When is a crinoline not a crinoline?

Susan Marshall

When is a crinoline not a crinoline?

Susan Marshall

Italy / UK

Farthingales, hoops, panniers, bustles and crinolines. Since the ‘verdudago’ was first introduced in Spain in the 1470s, a cage structure has been worn at various points in history to support voluminous skirts and alter the shape of the female body.  Designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen and Yohji Yamamoto, have revisited hooped constructions in their collections, fascinated by the potential of these lightweight forms which metamorphosize from a flat two-dimensional object into three dimensions.

The critical making project “When is a crinoline not a crinoline?” forms part of my practice-based PhD exploring the relationship between play and Insubordinate Costume. The term ‘Insubordinate Costume’ refers to the type of costume that Patrice Pavis describes as, one that ‘constitutes a kind of travelling scenography’ (Pavis 2003, 177), or what Donatella Barbieri refers to as a ‘three-dimensional world for the body in movement that tells a story’ (Barbieri 2010). I am interested in the power of costume as a research tool and the different ways costumes can lead to dramaturgy.

As part of my research, I have developed flat-pack modular pieces which are simple repetitive shapes that are light-weight and easily transportable and can be assembled to create various three-dimensional forms, in much the same way as children’s construction toys. The crinoline was one of the forms I chose to use as a research tool and has proved to be one of the most versatile.

The modular crinolines are made from unbleached calico and have open-ended zips which allow them to be attached to each other. The first ten I made were 75cm long with a diameter of 7cm at the top and 25cm at the bottom. These are not wearable in a traditional way but can be worn on an arm, leg or head, or alternatively zipped together to make different shapes. The crinolines change form and significance by interacting with the performer’s body and can be worn and played with as abstract shapes or transformed into more recognizable pieces of clothing or objects.

Working closely with actress and dancer Tilde Knudsen of the Danish theatre company, Asterions Hus, I have been exploring the performative qualities and underlying theatricality of the crinoline and uncovering the diverse possibilities and hidden potential of the crinoline when it is removed from its traditional role as a fashion garment. The collaboration with Tilde developed into a nonverbal production of Alice in Wonderland and pushed my ideas further, leading me to create a series of crinolines of varying sizes, from tiny versions that fit on two fingers to a 4-metre high tubular structure which twists and turns with the body.

There is a symbiotic and circular relationship in this project between critical making and critical performance as the costume modules I create lead to the construction of an infinite variety of costumes which then inspire performance. This in turn informs my research and generates ideas for further exploration.

References

Barbieri, D. ‘Costume Re-Considered,’ in: Endyesthai (To Dress) – Historical, Sociological and Methodological Approaches, Conference Proceedings, 9-11 April 2010, Endymatologika 4 (Nafplion: Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation, 2012), 149.

Pavis, P. (2003). Analyzing performance: theater, dance, and film. University of Michigan Press.

Bio: Susan Marshall

website: http://www.susanmarshall.info/

instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insubordinate_costume/

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susan.marshall.56614

Susan Marshall is a costume designer, design historian, artist and lecturer based in Italy and the UK. She lectures on 20th Century Fashion in the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) department within the Politecnico di Milano and is currently undertaking a PhD at Goldsmiths, University of London, exploring the pivotal role of scenographic costume in performance and examining the role of play in the performers’ creative approach.

Publications:

Marshall, S. (2020). Following the Threads of Scenographic Costume at PQ19. Theatre and Performance Design. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322551.2020.1785229

Marshall, S. ‘Theatre inside/outside prison: The Dentro/Fuori San Vittore Globe Theatre Company, Milan’ in “The Palgrave Handbook of the History of Women on Stage”, Sewell, Jan, Smout, Clare (Eds.), Palgrave Macmillan, 2019

Marshall, S. ‘Designing Shakespeare: teaching students to adapt, recycle and make low cost costumes’ in “Shakespeare Our Personal Trainer”, Università degli Studi di Milano, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2018