French Impressionists influence the costume ideas

The costumes for Hidden Lover's will be inspired by French impressionist paintings from the 1900s. Since we are playing on themes of memory and dreams, it felt apt to me to be inspired by an art movement that seems to embody dream-like visuals. The colour palettes of Paul Cézanne and Van Gogh in particular came to mind as I read the libretto. Finding out that the music itself would have Provencal folk tunes woven in, further convinced me that this inspiration could really work as it would create a subtle link between the costumes and the music.

Whilst the costumes won't be exact recreations of historic attire, they will be influenced in particular by Cezanne's paintings of 1900s peasants paintings to create a visual that conjures each character's essence ephemerally. Characters will be able to come and go with the addition or removal of simple costume pieces, maintaining the dream-like atmosphere of the entire piece.

Here you can see some of the paintings I have been looking to for inspiration by either Pissaro or Cezanne, showcasing clothing of people similar to the characters in this piece at around the time Maupassant was writing.

V Hayward - Designer