Co-designing: sanity in numbers, by Mason

wherein we realize we have real fur tastes
on a fake fur budget.

You know how the designers on Project Runway always lose their shit when they have a team challenge? It never fails to catch me off guard for a moment. 


“Play nice, acknowledge your strengths, play to them, and knock it out!,” I scream in my mind (usually). And then I remember that they are in competition for money and exposure and all that. 


Thankfully, we at SU are all about the teamwork! For our upcoming production of THESE ARE THE MEN at The Southern, Laura, Heidi, and I are combining forces to design the costumes. Here is a glimpse into the world of Team Hydra.

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budgeting and compromising
are HARD.

We are so very thrilled to have the opportunity to present THESE ARE THE MEN at The Southern as part of ArtShare! Get in on the ArtShare action by becoming a member.  We’re so thrilled, in fact, that we are using the amazing Art Deco details in The Southern as inspiration for our designs! From here, we let our minds run free. We all came up with ideas that stuck and ones that fell by the wayside. We gave ourselves the time to be considerate collaborators to one another. We recognized our strengths as designers and were upfront about our weaknesses. We PLAYED NICE! 

And then, we went fabric shopping…

And we still played nice! If you’ve ever been fabric shopping at SR Harris, you’ll understand how proud some of SU’s spiciest are of this fact. SR Harris is a giant warehouse filled (in some places, literally, floor to ceiling) with just about any fabric your heart desires, and a ton of other fabrics that are just getting in your way. It is an incredible resource, but also a major exercise in patience. Especially when you find just what you’re looking for, and then figure out that it costs $60 a yard...NOPE. 

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Goodies on goodies on goodies
(none of which cost $60/yd.)

And now, in some ways, we divide and conquer. I’ll be focusing my energy on construction, Heidi and Laura on some killer custom accessories and pieces that we won’t be building ourselves. 

We each know what we are best at, but we are all in it together. We are playing to our strengths and trusting in the skills that we each bring to the table. We are a well oiled costuming transformer. Hydra Prime? Think about it, Michael Bay. Sound like too much of a love-fest to you? 

Come see THESE ARE THE MEN to see if it payed off!

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