Costume is that peculiar style of dressing of an individual or collection that represents personality, sex, age, profession, culture, race or era. In other words costume is the unique visual language of an individual. Its main aim is to create identity by creating a costume that is exclusive to the wearer. This way we can say that the costume is the manifestation of the cultural beliefs and social attitudes of an individual. It is used to create an illusion or recreation of the world.
The concept of this art started from the ancient times when the artists used to portray the myths, legends or stories from the various regions. And to make these costumes complete, the costume designers made the accessories as well. The main intention was to depict the characters, thoughts and feelings of the particular region where the story was narrated. With the evolution of costume designing with time, it became a popular hobby and a profession for many people all around the world.
Today costume designing has become a thriving business that provides a wide range of costumes. This includes the traditional costumes like the Indian costumes, Chinese costumes, Arabian costumes and so on. These costumes are available in the form of loose clothes, whole outfits, trouser suits, jackets and so on. Most of these are designed according to the current fashion trends.
These costumes are designed in two types of fabrics, namely, rayon and nylon. Nylon is much more durable than rayon fabric, thus they are much preferred in the market. These materials have the ability to stretch, which is an important factor in the creation of the costumes. Hence it follows that the designers and craftsmen spent considerable time and effort in order to achieve the perfect shape and size in these fabrics. The end product is an array of well-tailored costumes that are designed and tailored by experienced costume designers.
It is also very important for costume designers to maintain a good rapport with their clients. By doing so they can easily incorporate the ideas into the final sketches. Clients can also send in their own suggestions to costume designers. The costume designers will then use these inputs to design a better costume. The costumes are made available for the public either in small numbers or in bulk amounts.
This highly creative industry has seen tremendous growth in the last few years. The best way to look for costumes is to plan out the desired look in detail and then look for the perfect material and design. Professional guidance will help you get a unique and stylish theatre costume.