Costume coordination: History and Key Facts

Costume coordination is a method of dressing actors, employees or a person or group for theatrical productions and any venue requiring a fully realized character. It consists of pulling or renting existing stock clothing and costumes, altering them as needed to be used as stage clothes in a theatrical production, oversee their use, cleaning and eventual return to storage or rental company. Just as with costume design, the costume coordinator creates the overall appearance of the characters, but with the use of on hand items, including accessories. Sometimes coordinators may have a small budget to augment the existing stock or alter it for production needs.

Many theatres with smaller budgets regularly reuse existing stock, especially older companies with large costume warehouses. It is also a staple of community theatre productions because it entails less time and effort and is the usual manner for schools to costume student performers from stored costumes donated or previously purchased.

Coordination of costumes is also required at theme parks and festivals which require performers and dancers to have a consistent appearance, or maintained as originally designed.

Source and attribution

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