As a part of my education, I had to carry out two practical trainings. At the first practical training (in 2009) I was working in fabric store (for about a month) and at dressmaker's shop (also about a month). Second practical training was kinda part of the advanced special studies. During this training we (costumier students) could familiarize ourselves better with what it's really like to work in theatre. At this second training (in 2010) I was working in Hasaniemi theatre as a seamstress in two different plays: "Uncle Fedya, His Dog, and His Cat" by Eduard Uspensky and "The Howling Miller" by Arto Paasilinna.
For "Howling Miller" I made few hats (nurse's cap and shop owner's hat) and a shirt from scratch, but mostly I did just some modifications to costumes and some accessories since most of the costumes were pulled out from theatre's costume storage. For "Uncle Fedya" I made most of the costumes from scratch and made alterations to ready-made garments.
Villagers and rural police chief
Howling Miller in mental hospital
Dog, Cat and Fedya getting ready for treasure hunt
Jackdaw, squirrel, bunny and "indian" cow
Fedya's mother
Fedya's mother and father (that bright pink dress was hiding under mom's black coat dress)
And apparently I didn't fail too much because at the end of the practical training I was asked to be a costume designer for next year's play "Rollo and the Woods Sprite" (which I did as my thesis).
Last summer I designed and made costumes for a summer theatre play Rollo and the Woods Sprite (Rölli ja metsänhenki in finnish). It was my "final" school project, thesis, which is kinda thing to show teachers what you've learned over the years and such. It was my first "solo" designing project and OH MY it was demanding. Play had 26 actors, lots of dancing, wire tricks, etc.
The whole process of designing and making all those costumes was stressful as h*ll, I had to work long hours and keeping director and actors AND myself as a designer happy with the costumes was (and always is) difficult. But in the end it was all worth it and I would do all that again without a doubt. The feeling you get when you see your own creations on stage for the first time is priceless.
Anyways, here's some pictures ((c) Noora Pasanen and Carita Huttunen). Looking through them always makes me happy.
"I made them"
There's another person under the skirt, she's not really that tall. (shhh, it's a secret)
Earlier I posted some pics of my historical gown which at that point was still in the making. Now it's ready so here's some pics of all those billion layers that goes into that outfit. Note that a dressform isn't as curvy as humans are, so clothes look a bit meh. If I someday get good pics of somebody wearing it (most likely me), then I'll probably add them to this post.
So, what goes into this outfit:
Put on a chemise..
..a corset..
(same corset from behind)
...hoopskirt...
...petticoat...
...kirtle (not ready in this pic)...
(decorative trim on the hem of the finished kirtle)
...main gown...
...foresleeves...
...some bling bling...
...girdle (a.k.a. fancy belt thingy)...
...and Voilá! oh, and don't forget French hood (that hat thing)
All pieces made by me, including jewelry.
It takes a long time to get into that gown and you need somebody to help you get dressed, but it's a lot of fun to wear anyway.
This happens often; I have high expectations about something and usually end up being disappointed in some way. Such thing happened with Rockville, a rock musical, in Helsinki. I expected a lot from that play since it was made by professional theatre. But no. It was disappointment. The youth theatre in Rantasalmi did so much better version of it (and me and three other classmates made costumes for it and they were awesome). They just gave so much more to it than those professional actors together.
But sometimes your high expectations are met. Like this movie I expected a long time and was so excited about it. That movie, of course, is Iron Sky. Following description is from their site:
"In the last moments of World War II, a secret Nazi space program evaded destruction by fleeing to the Dark Side of the Moon. During 70 years of utter secrecy, the Nazis construct a gigantic space fortress with a massive armada of flying saucers."
Sounds cool idea huh?If you're interested to learn more about the movie, go here.
That movie was real eye candy for a costume geek like me who's into military gear. I could watch it so many times and just examine all those uniforms and other costumes.
I saw the movie when they were doing preview-touring: Iron Sky on tour. Ticket to the preview event included Tour T-shirt, signed movie poster (signed by the director), iron sky -buttons, of course the movie and 45-minute seminar with director and producer.
Tour T-shirt <3
As the closing statement I add my favorite Iron Sky trailer (teaser trailer 2), and say this:
A lecture about women's underwear, duration about one hour.
Why?
Because it's very interesting.
Underwear takes the stage in this talk by H. Kristina Haugland, associate curator of Costume and Textiles at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The history of feminine undergarments—corsets and drawers, bustles and brassieres, stockings and shoulder pads—reflects changing ideals of women’s figures and societal roles, and reveals that ideas of beauty, hygiene, modesty and respectability are both remarkably transitory and enlightening. Drawing from works of art, advertisements, cartoons, literary sources and surviving garments, this generously illustrated lecture enhances the understanding of past and present attitudes and aesthetics. Supported in part by the Art Institute of Indianapolis. www.artbabble.org
