Costume Designers: The Exhibitionists

          In the last 100 years since the invention and acceptance of the washing machine, there has been over a 1,000 fold decrease in bespoke and handmade clothing. Beyond the initial higher design cost for something made-to-measure, there is a higher regular use in terms of maintenance both from dry cleaning and ironing. It is something that I give a lot of thought to as Liz Claiborne built an empire that her successor burned to the ground in a few years on the idea that clothing can and should be both good quality and easy care. But that is a discussion for another day.
            Today we are talking about THEATER! Specifically, how amazing I think that costume designers who design for the stage are. My favorite guilty pleasures often come to me thanks to my girl friend, Heather, who let's me borrow her brain from time to time. She's completely into custom and bespoke wear and if I came back rich and didn't have to sing for my supper, the first thing I would do is kidnap her to set-up a custom clothing shop where we made over the top fashion every day with no thought of money. Well, everyone has to have a fantasy. Since I don't see anyone giving me 100k to create works of beauty, I will stick to the practical for now. It's also hard when a custom suit made-to-measure takes roughly 20-30 times more to create plus fitting time compared to a ready-to-wear version.
            However, I always respect my fellow designers who seem to be able to manage what I never could which is making theater and costume one-offs pay. So, I get to watch these beautiful people on tv make things I dream of having the time to do a full-scale production run of. My current favorite is the popular tv show Game of Thrones costume designer, Michele Clapton. I encourage you to go check out her as she's done masterpiece theatre for years for all you snobby types.
She even weaves her own fabric....wow...hardcore.Yum, however...while her pieces have inspired collections, most of the other series I watch for clothing in them generally have to do with the specific quality in cut, not a specific designer. This is mostly because there are several great costume houses which farm out their period collections so it's sometimes hard to detect if you are seeing the actual work of the costume designer's needle trade or simply their ability to beg or borrow from the great houses.

               Take Downton Abbey which I was so into, only to find the pieces were in large part borrowed by Susannah Buxton from various houses instead of all assembled by her. I can't blame her as that show is full of costume changes, but it did make me decide to look less critically at costume designers for stage as few of them probably have the time or inclination to draft hundreds of costumes from scratch every few weeks. I try not to judge people for working smarter, everyone makes sacrifices to pay the bills. I have a portfolio of discarded projects I loved that got tossed for more practical ones. So I love to watch shows as it lets me dream. Alright, besides Game of Thrones, here's 3 more shows I love to watch for the clothing previews:

     Sherlock Holmes which I watch for Holmes's clothing, specifically his coats

     Suits which I watch for all the male lawyers suits. The women's wovens on the other hand are horribly unflattering and seem to result in boob wads which is so prego. BUT the suits are yum.

   Covert Affairs which is all about some hot shoes and zipper dresses. Those things look so impractical, but I love how this show takes risks.


Ok, have a great day and enjoy a little theater from me to you.

Textile Friday: 24K Goldplating with Jon Danforth

            We're running a little late on Textile Friday with the Thanksgiving holiday, but I think the wait is completely worth it because I have a special guest for you. Today we are hanging out having with my friend Jon. Jon is a lot of fun to be with and we're lucky to have him here today telling us about custom goldplating. Precious mineral plating occurs by putting a charge on the metal to be plated and then exposing it to a solution. In the industry these can be huge tanks, but the principle is the same on both the large and small scale. Thankfully, Caswell makes some great inexpensive kits to allow custom production for small scale runs in the $35-68 range. After purchasing a kit, you simply order refill bottles which are a cheap and effective way to do small runs. This gives you a great way if you need occasional plating for prototyping or finicky clients who may change their mind about finishes.
             You can generally plate a small piece in 5-10 min by following these easy steps.

 1. Clean out a glass beaker or clean jar to hold the gold solution. T-shirts work great for this. You can hold it under a light to check for residue. As you use the goldplating solution, it will leave a gold film on the inside.

2. Unscrew the gold solution and pour in some of the goldplating solution. Wrap the flat of the electroplating kit in cloth, fabric, or other absorbent material. This is what you will be using to goldplate your material.

3. Plug in the clamp and fix it to your item to be plated. Dip the fabric in the gold solution and begin rubbing it up and down the surface of the metal. As the reaction occurs, it will cause visible bubbles along the surface of the metal. You can also hear a popping sound like faint Rice Crispies Cereal.

4. Move slowly around the piece you are plating. An average piece such as this picture frame will take 5-15 minutes. Rub back and forth. You can move the clamp to plate the entire piece.

5. When you get done electroplating your piece, you will need to polish it for a shiny finish. Your final piece will have the same characteristics as the orginal piece. The gold is covering your metal, it does not change it's initial properties. You can take a polishing cloth, those wrapped in a block do best, and rub it over the surface of the gold to bring out the finish.

6. Voila. Your piece is done. Pretty awesome huh?

You can see the final contrast below.


Thanks so much for tuning in and a super big thanks to Jon for all his help and interesting help.