The Costume Designer’s Toolkit explores the wide-ranging skills required to design costumes for live performance in theatre, dance, opera, and themed entertainment. Arranged in chronological order to create a design, each chapter describes tools, strategies, and techniques costume designers use to create lively and believable characters within a story environment. The book provides a step-by-step outline of the costume design process beginning with developing as an artist and creating an artistic vision for a script. It covers a wide range of topics, including:

Assessing the scope of a production

Understanding design thinking and the creative process

Project management and budget forecasting

Collaborating with and leading creative teams

Current practices in costume rendering and communication

Mixing purchased, rented, stock, and built costumes to form a design

Designing a garment with impact

Fitting costumes on performers

Combining grit and grace for a successful career

Each topic includes case studies and tips from experienced professionals, identifies vital skills, describes techniques, and reveals the essential elements of artistic leadership, collaboration, and cultural acumen.

The Costume Designer’s Toolkit is the perfect guidebook for the student, aspiring, or early-career costume designer, to be used alone or in costume design university courses.