Florida Thespians
Costume Design – Aladdin
The script of Aladdin showcases a vibrant and lively story that takes place in the city of Agrabah. Agrabah is a city that is filled with mystery, magic, adventure, suspense, and romance. The costumes play a key role in elevating the story, exhibiting the essence of each character, infusing the cultural elements of Arabia, conveying the social hierarchy of the characters, while meeting functional requirements for movement, quick changes and the visual narrative.
Genie
What inspired my design for the Genie were mythological genies, legends of the djinn, and ancient folklore. In Act 1, Scene 7 all eyes are on Genie in his performance of a “Friend Like Me.” I designed his costume to attract attention from the audience with his appearance as a supernatural, comical, and magical figure. His vibrant bodysuit with sparkling gold embroidered details containing whimsical patterns embodies his magical nature. His vibrant exaggerated harem style pants with a cascade of glistening brocades that sparkle and shine help compliment his magical and comedic character traits. His elaborate gold belt with jewels adds to his dazzling fantastical appearance. His gold cuffs symbolize how he is a prisoner. Functionality is of the utmost importance for the genie because he is a mover in the musical. The costume is designed to allow him to have freedom of movement throughout his dynamic numbers. The zipper of the bodysuit allows him to get in and out easily and being made of spandex material allows for movement without any restriction. The color blue for the genie highlights his personality strengths of enthusiasm, imagination, sincerity, and loyalty.
Aladdin
Aladdin transforms into Prince Ali to attempt to win over Princess Jasmine and earn her affection. I designed his regal and princely attire to be luxurious in its appearance to contracts from the depiction of Aladdin earlier in the play as a “street rat.” The inspiration behind Prince Ali’s design were Arabian Princes, Sultans and royalty. I researched ancient royals such as the Persian King Cyrus who adopted a purple tunic to his royal dress. To reflect Ali’s royalty, I added a purple across my design. The color is rich and reflects his rouse of being a prince. I added many types of diamonds, gems, and jewels across his costume to portray to the audience that he is the diamond in the rough. The fabrics that I selected are glistening brocades, silks, and crushed velvet to give a richness and sparkle that make his portrayal as a prince believable. Prince Ali’s costume must be able to balance his opulent appearance while still being practical so that the actor can dance and move during “Prince Ali.” His costume will have Velcro and snaps sewed throughout the different layers of the costume to allow for the ease of change when he transforms back to a street rat.
Jafar
As the villain, Jafar’s costume personifies his ambition, spitefulness, and devious nature. His long dark robe with dramatic accents such as his snake staff maintains his intimidating presence. Jafar’s inspiration came from Arabian mages and sorcerers and influences of the grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire. I took these inspirations and combined it with real life snake designs. I researched Arabian desert cobras as that is Jafar’s main symbol. I studied snakes, snake patterns, and applied this to my design to make him appear more sinister and serpent like to show his deceptive nature. I added Arabic script into his costume to signify the cultural presence of Agrabah. I added the Arabic word for snake to exhibit that he uses the cobra as a symbol of authority. I also included the word greed in Arabic to symbolize his desire for always wanting more. I chose gold vinyl, red and black velvet, and sparkling brocades to give him a rich and regal look as he is the Sultan’s vizier while also showing his dark and vile presence as a sorcerer. For functionality, Jafar’s costume needs to have practical purposes while still conveying his intimidating appearance. The long robe and cape I created will allow for movement during his dramatic scenes as sorcerer which includes dramatic movements, choreography and duels. Velcro and snaps will also be sewed throughout the different layers of the costume to allow for quick reveals during dynamic scenes.
Jasmine
Princess Jasmine’s costume truly reflects how she is a royal while also expressing her strong sense of individuality and her yearning for freedom. My inspiration for Jasmine was Arabian royalty particularly Arabian princesses and queens throughout history. I also researched Arabian dancers for the fluidity of the movement of their costumes. Jasmine’s costume is adorned with several jewels and gems to reflect her femininity. I added a long and thin chiffon, silk, and organza fabric draped around her to show her royal status and how regal she is. The fabrics I chose are turquoise and gold brocades to stay true to her character traits and royalty. Her costume is designed to embody how independent and courageous she is, willing to break free from the confines of her society. Functionality is extremely important for Jasmine as the fabrics I chose are free flowing and will move with her during her dance scenes and make them dramatic and beautiful. Hidden snaps will allow for any quick changes.
Iago
As Jafar’s loyal sidekick, Iago serves as the eyes and ears of his master. As a character he is greedy, motivated by personal gain, but also provides a comic flare to the musical. My inspiration for Iago was rooted in parrots, viziers of the Ottoman empire, and Iago as a character from the film and musical. I chose a color palette of bright colors of red, yellow and blue to give him a bird-like feel through the colors and textures. His costume showcases velvet, sparkling brocades, and colorful feathers. I studied different types of parrots and how they look, move, and act. I wanted to bring whimsical and fantastical elements to Iago while still exuding his character traits of being subservient to Jafar. Although he is human, Iago’s bird-like costume reflects how he is trapped in Jafar’s evil aspirations and ambitions. Functionality is an important part of designing his costume. Using feathers for texture that are lightweight allows for the freedom of movement of dynamic scenes with fast moving choreography.
