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Theatrical costumes are the avenues of expression by which the costume designer portrays the specific characters' age, gender, profession, social class, personality, and information about the historical period/era. The costume designer faced with the task of creating a feeling of fluidity, motion, softness and luxury in a theatrical production will have to look no farther than polyester chiffon to accomplish the feat. Polyester or poly chiffon fabric has long been used in costume design for evening gown components, such as overlays, but is more often employed when creating Middle Eastern costumes such as belly dancing garments and Saris.
Evening or Ball Gowns are often made of yards upon yards of luxury fabrics. Luxury fabrics can be quite costly and many times are out of reach for the costume designer on a budget. Polyester chiffon is the perfect, economical answer to this dilemma. Similar to its more expensive counterpart- Silk chiffon, a polyester or nylon chiffon provides the costume designer with the versatility and fluidity of the fabric without the enormous expense.
Long and flowing formal dresses can be greatly enhanced by placing an overlay of polyester chiffon on top of the skirt fabric prior to constructing the garment. Polyester chiffon fabric is extremely thin and lightweight and can be gathered into a space a fraction of the original size. Gathered and then layered over the top, the poly chiffon material produces a fluid, floating effect for the dress. This is particularly useful if the gown is to be used in a scene where dancing is involved.
The most prominent dancing costume made from chiffon fabrics, however, is the belly dancing costume. Although, the costume most widely seen today, called “bedlah”, is not completely, historically accurate, it has been in use since the 1930’s and owes its creation to the theater of that time. The Bedlah consists of a flowing skirt or pants, a fitted top, and a veil used to accentuate movements. To create this “harem” style of dress, the costume designer will make use of the peculiar lofty qualities of polyester chiffon in the skirt and the veil. Additionally, designers may wish to include a more traditional Caftan made from a less transparent piece of chiffon cloth.
Synthetic chiffon is also widely used in another Middle Eastern costume element, the Sari. This garment component is a very common part of a women’s everyday dress in a large majority of the Middle East. It consists of a strip of cloth, ranging from 4 to 9 meters in length and is wrapped around the body in a multitude of styles. Chiffon is the most common fabric of choice when creating the Sari.
When creating costumes with polyester chiffon patience and practice are a must. It can be tenacious to work with at times because of its lofty and slick qualities. When cut, it’s edges fray very easily and therefore French seams are highly recommended when sewing garments. Alternatively, fusible interfacings or glues such as Fray Check can be used successfully. When cutting patterns from poly chiffon, an experienced costume designer will pin the fabric to a piece of tissue paper and cut the two pieces as one. The tissue paper provides stability and helps to produce a more accurate pattern piece. If desired, the tissue paper can be sewn into the garment, as a stabilizer, and then torn away.
Finally, polyester chiffon must be gently hand washed or dry-cleaned. Sometimes the fabric is produced with a special starch, which may create water spots when the fabric gets wet. Testing a swatch for color fastness and shrinkage is always recommended. Dry cleaning can usually remove the water spots if they occur.
Whether creating fancy, flowing ball gowns or alluring, intriguing “harem” style belly dancing garments costume designers have long relied upon the unique qualities of polyester chiffon to get the job done. Historical accuracy and proper character portrayal are key components to a costume designer’s job. When the job calls for a silky smooth fabric component, the most economical and obvious choice is polyester chiffon. To put it another way, polyester chiffon fabric for costume design is the ultimate “icing on the cake”.
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