RxAG Costumes
What’s it like to make 75 costumes from scratch?
Behind every drop dead gorgeous outfit you see at RxAG’s performance is an untold story. Therein lies a rigorous creative process, several revisions, countless hours and multiple pairs of passionate hands at work. Could you imagine what it’s like to create these designs from scratch? If you’re even the slightest bit curious about how it’s done, read on to pry into the minds of RxAG Costumes talented designers.
Intro
Does it look familiar? The outfits here are inspired by common secondary school uniforms which symbolise the blissful ignorance of childhood aspirations.
Street Jazz
As our main character (MC) matures, she finds herself falling even deeper in love with the profession, manifested by the multitude of hearts which take to the stage.
Contemp
At the climax of this story, the MC is now confronted with a difficult decision as all of life’s realities hit. The pathway to a pharmacist isn’t as straightforward as it seemed. A heartbreaking realisation quite literally. Doubts and fears, as represented by the snakes and monsters on the outfit, continuously interferes with pursuing her passion at this critical junction.
Hip Hop
While she explores her options, in the end, it all leads to the same place. She was made to be a pharmacist all along! As she reaches this enlightenment, it was as if her dress was made of stars!
Finale
All of a sudden, the MC is flung back to the past as she recalls all her reasons for being a pharmacist back when she was a child! The hearts she once possessed has finally returned. As all the dancers unite in one row, we see a majestic display of hearts.
What were the challenges faced?
With the combined effort of the costumes comm, there were several rounds of prototyping and drafting. It wasn’t as straightforward as seeing which costume looked best aesthetically. Above all else, dancers had to be able to move well, rather than creating the most eye-catching costume. The feel of the fabrics and how see-through they were were among the other considerations. Finding that balance between functionality and aesthetic was one of the more interesting aspects of the designing process.
Iterations and more iterations
Only the street jazz outfit remained almost the same as the original draft but everything else changed a lot. Just look at how different the prototypes are!
Improving day by day.
“My team and I did lack experience in sewing and making outfits from scratch at the start. However, despite that, my team and I kept improving our knowledge through tutorials on youtube and even instagram reels and tiktok lol. It was mainly a lot a lot of hard work and efforts on our part.”
At the end of the day,
The best feeling in the world would probably have to be getting that A after working yourself to the bone for finals, but it all comes down to seeing all your hard work pay off. And I’m sure that’s how all the Costumes members felt on RxAG D-day, seeing their fellow coursemates slay in those fabulous outfits made with their very hands. There’s no way I could capture their entire journey in these few paragraphs. You just had to be there yourself to feel the passion and dedication. I sure am excited to see the next batch of designs in next year’s RxAG. Do you have any ideas?
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