former self. The cloak is the real show stealer for me, I wanted to create a piece that is symbolic of Rogers need to conceal his humanity and enhance the evil nature he has succumb to.

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

To continue filling out my book I created this very quick sample that used up some of my screen prints. repeating off the Us and them and pain prints I also included my toxic mobile phone culture print, an obsession that has been normalised in modern day society that sees a numerous amount of problems emerging surrounding their extensive use. As well as this I used some various net samples that I had acquired as scraps to give this piece body and layer. I tried to use very earthy colours to replicate the island and the possible colours that would be found there.

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

Finalising what I am going to produce for Rogers costume

Here I did a quick sketch up of what I am going to produce for Rogers eventual costume on stage for Lord of the flies. All of which will be heavily distressed and held together through minimal but strong stitching. I want to use various techniques such as darning and aqua film too. The shorts will see the use of couching on twine string and various bits of patchwork

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

Following on from my screen print and sublimation I created this sample using aqua film to form a bond between the panels. I also tassel effect cut the bottom right piece to further test out how I could potentially decay Rogers costume in the final piece. Artistically speaking I tried to create imagery that showed a decaying world, with familiar triggers that really drive home just how bad this world has become by the time our piece takes place. I used some cut outs of industrial workers in the top left to give new meaning to the image. Before it appeared like they were working in factories but when taken out of context it now seems to depict an execution. I also wanted to include a snippet, easter egg I suppose from one of my favourite bands Pink floyd. They wrote a lot in warning regarding the political elite exploiting our world into destruction so my inclusion of Us and them was both an inclusion of resonance but also a reinforcement of the balance this world sits in during Lord of the flies.

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

Here is another more final concept for Rogers costume. This time focusing heavily on the cloak and what it could look like

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

Sublimation and screen print

Creating the backdrop of my dystopia I used a mixture of screen print and sublimation. Also using some of Matt Peers work whom I really admire due to his use of images in and around Birmingham, the block of flats on this piece being a place only five minutes from my home and a familiar sight from my walks to school when I was a child. They always reminded me of a dystopian urban essence, They were aged and full of a variety of colourful characters both good and bad. Matt peers captured their decay beautifully and I really wanted to include that in my theme where I am showing a world following the same path. Was it really a war in my story or is it just another way of knocking down something old to leave a clean slate. At least that's how Roger would likely see it anyway. For the screen prints I tried to capture the many social issues that may be present in the future collapse. Alcoholism, drinking has always been a socially acceptable way of putting ones troubles to bed so I made sure to try and include that here. Also in present day we see lots of protest, with the previous BLM protests seeing massive movement of civilians against governments across the western world and various other mass protests all in the fight for rights. In a future that places the corrupt elite in an unfair advantage over the pour I imagine resistance movements would be far more aggressive than what we see now, with the world at a boiling point I saw it suitable to cut out the word Fight out of some paper and include it in a series of screen prints that focuses on these issues.

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

Final initial concept

This is one of the more final concepts as I began down the path of committing to an outcome. I gave Roger some combat style boots since I thought, This is a plane returning children to their homes following one of the worst wars in history. There is more than likely some form of military personal on board this flight as security at that time is probably extreme. undoubtedly the security didn't survive the crash unlike our cast but I do imagine some of their personal effects may have been lucky enough to survive. spotting an opportunity Roger could have claimed these to keep his feet from harms way, or perhaps he just built a complex and wants to secure anything that makes him look more dangerous and sinister than the rest. I also began decaying his outfit even further to leave an impression that he is rough and has been engaging with his environment more than the others.

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

Roger's plane wreckage armour

I further explored the potential of Roger utilising what's left of the plane, in doing so I created this shin guard. Using a stretch Lycra is silver metallic I replicated the bare metal of the plane. I also reused a previous technique and made use of what scrap I had left from previous pieces to create an edge trim. I also 3D printed the shin pad using my own printer at home, this allowed me to form a very solid back piece for the fabric to sit on and looks excellent with the rivetted details on the front plate. It has a real thrown together feel to it that gives Roger some extra protection on the island.

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

Roger concepts

Here I began exploring the possibilities for Roger's costume. I really wanted to retain that school uniform style but with modifications for survival on an island. Considering Roger is also mentally unstable and becomes a killer I found it all that much easier to go a bit crazy on his costume. I firstly began just thinking about what a uniform may look like in the far off future but since school uniform has seen little to no change in the last few decades unless their is a significant social shift it will likely remain the same. To meet this sort of projection I simply just played around with what sort of additions Roger may make now that he has been let loose on an island with a captive audience. torn trousers, cut off at the knee to be better suited to the environment was my first port of call since it is the most likely modification to be made. As well as being a very consistent style throughout media depictions of desert island survival over the last few decades. The next thing on my list was to address the plane crash, this would undoubtedly leave a tonne of resources that with the right mindset could create some formidable protection from the elements... and people should it come to that. I initially toyed around with the idea of Roger having some kind of rib cage sprawled across the left side of his chest but later discarded that idea after me and the costume department at the REP decided it would be difficult to explain where he acquired such a thing without cannibalising victims. this left me focusing more on the cloak, is it concealment or is it Roger's way of unveiling a far more sinister side of himself that was always there due to a corruptive world influencing his mind.

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

Continuing with my exploration into the world of Lord of flies I took some old aerial imagery of Digbeth, a part of Birmingham I have watched change and develop as I grew up. One thing has always been prominent though and that is its unique industrial charm, like a piece of the city that cant escape its heritage of grinding machinery and pounding presses that forged our country forward. I tried to recreate the many curves of the railway bridge and the rigid rooftops of the so many now abandoned factories. Encased within a ribcage styled front to really drive home the message of the industrial heart of Birmingham that still churns away today in a new developed sense. On the second half of this page spread I complimented my Digbeth work with some various screen prints that I have created with the use of cutouts and work with negative space. The industrial vibe really comes through I feel with the use of machinery and factory scenes. The lord of flies is almost an exaggeration of the conditions seen by early industrial workers and in a future dystopia it is not all too difficult to imagine those conditions replicated in the modern day.

[serenitymasonbcufashion]

Fleshing out the end of days

To really help me grasp an understanding of the theme I set out to create some samples and pages that really highlighted how the world could be if overwhelmed by human corruption. This page was really engaging for me and the immersion into the lord of flies when set in a future dystopia. I used newspaper cuttings and some industrial imagery from Maurice Broomfield to create some poster concepts. Since this theme is set in a future where the environment has been decimated by big corporations where better to start than exaggerating very real issues of the environment decaying. The first two posters address the corruption and greed of the elite and how the workers and people at the bottom live in fear that their very existence is a sand timer. Promises of time is a concept I thought up, the preservation and exploitation of clean air that could be yours for a price!, it's exactly the type of capitalistic corruptive greed that would surround a decline in clean air around the world. This theme really does focus on the question. Why fix the problem when the problem can make us powerful and rich?.