Audio Description
Biz Sutton
Biz Sutton is a performance costume designer. A recent graduate from Edinburgh College of Art, she has a long fascination with costume of all kinds. Her field of interest is broad - she is intrigued
by unique and avant-garde concepts within all performative styles. Her unique approach showcases her key interest of leading a
design process with textiles, before testing them within an abstract illustration. Through her degree portfolio Biz has applied her design technique to a wide range of concepts from dance, to opera, musical theatre, installation, and period plays.
Biz’s recent work includes her graduate show and exhibition, which drew media attention. This led to her current work for the Wombles Operations Ltd, who picked up on her degree costumes and have since commissioned her in a costume design and making role within their company, to bring the Wombles back.
Website
On Display
The Duchess of Malfi – 1910
A theatre performance of The Duchess of Malfi, by playwright John Webster, 1614
• Setting: 1910
• Brief: To reconceptualise the 17th century play within a randomly assigned decade, demonstrating historical costume, adhering to a strict colour palette of red.
• Concept: I have redesigned the two characters the Duchess and Antonio as a chauffeur and his female client, using the invention of Edwardian motor cars to inform my period research and design ideas. To the left is a 1910 Argyll car which informed the textiles and fabric swatches of the chauffeur’s jacket, using statement crochet seams to replicate seat upholstery.
Selected Works
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The Duchess of Malfi – Truckers
A theatre performance of The Duchess of Malfi, by playwright John Webster, 1614
• Setting: 1970s American trucking boom, New Mexico
• Brief: To reconceptualise the 17th century play within a new setting, translating the original themes and characters, with reference to the original 17th-century dress.
• Concept: I have designed costumes for five of the play’s characters, placing them within the context of a New Mexican roadside truck stop and diner. Depending on the chracter’s role, they have been assigned rigs, trucks and bikes, translating as a hierarchy which reflects the order of a Royal Court. Using trucking advertisments such as ‘Old Home’ and C W McCalls’s songs
to inform the authenticity of my designs, as well as using the 17th-century doublet tabs as a subtle historical reference within trucker jackets.
The Duchess of Malfi – 1910
A theatre performance of The Duchess of Malfi, by playwright John Webster, 1614
• Setting: 1910
• Brief: To reconceptualise the 17th century play within a randomly assigned decade, demonstrating historical costume, adhering to a strict colour palette of red.
• Concept: I have redesigned the two characters the Duchess and Antonio as a chauffeur and his female client, using the invention of Edwardian motor cars to inform my period research and design ideas. To the left is a 1910 Argyll car which informed the textiles and fabric swatches of the chauffeur’s jacket, using statement crochet seams to replicate seat upholstery.
Tartuffe – Historical
A theatre performance of Tartuffe, by playwright Molière, 1664
• Setting: 17th-century,MurderMystery‘Whodunnit’,murder
mystery in a Tudor Mansion.
•Brief: To reconceptualise the 17th century play in keeping with the same historical period.
•Concept: I’ve reconceptualised the play’s characters and setting using the murder mystery profiles within the Cluedo board game. The occupation and profile of each character has inspired my historical research, reinterpreting the original Cluedo characters to match up with the events of the 17th century as well as Molière’s original characters. Applying the vibrant colour palette to the silhouette of the 1600s.
