In the same way we employ fashion as a form of self-expression, costumes help tell the story of their characters. (The stage is a reflection of our world, after all.) No one knows that better than the Stratford Festival's expert costume designers, a determined group who dig in many (many) months before a show to build this essential piece of the production's narrative. We connected with those creative talents, who walked us through what to expect style-wise from the 2023 season.

Rent

Since its debut more than 25 years ago, Jonathan Larson's Broadway blockbuster has been beloved by countless showgoers, of all ages, over and over again. That familiarity served as both a guide and a starting point for costume designer Ming Wong, who delved into 1990s New York culture to remix the play's nearly 75 costumes. "I try to look at everything that was going on during that time: art, music, politics, significant events, et cetera," she says. "I don't like to limit myself to just the clothing, because I think everything that's happening informs how people dress and present themselves." Her resulting costume highlights are aplenty: a harnessed slip dress topped by a vintage fur-trimmed coat for Mimi; Angel's festive Santa Claus coat embellished with poinsettia leaves; a custom catsuit, complete with feline ears, for actor Erica Peck playing the exuberant performance artist Maureen. "It's easy to write off Rent as just a collection of jeans and T-shirts," says Wong. "But I'm really trying to challenge myself to go further."

Monty Python's Spamalot

If you know, you know: John du Prez and Eric Idle's cheeky spoof based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail promises absurdity at every turn. Costume designer David Boechler's job? Stay as true to the 1975 cult classic as possible. "[The original film the play's based on] shot the whole thing on a shoestring, but the costumes are so smart and funny and perfect that you don't want to mess with the formula," Boechler says. Good thing the Festival knows how to produce Medieval-era costuming with complete veracity. Given the show's physical comedy hijinks and "fiercely athletic" choreography (care of the illlustrious Jesse Robb), a delicate design balance between period precision and true practicality was also a priority for Boechler. "There are a lot of considerations to make to ensure that the period look is there and that the dancers can do their jobs just as flawlessly," he says. "I mean, they tap in chainmail".

King Lear

In crafting the costumes for Shakespeare's preeminent tragedy, designer Michelle Bohn zeroed in on one essential element for a trove of inspiration. "My design process begins and ends with the script," she says. "I read it repeatedly and often, looking for themes, leitmotifs, associations and all kinds of things that I can use to inform the world of the play." For Bohn, it's the little things that say a lot about a character: how they relate to others, what they say about themselves, how they connect to the settings around them. From there, Bohn's visual research runs the gamut: everything from Middle Ages art to contemporary haute couture and images of natural decay, like collapsing urban architecture and rust, became informative design sources for this play's overall silhouette. "Structured and statuesque" are the prevailing descriptors, an unmistakable look that riffs on a couple of periods, while personal touches, like a memento or two of past experiences, support each character's journey on a visual level.

Grand Magic

For costume designer Francesca Callow, imagining Grand Magic's seaside Italian setting—and the costumes that would connect to it—came care of iconic imagery from the cinematic great Federico Fellini. "[Director] Antoni Cimolino really liked the idea of incorporating some Felliniesque influence in the design, so he set the play 10 years later than when it was written," she says. That flexibility allowed for a mélange of movie influences, from the Italian idyll of the late '50s in La Dolce Vita to the beginning of more modern sensibilities of the mid-'60s in 8 ½. Capturing that tone in costume form was an "instinctual" process for Callow, but she also relied on further historical references to really nail down lead character Otto Marvuglia's enchanting look. "It was interesting looking back at magic shows throughout time and seeing how universal the archetype of the magician is," she says. The overall result is one that eschews the paper-doll dynamic for more of a circus-like quality or, as Callow describes it, "Slightly tawdry, slightly shabby. Comic, absurdist and grotesque at times, but soaring, heartfelt and bittersweet."

Schulich's Children's Play A Wrinkle in Time

When you're working with an out-of-this-world setting, as is the case in A Wrinkle in Time, costumes become integral to the storytelling. How else would you distinguish between the terrestrial humans and the celestial beings from across the universe? This was the task facing costume designer Robin Fisher. After director Thomas Morgan Jones asked that extraterrestrial characters not be dressed in clothing you might find on Earth, she began researching colour combinations and shapes found in stars, galaxies and planets. One of her more surprising earthborn references? Haute couture. "It can be incredibly sculptural and avant-garde, which works perfectly for this show," says Fisher. High-fashion designers like Dutch innovator Iris van Herpen were heavy influences in the sculptural knitwear and geometric structures that adorn the various Mrs. W characters. Ultimately, this out-of-the-box execution for some of Stratford's most junior audience members is what drives Fisher forward. "Designing theatre for young audiences can be some of the most rewarding and challenging projects to work on."

Richard II

Brad Fraser's revolutionary adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard II trades the fraught late Middle Ages for the glamour—and grittiness—of 1970s New York. As you might imagine, costume designer Bretta Gerecke's research brought her straight to the height of Studio 54, the queer icons that frequented the institution and those who've carried that flamboyant spirit up until today. Gerecke explains: "The '70s are currently back in mainstream fashion so that raises the question of how we differentiate between now and then, or if that is even important!" Reaching that perfect balance is achieved through the designer's collaborative efforts throughout the design process. Her newest practice—contacting the performers to start an open dialogue about their characters and influences—means that the costumes are constantly evolving well into rehearsals.

Much Ado About Nothing

Holiday-ready Messina, Sicily—the perfect place for prospective lovers—serves as the setting for Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing. It's fitting, then, that costume designer Julie Fox should find her first well of inspiration while on the road. "I happened to be travelling when I started my research, so I went to a very cool costume library in Berlin," explains Fox. "It was there that I fell in love with the many regional variants of Mediterranean traditional costume, in particular a beautiful and inspiring set of illustrations of traditional Italian clothing by [the late costume designer] Emma Calderini." Tapping into the coastal setting's lush heat (and the unmistakable chemistry between the play's characters) meant trading in the stiff, bulky Elizabethan silhouette for softer, folk-inspired shapes. A palette of rich, earth tones and lots of linen-weight fabrics help further set the forever-summer scene. With first fittings very much on the horizon, Fox is anticipating some type of theatrical alchemy taking over. "This is the moment where my costume 'ideas' meet the reality of the actors' bodies and their gradually evolving conceptions of their characters," she says. "The results of these intersections are one of the most satisfying aspects of the work."

Wedding Band

Written during the Civil Rights era, Wedding Band follows Julia and Herman, a deeply committed couple fighting for their interracial marriage in 1918 South Carolina. With such a resonant undertone permeating each and every scene, the creative foundation for costume designer Sarah Uwadiae went so much deeper than standard clothing references. "My research process started with learning about America in the early 1900s," she says: "What it was like for Black people to live then, the difficulties that were in their daily experiences and what it meant for their social strata." Exploring these societal connections played out across the production for Uwadiae, with one church scene prominently featuring large hats from the period. "We wanted it to be a reflection of the way people from Black communities all over the world present themselves in their 'Sunday best.'"

Casey and Diana

The world première of this Stratford-commissioned production depicting the Princess of Wales's 1991 visit to Toronto AIDS hospice Casey House is sure to stir up an emotional reception. For costume designer Josh Quinlan, one titular character is fuelling his own creative enthusiasm. "Princess Diana. Need I say more?" he says, referring of course to the fashion icon and humanitarian who altered the sociocultural course of the epidemic with a handshake. Quinlan says audiences can look forward to feeling a sense of nostalgia as he interprets queer trailblazers and the people who supported them—a poignant experience for him as a designer. "It's so exciting to recreate this historic moment in Canadian history, one that is very much in our living memory."

Women of the Fur Trade

With Women of the Fur Trade, a historical satire following three very different fort-bound friends in the 1800s, Jeff Chief is setting out to create costumes that bridge the production's Red-River-Resistance-meets-21st-century feel. Hailing from Onion Lake First Nation on Treaty 6 territory in Saskatchewan and now based in Saskatoon, Chief says his location affords him access to one-of-a-kind Indigenous materials that'll bring an authentic quality to the three leads' costumes. "I found some beaded fabric that I plan on putting on the cuffs," shares the designer. "I really have to think about how it'll last through laundering, so no one has to re-bead!"

Frankenstein Revived

More than 200 years after he was brought to life, Mary Shelley's main character remains as ubiquitous as ever. Costume designer Dana Osborne's assignment in Frankenstein Revived is to conceive of The Creature (played by Marcus Nance) in the stage-based medium. "There are many things to consider—practical, historical and cultural among them—as well as materials and prosthetics," she says. Getting the look of Nance's character right will require collaborative bids across Stratford's various creative departments; being surrounded by some of the country's most highly skilled (and completely imaginative) pros across wardrobe, wigs and makeup definitely helps. As an exuberant Osborne asserts, "This is our favourite kind of challenge!"

Les Belles-Soeurs

No one's more thrilled for Les Belles-Soeurs' long-awaited return to Stratford than costume designer Michelle Bohn, on double duty this season with King Lear. The Montréal native counts this play—and the whole of Michel Tremblay's revolutionary, Québécois-celebrating oeuvre—as one of "major significance," evident from the moment she began studying theatre. "I feel a lot of internal pressure to do it justice," she admits. "All that aside, I'm really looking forward to tackling the specific details of time and place that one can evoke in the clothing." Audiences can expect the play's vibrant 1965 setting to prove rich inspiration for costume design.

Love's Labour's Lost

Shakespeare's beloved comedy, set this season in a contemporary world, is equipped with plenty of warm, coming-of-age sentiment, but is short on character backstory—normally a key starting point for costume designer Sim Suzer. Consider its protagonist, the King of Navarre: his character-defining circumstances—how he became king, why he's subjecting his three friends to the sex-less oath—remain unclear with just a read of the script. It's Suzer's job then to imaginatively fill in the gaps, something she's looking forward to as she works on Love's Labour's Lost. "Creating a backstory and adapting it to the modern world is one of my favourite aspects of this design process."

Jillian Vieira is a freelance writer and stylist based in Toronto. Her written work has been published in various national publications, including ELLE Canada, FASHION, The Toronto Star and The Kit.