Mulan and Moby Dick

A couple of months ago I was able to work with the brilliant Red Dragonfly Theatre Productions on their latest pieces 'Tom Jones' and 'Monkey'. Shortly after they left to tour, co-founders of the company Michelle Yim and Ross asked me if I could design/make/adapt a costume for her one woman production of 'Mulan' and make a pair of trousers for Ross's one man show 'Moby Dick' that are touring to Edinburgh Fringe Festival later this year! This was brilliant as for Mulan it was quite different from anything that I have done before as it involved armour. The existing costume consisted of a kimono, an armoured tunic, arm braces and boot covers.

 The problems with the existing costume:

- The kimono was too large

- The armour due to a slight mishap during a previous production was coated on the inside with a sticky/greasy adhesive that had soaked through the lining, so the lining needed to be replaced and if possible the previous adhesive removed

- The ties on the armour needed to be replaced with something more in keeping with the period and the rest of the costume design

- The armour needed minor breaking down as it looked very 'new' and while it was meant to have been well cared for was still meant to have been in years of battle

- The boot covers needed to be attached to soles

- A neckerchief and belt needed designing and making that would fit in with the costume 

I drew out several design options for the new costume and once I had the final design approval from Michelle I started hunting for fabric for the neckerchief. The dominating colours of the costume were red and black, with touches of aged gold, so after discussion with Michelle I wanted to bring out a bit more of the gold to break up the red and black. After much hunting I found a black and gold fabric for the neckerchief that was very similar to the band at the edge of the kimono. 

The armour was more difficult in that the unknown adhesive had soaked into the pleather too extensively to be removed, and so I decided to put a thick layer of calico between the armour and the new lining to prevent it from seeping through as it had with the previous thin lining. After replacing the lining I set about breaking down the armour with a combination of scoring and marking the plates to look like battle marks, and the application of paint to the red pleather backing to make it look more aged and worn.


I was later asked to change the belt to incorporate the centrepiece after a test of the costume on stage, to make it more visually striking. I took inspiration from ancient Chinese metalwork that I have seen in various exhibitions over the years and the dragons in the fabric of the neck tie.

For Moby Dick Ross has only needed a pair of trousers making. Unfortunately they were not able to get official photographs at the performances, however I do have an in progress shot of the trousers before hemming the cuffs and adding the buttons to the front.