Malgorzata "Maggie" Kubiak
As part of my final year work, I designed the costumes for the principal characters in 'Madama Butterfly', Giacomo Puccini’s 1904 opera. My focus was on interpreting character through costume while respecting the historical and cultural context of the piece. I also constructed the full costume for the title character, Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly), paying close attention to silhouette, fabric choice, and detail to reflect her emotional journey and cultural identity. This project allowed me to merge research, design, and hands-on making in a classical operatic setting.
This project set out to conceptualize and fabricate costumes for the lead characters in 'Madama Butterfly', using fabric, silhouette, and historical reference as key elements of visual storytelling. A primary objective was to capture and express Cio-Cio-San’s emotional and cultural evolution through a signature costume that embodies her elegance, vulnerability, and inner strength. The design process was grounded in thorough research of traditional Japanese attire and early 20th-century Western fashion, ensuring a thoughtful integration of historical accuracy with theatrical expressiveness. The kimono’s construction was deliberately layered to mirror the complexities of the character’s journey, reinforcing costume as a medium for multidimensional narrative expression.
The costumes for the main characters in Madama Butterfly were carefully designed and constructed to support the production’s storytelling. The project combined fabric choices, silhouette design, and historical research to create an authentic and engaging stage presence. A key result was the creation of Cio-Cio-San’s costume, which reflected her emotional and cultural journey. The design balanced her vulnerability with strength, using layered kimono elements to represent her evolving identity. Traditional Japanese styles were combined with early 20th-century Western fashion influences to add depth to the visual narrative and enhance the characters’ impact. This project demonstrated how costume design can contribute meaningfully to character development and cultural context within an opera.
This thesis examines the use of colour and costume design as tools for world
building in dystopian cinema. It details the origin and nature of dystopia and
why it offers an opportunity for designers to explore a wide range of topics
like social unrest, economic crises, and authoritarianism. The thesis
emphasises how colour and costume can guide or shape audiences'
experience. Chapter one discusses the journey of dystopian film from the
black-and-white “Metropolis” to the colourful “A Clockwork Orange”.
Chapter two analyses three dystopian films, “Equilibrium”, “The Hunger
Games”, and “Blade Runner 2049” and how each film uses colour to enhance
there themes, ideas, and mood. Chapter three deals with the choices in fabric
and colour made by costume designers. It also describes many of the original
techniques for colouring films. The thesis concludes that designers and
dystopian films consider colours very carefully and deliberately to ensure that
every detail and choice of colour carries the precise meaning and association
that will accurately convey the themes and messages of the work. The same
also applies to costume designers and their choice of fabrics, silhouettes and
colours within each costume.
Maggie is a final-year BA Design for Film student at IADT, specializing in Costume Design. She is passionate about how clothing shapes identity and tells stories on screen and stage. Her approach blends research, narrative, and visual detail—drawing inspiration from both futurist concepts and historical aesthetics. Maggie is interested in costume as a tool for character and world-building and is excited to continue exploring this through film, theatre, and performance.
