Costume Design: 'Zoe' (2023)
Recently I returned to my costume design skillset while working on surrealist-inspired, David Lynchian-esque animation 'Zoe' as part of my Master's coursework. While 'Zoe' is on the film festival circuit, it currently remains unwatchable but I am happy to share insights into the costume design and other elements of the production here. During production of Zoe, I was primarily responsible for costume design and construction, performance and video references, and assisting with animation.
One of the major reasons I wanted to animate on Zoe was because of the faithfulness and strong visual connection to its source material and references. When Zoe was initially pitched, reference was made to the visual language of surrealism, specifically of films inspired by surrealist filmmaking and dada collage. In much of my past work, I produced stop-motion animations and characters inspired by the worlds of dada and surrealism, so an opportunity to revisit these historic contexts while producing new work for the course was really appealing to me. In addition, I like that the film includes political commentary, though due to its format, this is largely implied rather than declared outright.
Much of my other contributions in Zoe centred around the costume design and performance of the Masked Man figure who appears towards the climax of the film. Again, in the past, I have worked on art installations with interactive elements which made use of imagery and themes inspired by surrealism, dada, and the bauhaus, and because of this, they often involved costumed performers. In many cases, I played these characters myself, and while I haven’t done this since 2016, I’ve really enjoyed stepping back into costume design and performance for Zoe. My previous work was either live or on video; I have never been animated through pixelation before, so that was a first, and was quite an intense way to work.
Going into my work in more detail now, here are some images which show the initial design process and beginnings of construction for the costume and its props in Zoe. I found the costume workshop an incredible resource for this production, because having a wide range of materials and tools at my disposal is a very different kind of experience to that which I had in my previous work. This costume needed to be worn as a full, functional outfit.
I like the religious and social commentary which was evoked in Vivian’s original concept sketches and storyboards for Zoe, so I really pushed that with the costume design, adding additional elements such as a pellegrina and a more pronounced ‘habit’ shape to the costume. I’m particularly happy with the triangular sleeves which were a prominent part of the original sketches that remained through the costume’s various stages, helpfully sewn into the torso by Teddy, who also provided assistance with preparing the costume for our photoshoot and in some test sessions. Finally, finishing touches were added to the costume right before shooting, such as white paint on any exposed skin.
