Costume Design: Cinderella
In our costume design class there were 3 students responsible for making 3 garments. In our adaptation of Cinderella ‘Elle’ is a Maiden in the country side of France in the mid 1700s. Their ball is an annual ‘Festival’ and the prince is a merchant who sails around the world and his family owns the town they live in. Their style is influenced by pirates and the folklore of the fairy godmother. I designed and made Elle’s day dress (left). I designed the Fairy Godmother’s ‘rags’ (middle) and cut and sewed Elle’s Festival Gown skirt (right).
Pictured above is Elle’s Day dress featuring her chatelain which carries scissors, a key, and a pouch that holds her dowry. Her scarf and corset piping is the same color as her festival dress, a fun foreshadowing detail. The Fairy Godmother appears to Elle as a beggar in rags at first. The above sketch is the original design for the rags after they become clean once she finally appears to Elle as the Fairy Godmother.
Pictured above are the different pieces I patchworked together to create the Fairy Godmother’s ‘rags’. We were able to utilize donated fabric to the school for this, and for the chamise of Day Elle’s Costume. We stayed within the nautical color palette of teal, blue, sand, sea glass, and purple that we created for each piece.
The chamise and apron were made of linen and the corset from silk faille. The chatelain was constructed with three long 2 1/2“ wide strips of the green fabric. I staystitched 1/4” away from the cut edge and brushed out the seam allowance for a frayed affect. The strips were carefully tied into a knot and stitched in place. The scissors, key, and dowry pouch were held onto the tips of the chatelain with clasps. The entire chatelain is attached with a button, so it comes off too.
We created a belt for the Fairy Godmother with Santeria Charms. They are embroidered pieces of muslin interfaced with siri and glued to the charm.
