wescraindesign

[wescraindesign]

Here's another set of costumes from my #costumedesign for Ruthless! the Musical! The character Sylvia is a hardened talent scout who wants to take the gifted young Tina to the highest heights of stardom, regardless of the cost. Sylvia's Act I ensemble consists of a #dress of red 4-ply silk crepe with white cuffs and red trim, with a matching #swingcoat of white rayon jacquard with a white satin sailor collar and red satin lining with a white star print.

Sylvia's Act 2 dress is of black rayon satin with a wide boat neck and mermaid skirt hem with black acetate velvet borders lined with black beaded trim.

Ruthless! is playing now through January 7th at New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco.

[wescraindesign]

Next up from Ruthless! the musical is my #costume design for Judy Denmark, homemaker and mother, who succumbs to the siren song of fame and fortune.

Act 1, set in the late 50s, consists of a cotton #skirt made from a tropical flamingo print that matches the upholstery of the stage set; cotton #apron dyed lemon yellow to match the walls; and a hand-dyed teal #blouse with the same cotton print for the shawl collar.

Act 2, set in the mid 60s, is a #dress made from a gold lamé base with a beaded silk chiffon overlay. The hem has a wide border of gold paillettes interspersed with rows of gold beaded fringe. The dress is first worn under a #kimonorobe of gold silk charmeuse with gold lamé lining and cotton brocade border, which is removed onstage.

Ruthless! is showing at New Conservatory Theatre Center until January 7.

[wescraindesign]

Nutcracker isn't the only thing I've been working on the past few months! I also designed a #costume or twelve for the hilarious camp #musical "Ruthless!", first produced in the 1990s but set in the 1950s and 60s. Here are the two different looks I created for Tina, a young schoolgirl who would KILL to get the lead role in the school play.

Tina's Act 1 school look is a polka-dot cotton jumper dress with a big pink sash and small accent bows, over a ruffled blouse and crinoline underskirt, evoking imagery of bubblegum and wonderbread. Her Act 2 prison look is a similar silhouette of black and white striped cotton over a plain shirt with a license plate (she made it herself in the slammer) serving for the waist sash and Lucky Strike cigarette packets as accents.

Ruthless! is playing until January 7 at New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco. Get your tickets today!

[wescraindesign]

Another set of costumes we rebuilt for this year's Nutcracker ballet at San Francisco Ballet are the Butterflies that appear at the beginning of act 2. After 20 years (~600 performances), every lycra leotard was faded and shot with its silk chiffon Skirt in patched shreds.

The nine new leotards are custom-printed poly lycra stitched and stoned by Aurie Stetzel. The skirts are custom-printed poly chiffon on green hand-dyed metallic chiffon belts that can be buttoned to the leotards. The prior version had the skirts permanently stitched into the leotard waist--meaning the skirts always got laundered with the leos. This time around, we instead attached the skirts to the removable belts so that they'll never get laundered, only periodically dry-cleaned, thus greatly extending their quality lifespans. The leotard and skirt are worn with their original sheer jackets of custom-printed silk chiffon "wings" (last photo), that are still in good condition, as they also never get laundered. Hopefully we won't have to think about these for another 20 years!

[wescraindesign]

Our next rebuilt #nutcrackerballet #costume garments for #sfballet are the Arabian Man's #harempants, which were all shredding and faded. This seemingly simple design was surprisingly complicated to reproduce. It was impossible to find a printed chiffon that resembled the original fabric, so I created an approximation of the print in my drawing app and submitted that file to a fabric printing company to be printed. Although the original was silk, we chose a polyester georgette to be more durable, as this is not the first, but the second time we're rebuilding these pants. Then Aurie Stetzel glued sequins to all the shell pieces before I began assembly.

For the lining I got fabric swatches from half a dozen sources before finding an appropriate gold lamé. The waist- and knee-bands were an unusual iridescent lycra that our crafter Shannon Maxham approximated by hand dyeing and painting some stock lycra. We made six of these in three sizes, as there are always two of them on stage at a time. They're worn with a dyed leotard and beaded vest, which will get overhauled next year!

[wescraindesign]

Finally finished rebuilding the Nutcracker Basket Arabian women's leotards for San Francisco Ballet, an overdue overhaul, as the lycra in the old ones was worn out from ten years of use. Each new leotard is made of hand-dyed nylon/lycra power net for the torso and nylon/lycra soft stretch tulle for the sleeves, all of which are set with rhinestones. We made an assortment of sizes and flesh tones for the different dancers in the role. The bra was purchased and covered with gold lace and beaded appliques, with all stitching and stoning by Aurie Stetzel.

The leotard is worn with a bolero jacket, pictured in the last photo. The jacket had faded from laundering, so we had to remove all the detailing, re-dye the jacket, then reapply all the detailing. Not pictured: the pants, which will get overhauled next year!

[wescraindesign]

Full-body swimming unitard for Chris Hart to protect his skin from the sun at Maui's many beaches. Because he's from Reno, the concept was "90s skiing coverall, but a swimsuit". Et voila.

Made of various nylon milliskin lycra fabrics, with a back zipper.

[wescraindesign]

In 2019 we began refurbishing the costumes for San Francisco Ballet's production of Balanchine's "Rubies". Then, mere weeks away from dress rehearsals in spring of 2020, we went into lockdowns and the unfinished costumes got set aside indefinitely. Finally, though, this season we managed to complete the project! So if any company needs to rent Rubies, ours is currently in good condition!

We made the leotards of hand-dyed nylon satin-faced lycra with dyed sheer nylon mesh yokes. We reused and refreshed all the original skirts and necklaces, though we also built some new additional sizes to give us a total of 16 costumes in three styles--two different principals and one corps. They still haven't had proper final fittings yet, but we all made sacrifices for the pandemic lol.

#Rubies #ballet #dance #costume

[wescraindesign]

In 2019 we began refurbishing the costumes for San Francisco Ballet's production of Balanchine's "Rubies". Then, mere weeks away from dress rehearsals in spring of 2020, we went into lockdowns and the unfinished costumes got set aside indefinitely. Finally, though, this season we managed to complete the project! So if any company needs to rent Rubies, ours is currently in good condition!

We made the leotards of hand-dyed nylon satin-faced lycra with dyed sheer nylon mesh yokes. We reused and refreshed all the original skirts and necklaces, though we also built some new additional sizes to give us a total of 16 costumes in three styles--two different principals and one corps. They still haven't had proper final fittings yet, but we all made sacrifices for the pandemic lol.

#Rubies #ballet #dance #costume

[wescraindesign]

SF Ballet needed a new Gnome Lady costume for their production of "Cinderella", as the existing one was too small for several of the dancers assigned to wear it. To make the new one, cutter Jarred Garza copied Julian Crouch's original design pattern as closely as possible and did the primary assembly using a combination of purchased and stock fabrics that I dyed and painted. The costume consists of four garments: a stretch lace leotard with decorative mesh cuff and collar trim; an underskirt of stiff nylon crinoline overlaid with dyed pale green lace whose hem is edged with columns of various lace and organza fabrics in shades of pale green, gray, and ecru; an overskirt of sequined bronze lace and plain pale green lace that features green sequined appliques, all overlaid with a pre-embroidered organza that has been additionally dyed and embellished; and a bodice made of dyed green-gold lamé overlaid with the same skirt lace, that uses dyed elastic lacing for ease of fitting and features metallic gold fringed epaulets and beaded lace and organza appliques. You can see the original gnome costume in full at the end of the photo set. Yes, she wears a giant false head! She also has a Gnome Gentleman boyfriend, too, and you can see them both when Cinderella opens this Friday, March 31st!

[wescraindesign]

Back during the holidays I received a commission request to build a unique leotard for a burlesque performer, based on their own design concept. I present to you the sensational Noah Grey performing "I Touch Myself" wearing the leotard made of skin-tone stretch mesh with black lycra edging and appliqued hands.

Photograph by Greg Inda with Greg Inda Photography.

[wescraindesign]

The corps de ballet costumes for "The Queen's Daughter" include the Executioners and Court Women and Men, all of which utilize similar design and construction, where a solid color lycra base is overlaid with a different-color stretch mesh--Executioners are cherry red with golden yellow overlay, whereas the Court People are scarlet red overlaid with primary yellow. The combined fabrics are then oversprayed with green and blue fabric paint mottling. Additional sheer mesh panels are dyed to match the dancer's skin tone.

As part of SF Ballet's Next@90 Festival, we built these costumes for The Queen's Daughter, a retelling of the story of Salome and John the Baptist choreographed by Bridget Breiner with costumes designed by Jürgen Kirner.

#sfballet #costume #Salome #dancewear #unitard

[wescraindesign]

The death of the old King and remarriage of the Queen to the new King incites the drama of "The Queen's Daughter". The King wears a leotard and pants ensemble, made of a base of lycra tie-dyed red with blue and overlaid with black stretch mesh to give it a dark iridescence. A metallic gold lycra strap and crown denote his authority, and scattered sequins add sumptuous sparkle.

As part of SF Ballet's Next@90 Festival, we built all the costumes for The Queen's Daughter, a retelling of the story of Salome and John the Baptist choreographed by Bridget Breiner with costumes designed by Jürgen Kirner.

[wescraindesign]

Of course we can't have a ballet called the Queen's Daughter without having the Queen. Her dress consists of a silk jersey base that has been hand dyed turquoise with a navy ombre along the hem and side slits. An overlay of fine nylon mesh dyed aubergine gives it a somewhat iridescent appearance. Narrow vertical pleats trace the contours of the torso before terminating at the hip to provide extra fullness to the skirt. Sheer mesh inserts at the sides and a high collar further accentuate the garment's vertical lines.

As part of SF Ballet's Next@90 Festival, we built all the costumes for The Queen's Daughter, a retelling of the story of Salome and John the Baptist choreographed by Bridget Breiner with costumes designed by Jürgen Kirner.

[wescraindesign]

As part of SF Ballet's Next@90 Festival, we built all the costumes for The Queen's Daughter, a retelling of the story of Salome and John the Baptist choreographed by Bridget Breiner with costumes designed by Jürgen Kirner.

The Prophet was designed to contrast with the rich tones of the other leads, and wears a simple pale gray ensemble. The shirt is hand-dyed raw silk noile gauze; the belt is dyed plain silk noil; and the breeches are a dyed cotton/lycra base overlaid with a dyed linen/lycra knit.

The Young Prophet, played by a child to represent the character in his youth, wears a similar ensemble (pictured last), with a shirt of smooth silk noil and shorts of hemp/cotton/lycra.

[wescraindesign]

As part of SF Ballet's Next@90 Festival, we built all the costumes for The Queen's Daughter, a retelling of the story of Salome and John the Baptist choreographed by Bridget Breiner with costumes designed by Jürgen Kirner.

The lead character of the Daughter has several costume changes that all happen onstage; I'm posting them in the order they appear.

Her fourth and final look happens onstage for the finale. While the other dancers create a distraction, she slips over her golden leotard a sheer lilac dress that is both reminiscent of her wrap dress from earlier and echoes the styling of a similar dress worn by a young version of herself at the beginning. I included a picture of the Young Daughter dress (it's more lavender than lilac) and the original wrap dress at the end for comparison. The slip dress is made of the same silk chiffon that overlays the wrap dress, but hand-dyed lilac instead of sky blue since there's no red lining. The bodice is flatlined with flesh toned nylon net for reinforcement.

[wescraindesign]

As part of SF Ballet's Next@90 Festival, we built all the costumes for The Queen's Daughter, a retelling of the story of Salome and John the Baptist choreographed by Bridget Breiner with costumes designed by Jürgen Kirner.

The lead character of the Daughter has several costume changes that all happen onstage; I'm posting them in the order they appear.

Her third look appears when she tears away her own flesh--represented by the three "bloody" silk scarves--to reveal a gleaming gold "armored" leotard underneath. The leotard base is made of an iridescent metallic gold lycra overlaid with golden yellow mesh to tone down the shine; narrow pin tucks add definition and visual interest. The "armor" is a different metallic gold lycra, allowed to fully shine. A close inspection will show the small snaps that attach the bloody scarves.