INSPIRATION

I was heavily inspired by Victorian-era fashion for this piece. I wanted the apron to have a grand yet

practical feel, hence why I chose to have large layered ruffles under a smooth apron flat. The chest pouch

was inspired by corsets and I embodied the classic stiffness by sandwiching a piece of hard plastic

between layered fabric, and finally lining it with the red PVC. I chose to use the glossy side of the PVC as

it looked a bit like fresh runny blood and would juxtapose against the matt calico really well. For the collar,

I was inspired by 18th-century quilted petticoats. I thought that the medieval-looking texture was unique

and would contrast the large areas of smooth fabric really well. The quilting was done by inserting foam

and sewing over it. The puffiness also added to the comfy vibe of the character, offsetting the hard and

cold nature of her job, allowing the audience members to warm to her more. I also researched fashion

designer Vladyslav Slobodskoy as he also had a similar colour combination in his pieces, also with the

intention of using red to represent blood. I needed a reference to know how to utilise blood in a gory yet

classy and non-gimmicky way. The trick I realised was not to go overboard with the red and to infer blood

rather than to recreate blood drips and their literal liquid consistency.

COSTUME DESIGN