Cyrano de Bergerac

For the UNCSA production of Cyrano de Bergerac, we used a hip hop and rap inspired modern interpretation of the original script, so I mirrored that feeling with the costuming. I used the high fashion, runway styling of Paris for my inspiration with a controlled, neutral color palette due to the director’s request. I was able to add in colors to create accents for important moments; for example, the first time Roxane–the character that drives the story–appears, she is in a full color dress to highlight her importance. Cyrano himself was a master of words and language, so with each of his costumes, I incorporated actual words designed into his clothing. I used obscure or hard to read fonts so that the lettering was subtle. And as Roxane began to fall in love with the letters Cyrano wrote to her under Christian's name, her costumes slowly began to take on lettering accents as well, to show how she is falling in love with the words.

I chose a more fashion forward approach for the men’s uniforms during the war scene. I wanted them to feel like a collective but not necessarily military, so I chose a more  simple, cohesive design that allowed me for subtle changes to showcase being put together before war time, and then a more disheveled appearance for during the war. The same idea was true for the priest’s robes; I needed him to have a sweeping robe that showed movement and gave the feel of a religious leader, but I went with a more fashionable style rather than using a traditional religious robe design.

Renderings: Procreate