Frockwatch: The Costume Designer
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To be the Costume Designer for BBC Singer of the World in Cardiff 2003 sounds a bit of a doddle. After all, surely everyone brings their own clothes, they put them on, they perform, they go home. What's so difficult about that? |
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Well, Eric Doughney, who has been costume designer for the Cardiff competition for eight competitions, would beg to differ and, having spent some time with him, I must agree.
Let's start with the singers. One thing music colleges rarely prepare you for is finding a style that you can be comfortable with. This is important - only when you know your appearance is good can you forget it and get on with the singing. Now more than ever we live in a visual age and reviews for an opera production will contain more words about how it looked than what it sounded like. In any competition, singers have so short a time to create an impression that they often need help to achieve the finished result.
Step forward Eric and his small but highly effective team on the fourth floor in St David's Hall. What do they offer the young singer arriving with tails or a couple of evening dresses in their luggage?
"It's important that singers realise I am here to help them" Eric says as he and I settle into a corner of the wardrobe room in a lull in the day's activity. "I talk through their outfits with them - making thorough notes on how to take care of each piece, what accessories they want to use, how it fits."
Some women have their outfits made for them so there is less for Eric and his team to do. Others are off the peg so may need help with the fit. Accessories may be a problem. Shawls may look good in the dressing room and are a good cover up for too much flesh but is it so soft that it will slide to a rakish angle while you sing? Will you worry about it or fiddle with it when you're nervous? Eric should be every girl's best friend. Kinder than Trinny and Susannah, he can still spot sartorial disaster and lead you away from it.
We reminisced about outfits in previous competitions and then the big question - have you ever had to say that that outfit is not a good idea? "Rarely, there are usually ways of turning the problem around," says Eric. "But just occasionally a singer arrives with a dress that reveals more than it conceals. Then you discover she's planning to sing something religious or an aria for a suffering nun. That's when you have to explain very clearly"
As regular visitors to this page will know, I sigh every time a man walks on to the stage in white tie and tails. I long for the moment when I can write "the baritone strode onto the stage and immediately the audience was captivated by his Hussar uniform." But enough about me...
Eric reminded me gently but firmly that there is a very good reason for wearing tails. "The coat is so constructed to pull your shoulders back and obliges you to stand erect - the perfect position to sing in." They are an expensive buy too, so most young singers would see their suit as a one-off investment. So I do appreciate the situation but I remember that in the last competition, Leigh Melrose's jacket had a red satin lining - invisible to the audience but something that made him feel different. Come on men, it can be done!
Whatever the choice, singers leave their outfits in Wardrobe on the morning of their heat. There each outfit is checked, buttons, hooks and beading given the once-over so that there are no last minute disasters. Each item is pressed or steamed and then the complete outfit is delivered to the dressing room. Nothing is left to chance, there's even a hair and makeup rehearsal so that everyone knows what the end result will be. The Cardiff competition is unique in this and previous competitors wax lyrical about the support Eric and his team provide. "For most people, it's just a relief to hand this sort of thing over to someone else," Eric says. He himself has trained as a cellist so has had some experience of the pressures of performance. There's a calm, relaxed atmosphere in Wardrobe that soothes the fretful visitor.
But beyond the singers, there are other professionals in Eric's care. This year the concerts are being shown every evening on BBC Four and on BBC Two Wales. Eric's task is to devise a styleguide, a handwriting that runs through the TV programmes. While being aware of current trends, Eric spends a lot of time talking to presenters and their guests. "I am not a fashion stylist," he emphasises, "arriving with a case of high-fashion pieces to be worn by clothes horses. The way presenters are dressed sets the tone for the way viewers perceive the competition. But at the same time, presenters have to feel comfortable so that they too can just get on with the job." Eric also has to take into account how the show will be presented - that too impacts on what they wear.
So what are they wearing this year? BBC Four's programmes are hosted by Petroc Trelawny, BBC Wales by Aled Jones. Both are fresh-faced but have, in the past, tended towards a conventional look. Eric must find a look that suits them both and suits the individual roles they have to play.
Taking as his colour palette the neutrals and blues that are so popular this season, Eric brings together both High Street and designer items. Aled works in a variety of locations around the Hall so his outfits are in plains and semi-plains to avoiding clashing with his backgrounds. Petroc is based in the auditorium so Eric has chosen slightly stronger colours and stripes for him.
And Eric's style theme? "Unbuttoned, relaxed, chilled but not Tango'd", as he so eloquently put it. In practice that means for Aled perhaps a soft jacket, without the usual stiffenings and linings, worn over a silky round neck sweater or a casual jacket, jeans-style but in caramel babycord. For Petroc, it might be a bright blue bowling shirt with pintuck detail or a handsome purple/white striped shirt with white collar and double cuffs softened by being worn without tie or cufflinks.
For both men, Eric has taken the sort of clothes they would normally wear and brought that look bang up to date. "It's important not to lose sight of the personality underneath the shirt or jacket" says Eric. "Most people enjoy the experience. It's an opportunity to try something new with someone there who say when it's not right for you."
Eric also speaks to the guests on the show, explaining the styleguide and talking through what they will wear. "I like to keep the balance of formality on screen. If a guest arrives in a suit, it's not appropriate for the presenter to wear something casual."
Some presenters keep pieces from Eric's selection. From the last competition, some satin jewelled-coloured shirts were made for presenter Gwenan Edwards. "I loved them so much, they felt 'right' - comfortable yet the colours were a bit of a personal statement" she says. "Even now, wherever I wear one of them, people still compliment me."
"That's very satisfying," Eric smiles. "It means I got the look right for her and she felt happy with it." And what will Gwenan wear on Sunday? "I couldn't possibly tell you," Eric smiles wickedly, "but she'll look fantastic!"
So never mind what others say, the wardrobe and make up room in St David's Hall is the real hub of the competition. Contestants, guests and presenters always call in for words of encouragement or a bit of support. Eric understands about providing a support system that's based on honesty and trust. "My whole job is about empathy - with the singers, with everyone I work with and with the music they sing."
Eric's favourite costume story is from Galina Vishnevskaya's autobiography.
Galina was singing Aida in Russia. She was shown the costume designs and said that she liked hers - but it must be in red. The designer demurred but Galina insisted. After all, the opera's called Aida and she is Aida.
After the performance, friends and acquaintances said to her '"You know Galina, whenever you're on stage I can't take my eyes off you, no matter who's actually singing."
Well, there you have it...
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