Robyn Jordan said she first tried sewing at age 8. Yet it wasn't the stitching or the needle and thread that captivated her. Instead, it was the notion that you could create 'something from nothing'. However, she admits, her first foray at age 8 was not a success.
Today, a married mom of four, Robyn has worked as a costume designer for 6 years. She has been involved in two productions with INSPIRE Theatre Company, and currently working on her third. She started by creating matching outfits and Halloween costumes for her kids. Only when one of her daughters decided to enter musical theatre did Robyn find herself helping to create costumes for the stage too.
Costume design is very different from the kind of fashion that people wear on the street. For her designs, Robyn must contend with several factors such as lighting, movement, color, sometimes even research into a period piece. A character can even call for special effects if there is a change mid-performance using magnets. In the case of Elsa in Frozen, her old clothes come away to reveal her new identity and outfit.
Robyn says her favorite design was the Pharoah costume for Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat. She created an Elvis jumpsuit with lots of glitter and trimming, enough flash to suit a king. They say 'clothes make the man', or in this case the character, and Robyn's creations certainly do that.
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