ABSTRACT
The process of bringing a costume from sketch to finished product requires a team effort. To transform an actor into a character, each artisan works closely with the designer. Each artisan's unique viewpoint and set of skills complements the efforts of their colleagues. The final product becomes transformative, more than just the sum of the parts. This chapter focuses on how the different departments work in concert to create one costume. For the Santa Fe Opera's 2014 production of Carmen, costume designer Jorge Jara created a unique metaphorical image with his design for the Skeleton Dancer: a beautiful woman who is half flamenco dancer and half Day of the Dead skeleton. This figure of death foreshadows Carmen's fate. The build process for this one costume also demonstrates a typical collaboration in the costume shop. Both costume designers and costume artisans thrive on novelty. They search for better solutions to old problems and attack new ones with relish.
