Q & A With Costume Designer Zoë Trautmann

What was your initial inspiration for the costume design in Oklahoma!?

With Oklahoma! being arguably the most classic musical of all, I wanted above all to capture a very nostalgic feeling and one that felt separate from city life of the time- that felt like it “belonged to the land”. I was inspired by the feeling of Golden Age musicals but also classic western wear both real and of the hollywood invention.

How do you balance historical accuracy with modern storytelling?

I believe a good musical design always considers not just the period the story takes place in, but also the period the audience is living in. Modern aesthetics, world events, and sensibilities all colored our version of this story. The costume research was all rooted in historical accuracy, but anytime following the rules of historical dress felt like it held back or overwhelmed the storytelling or choreography, I broke the rules.

Do you have a favorite costume or character look in the show?

I’m maybe tied between Ado Annie’s Dress and Laurey’s Box Social dress.

Were there any surprising challenges in designing for this production?

Maybe not so surprising, but the just the patterning of all of the costumes that were built took us weeks!

What fabrics or color palettes did you gravitate toward for this version? 

We built all of the girls’ dresses for the box social dance and finding the perfect colors, prints/patterns for each girl was a very delicate balancing act- what worked for each character but also worked together took weeks. I wanted them all to be sweet and timeless, feel country- but also have great movement and withstand all the choreo for a long run.

How do costumes help tell the story or reveal something about the characters?

Using Laurey as an example, We see how she starts off as a bit of an anomaly- a strong-willed working farm girl in a world of more whimsical farmer’s daughters in dresses. We watch as she gets her own pretty dress and visually assimilates, eventually becomes a wife (wearing her mother’s wedding dress) and ends in something distinctly lady-like and a far cry from the Laurey we met. It’s her story but it’s also a story about being a woman in that time period.

What do you hope audiences notice about your designs? How much care my team and I put into bringing these designs to life 🙂

 

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