Aliyah Guthrie // She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen // Costume Design Project
Aliyah Guthrie
Costume Design
"Welcome to my website! I am excited to showcase my costume design project dedicated to She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen. You will find my rough sketches, costume plot, and various final renderings.
Thank You!"
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She Kills Monsters
by Qui Nguyen
She Kills Monsters follows Agnes Evans, who recently lost her parents and little sister in a car accident. Soon after, she finds a module of the game Dungeons and Dragons made by her little sister. Since Agnes was not close to her sister, Tilly, she decides the best way to get to know her is to play the game.
Costume Design
90's meets modern fantasy
The first thing that stuck out to me about this play was the opportunity for creative freedom.
The play takes place in the mid-'90s when fashion trends were not only iconic but constantly changing. I express this unforgettable time in fashion through sweaters, pleated skirts, grunge looks, and baggy shirts.
When it comes to the fantasy aspect of this show, I wanted to make these characters pop. I choose to dress these fantasy freaks in a mix of techwear and alternative clothing. In our day and age, we are drawn, to individuality and self-expression, like how Tilly uses the game to express herself. So, I have styled them --in what I call-- a modern-day representation of self-expression. Most people would say that you have to have the confidence to steer from the status quo; that is what the characters express and what I want to exaggerate through the costumes.
About The Process
While creating the designs for this show, I did research, rough drafts, and took inspiration from various media outlets.
This is also one of my first costume design projects. I worked on this specific project with two other students responsible for scenic and lighting design.
From the beginning, I had intentions to incorporate body diversity into my sketches and designs. As an actor who doesn't fall into the stereotypical "average" body, I think it is crucial to have body diversity represented in designs.
I like to think that my goal behind this was not only to achieve my concept statement but my personal belief that, "Actors don't fit the clothes; you make the clothes fit the actors."
Everything from my makeup rendering sheets to my final renderings is all done by hand.
body & style
How I use my sketches to express subtle realism
Farrah
Evil Fairy
I knew from the beginning that I wanted Farrah to be a great representation of plus-sized women in a cast. She is characterized by Qui Nguyen as a short but formidably strong foe presented to our main characters. The costume I have chosen to place her in is one that will work on all body types, ensuring that whoever is cast, will find ease and comfort. Of course, while also expressing woodland fairy.
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Tilly & Tillius
Shy Geek & Herion
While reading the script and thinking of ways to style Tilly, I knew that Tilly --from Agnes' perspective-- was very introverted. She kept herself from Agnes, who labels her sister as a geek. So I knew that making her small and dressing her in modest clothing may give off that same idea. Meanwhile, Tillius, shows us that although small, she is mighty. Who doesn't look 10x cooler with a chest plate and sword?
Ronnie & Orcus
Regular Teen & Actual Demon
My goal for Ronnie was to make him look like a teen in the mid-'90s. A layered baggy shirt combo, with straight cut jeans and skate shoes. Meanwhile, Orcus was designed to show the disconnect from reality to the futuristic fantasy that is alternative clothing. Donning a mesh crop top, black jeans, and platform boots.
Agnes
Agnes has a pretty normal makeup look with exaggerated blush and contour for the stage. She also wears a light lip color and her eyebrows are thinly filled in.
Renderings
While creating the renderings, I used my sketches and "graphite transferred" them onto the watercolor block so that the paper was not ruined by constant erasing and fixing. Then by perfecting my sketches, I would be able to ensure that the quality turned out the same. After that, I would follow up with thin technical pens to trace over the lines. Finally, watercolor, in which I used watercolor pans to create vibrant and neutral colors. After all was said and done, I went in with a thick white to add highlights.
Final Renderings
Lilly & Lillith
Lilly is wearing black pants, flats, and a blue sweater. I think this simple look goes well with her being a modest, popular teenager.
Lillith is described as a demon queen in the script. My initial design for Lillith is what inspired the style of modern techwear and alternative clothing for the remaining characters. She is described as sexy and "barely wearing clothes." So, I have styled her in a harness halter top, black spanks underneath a black, transparent vinyl skirt, with sheer thigh-high tights, and combat boots.
Kelly & Kaliope
Kelly has cerebral palsy and can be seen in my design in a wheelchair. She is wearing a green striped sweater, distressed blue jeans, and sneakers. As Kaliope, her hair is curly and untamed, but as Kelly, her hair remains straight and neat.
Kaliope was one of my favorite characters to style because she is classified as a "sexy" dark elf. With corsets making their way into the alternative scene recently, there was no way I wasn't going to put a dark elf in one. With a tan dress with a high cut leg, v-cut neckline, and thin halter top straps, she is how they would describe her. A sexy supermodel.
the final product
In the end, I produced a fully designed costume concept for the script of She Kills Monsters, which contained research, rough sketches, a costume plot, makeup sheets, a fully mastered makeup application, and various watercolor renderings. While doing this, I achieved my goal of creating a concept of "90s meets modernized fantasy," while also expressing my desire to create designs that replicate a real cast.