- In this musical project, how did your collaboration with Peris Costumes influence the creation of the costumes? Were there any specific details or pieces from the Peris archive that were key to bringing the characters to life?
Peris is an access to a magical space where I can find all kinds of pieces and relics from the 20th and 21st century, which fitted perfectly for this film. Having created such an eclectic and colourful imaginary as Polvo Serán, I spent time looking at many decades that inspired me. And Peris allows you to research and study fabrics, colours and finishes in situ, rather than through images in books or on the internet. By having all kinds of pieces, it’s like a google of wardrobe, so every time I go into Peris, I rethink a percentage of the moodboard I have previously created, as I never know where I can get the elements I need to create the image I’m looking for.
For Polvo Serán, the artistic challenge was to merge many influences under the same look. In theory, we had thought of underdresses from the 20s and 30s, knitwear from the 40s. We overlooked the 50s – too feminine, too new look – because we were looking for a more languid figure, for the clothes to fall, more vertical. We were also interested in the 60s, for their naïve fantasy and impossible prints, the 70s were cheeky, and the 80s were modern and brave.
And so it was. For Claudia (Angela Molina’s character) we selected many embroidered cotton dresses from the 20s and also from the 40s. In addition to coats with a strong personality, from those years (60s, 70s, 80s) when each city had its renowned dressmakers who were inspired by the great trends of Paris and made them to measure for the clientele. For her daughter Violeta, we used the 80s more. A slightly darker decade, closer to rock, and the power dressing silhouette. Not for the sake of aggressiveness, but to make it more contemporary. In general, I would like to highlight all the work we did on the accessories. Very personal bags, made of plexiglass, velvet or crochet, as well as all of Ángela’s shoes, most of which were from opera productions.
- Your designs tend to convey a very powerful narrative. Where do you usually take inspiration for your creations? Is there any historical period or style that particularly influences your work?
It’s very important when you start a project to know that you are starting a game and not to be afraid of it. Know that you can make mistakes. But it’s a job where you have to gamble. And I feel comfortable doing it with categorical, uncomfortable or non-preconceived proposals.
The designers I’m most interested in are the conceptual designers who came along in the 90s, like Miguel Adrover, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano. Or those who gave a lot of space to narrative and dramaturgy in their shows, like Margiela, Yves Saint Laurent, Schiapparelli, Yohji Yamamoto, or Jonathan Anderson. It’s true that I rarely take fashion as a reference point. I tend to visit museums, exhibitions, street art, contemporary photography, archives and press in second-hand markets beforehand…
A few years ago I thought I had a predilection for certain trends, forms or ideas, but I’m realising that everything is relative. And that something you may not like at all in one context, fascinates you at another time. Miuccia Prada used to say that before starting each collection, she would choose a resource that she personally hated and from that, she would try to make beauty. One collection was stripes, another was esparto grass, or the baby doll silhouette… I was very inspired by this relativisation and innocuousness of dislike in an aesthetic sense.
- What was the biggest challenge you have faced in a project, and how did you overcome it?
It was a film that was as beautiful as it was complicated. It was complex on a conceptual level – a musical set in the present day, with changes of context and reality -, on a logistical level – we shot in 3 different countries in 6 weeks of shooting – and on a team level – there were only a few of us and we didn’t all travel, we were divided into units. But it was very nice, and it all made up for it when I was able to see the film for the first time. Because I felt that I had done something very special for me. Something that since I was a child, in one way or another, I dreamt of.
Coming back to reality, I want to highlight the team I had. They helped me, understood me and followed me with impossible goals, like embroidering by hand all the crystals of the skull headdresses, or making by hand the tassels and appliqués of Angela’s capes and coats. And that’s not counting the outsourced tailoring, which was a lot. The bow ties of the white morning coat were also handmade, or the majority of Alfredo Castro’s jumpers were dyed (up to 3 times) to give them a patina and find the right colour. One of them had to wear it half wet, because even the night before we were looking for the perfect orange. Alfredo liked it so much that he didn’t want to wear option B, and put it on wet.
We took so many risks that I can only be grateful to the team and the casting.
- In your opinion, how fundamental is costume in constructing the identity of Claudia and Flavio’s characters and how does it affect the audience’s perception?
In this case, and more than ever, I think the costume offers but also cohesive ideas beyond the costume. For example, it keeps the performers in a place that as soon as the musical numbers come in, the visual contrast makes it less of a contrast between one scene and another.
Moreover, the imaginary created for the protagonists helps us to perceive how they understand the world. A beautiful, complex, sometimes uncomfortable world. They are two people who were legendary performers in Catalan theatre, who have spent their whole lives surrounded by artistic proposals and creators, so it is not so crazy to think that they could dress very freely.
The costumes may generate a certain intrigue for the spectator, but we couldn’t lower the bar for two such complex characters, who are capable of reflecting so serenely on death. I believe that a complex aesthetic goes hand in hand with complex, reflective, even daring people. And that’s what the film is about.
