The visionary designers behind Sydney/Warrane demi-couture label Nicol & Ford are transplanting their legendary pieces from the runway to centre stage in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The rad rock musical (that – dare we add – boasts a Tony Award) will be hitting the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne/Naarm from June 13th and Carriageworks in Sydney/Warrane from July 17th. We caught up for a chinwag with Katie-Louise and Lilian Nicol-Ford to get the low-down on how they approached designing costumes for Hedwig.

What does the collaboration process look like in the early stages of designing for Nicol & Ford? Lilian: I have a natural lean towards historic referencing and research, while Katie focuses on how these concepts can be translated into functional garments. We embraced many principals of burlesque costume-making in Hedwig’s signature denim ensemble, so Katie was the mastermind behind the Babushka-like unpeeling of these layers from the top of the show. We were fortunate enough to be traveling in Europe when we joined the artistic team and so we visited Berlin with a specific interest in post-War East German life and its aesthetics, visiting the DDR Museum where apartments like the one Hedwig would have grown up in are perfectly recreated.Snap by Shane Reid

When it came to designing the costumes for Hedwig and the Angry Inch, how did you work with Seann Miley Moore to bring Hedwig to life? Katie-Louise: We translated our research into a suite of costumes and options, which we presented to the producers and two co-directors to ensure that the costumes made sense within the broader world of lighting and set design. The incredible endurance piece that is Hedwig, and the fact that the actors don’t leave the stage at all during the show (and therefore couldn’t change), meant that we had to create layered, durable and comfortable garments that evolved alongside the narrative and emotional arc of the musical while being practical for the demands of the production. We were inspired by Seann’s visibility and advocacy as a non-binary superstar and considered how we could embrace and challenge their talents through the costuming of the character. Once we had all of these elements locked in, we presented these designs to the cast and collaborated with them to ensure comfort and range of movement were accounted for.

What was on your mood board as you set out designing the costumes for the musical? Lilian: We are very big fans of the original film adaptation of Hedwig. We wanted to ensure that we could do something fresh while paying homage to the legacy of the original production. We really focused on how gender non-conforming presentation has changed in the 25 years since the original film, and wanted to reflect these changing attitudes – today young queer individuals have the internet to guide them through hair, make-up, aesthetics and more, so we wanted our Hedwig to be a little more polished – presenting an agency which wouldn’t have been afforded to the original design of the production. Our mood board included a combination of East Berlin’s interiors, 1980s denim-clad band imagery and contemporary drag, and we feel that we found the wonderful and bizarre meeting place between all three.Snap by Shane Reid

What makes these costumes different from those in any other musical? Katie-Louise: Nicol & Ford’s design language is especially focused on embracing diverse bodies, and we are proud of the way in which our costumes for Hedwig enabled the talented actors to find new parts of themselves to explore in this work. Embracing the rags-to-rags nature of Hedwig’s story, the costumes are maybe a lot less sparkly than audiences are accustomed to seeing in musical theatre, but we think it gives them a sense of realism and a lot of heart.

How was the process of designing clothes for the stage different to how you design for the runway? Lilian: The majority of our fashion work is made in very fine silk textiles, which would be immediately shredded by the demands of a fully choreographed stage production. Durable, machine washable textiles and big chunky zips which allow quick changes to appear like magic on stage are all different approaches from our usual practice – and a fantastic challenge.

What was your favourite thing about creating these costumes? Katie-Louise: We loved being pushed out of our comfort zone – where glamour and beauty are often the driving principle. The crusty and raw energy of Hedwig’s story was such an exciting point of inspiration, inviting us to evolve our own practice in bringing our part of the production to life.

To see Nicol & Ford’s costumes come alive on the stage in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, head this-a-way.