Product details
- ISBN 9780300289343
- Dimensions: 235 x 279mm
- Publication Date: 27 Oct 2026
- Publisher: Yale University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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A backstage look at the hidden world of making costumes for performance
From tutus and tiaras to tacking and tailoring, Craft and Illusion documents the generations of knowledge and know-how that underpin this dynamic and creative industry and celebrates the vital contribution of makers to the history and culture of performance. The book opens with a series of chapters about the history of costume making in Britain, ranging from the earliest known recorded costume maker to 1980s Liverpool and the costume construction course established at Mabel Fletcher Technical College. A costume-making manifesto from the School of Historical Dress introduces the second part of the book, which comprises twenty-three contributions from costume makers. These take many forms, including detailed accounts of costume-making practice and process for classical opera and ballet, reflections on rich and rewarding careers in the sector, and creative meditations on the craft of costume making and its wider significance.
This book, the first major publication on costume making, invites readers backstage and into the hidden world of the workroom to witness the craft and illusions involved in the production of costume for performance.
Jade Halbert specialises in the histories of manufacturing in fashion. Her research is focused on recovering the unwritten histories of making with emphasis on the transmission of manual expertise across a range of production environments, from the factory to the home. Veronica Isaac brings a decade’s experience of working with the costumes held by the former Department of Theatre and Performance at the Victoria and Albert Museum, together with specific expertise in the history of costume.
