La Monnaie / De Munt La Monnaie
De Munt
Behind the scenes
In the wings of the opera

Costume Workshops

Women’s and men’s costume-making

Workshops, 5th floor

It is not fine materials but craftsmanship that determines the quality of a costume. R.B., Head of the costume workshops 

Each costume is unique, made to measure for one production and one singer. Most of the pieces are made at La Monnaie.   

Pieter Claes

The Costume-making workshop is part of the Costume workshops, which also include the Shoemaking and Dying workshops, Millinery and Decoration, the Costume stock, the Fabric stock, and the Fitting rooms. Let’s take a closer look at the Women’s and men’s Costume-making workshops.   

Women and men

Designs

Fabrics and materials

Cutting

Assembly

Made to measure

For the stage

The stages of making a costume

Pieter Claes
Bastarda's Costumes (2023)

Women and men’s costume making

As in the world of haute couture, the work here is divided between two distinct workshops: women and men. Details, fabrics and the movement of the body differ greatly depending on sex.  

In this hallway, all the designs for the ongoing productions are displayed. Focus on Bastarda (2023)

Designs

A year before the premiere, the artistic team and the costume designer send a model of the costumes to our workshops. This can take a wide variety of forms: drawings, photographs, collages, and videos. A discussion is then held about the materials, colours, style, and the intended effect. 

Pieter Claes

Fabrics and materials

Lace, tulle, silk, velvet, leather, foam, and technical fabrics are just a few of the materials used to create a costume. 

Cutting

Of the 24 dressmakers and tailors, four are cutters. Responsible for preparing the patterns based on the drawings and for alterations, they supervise the costume making from start to finish. 

Assembly

The cut pieces of cloth are then assembled and sewn by the costume makers before the first fitting.

Costume fittings for Les Huguenots (2022)

Made to measure

It usually takes two fittings to adjust the costume to the singer’s body. 

The costumes for Tsar Saltan (2019), with their colourful patterns designed specially for the occasion, gave the workshop a lot of work to do: composing the balance of colours on the stage was a delicate process.

For the stage

Making a costume for the stage is a challenge. It involves taking into account the light, the balance of colours, the movements of the singers, and some elements of stagecraft  (such as blood or wine stains, which react differently depending on the fabric that is chosen). 

Bastarda’s costumes (2023)

The stages of making a costume

  1. the presentation of the model
  2. ordering materials
  3. drawing and cutting the patterns
  4. cutting the materials
  5. arranging and assembling the cut pieces
  6. first fitting
  7. alterations
  8. second fitting
  9. final alterations