Raf Simons has never been focused on sticking to the runway. In addition to showing his eponymous label on the Paris catwalk each season, and dealing alongside Mrs. Prada in Milan, the Belgian iconoclast is well-known for having his fingers in lots of creative pies. In addition to collaborating with artist Sterling Ruby, British subculture behemoth Fred Perry, and chic textile makers Kvadrat, Simons has also dipped his toe into costume design on various occasions, after Luca Guadagnino enlisted him to create looks for Tilda Swinton in each I Am Love and A Greater Splash – the primary during his stint at Jil Sander, the latter while he was helming Dior. 

It is sensible that Simons’ clothes would translate well to the screen. If you happen to’ve ever been lucky enough to rise up close and private together with his pieces, you’ll know that his garments are imbued with a way of theatricality. Whether outerwear blown as much as wild proportions from his own line or the meticulously crafted gowns of his modern couture at Dior, the designer’s more avant-garde clothes cause their wearer to maneuver in another way, more deliberately. It is sensible, then, that Simons has been tapped to contribute to Glass Handel – a latest, contemporary opera that forms a part of the BBC’s 2022 Proms series.

Taking up East London’s Printworks this weekend, Glass Handel brings together a series of legendary creatives, who “show the music of Handel and Phillip Glass through their lens,” says Anthony Roth Constanzo, countertenor and co-creator. Featuring dancing, film, soundscapes, and live painting, with names on the line-up including Tilda Swinton, artist Mickalene Thomas, and longtime Solange-collaborator Jacolby Satterwhite, the show is a way of bringing classical music to a latest audience. Simons role? He’s adding one other costuming credential to his CV, as he kits out Glass Handel’s dancers in a series of specially commissioned looks. 

“There is no such thing as a set for Glass Handel, so the costumes are the architecture of the piece,” says Constanzo. “They draw your eye across the space and really are the unifying thread, together with the music, of your entire experience. The luxurious of the fabrics, the intricacy of the development, the ingenuity of the design, all of it contributes to how the audience perceives the music each aesthetically and emotionally.” Originally introduced by a mutual friend who thought they might enjoy working together, Constanzo and Simons’ first meeting descended into an almost eight-hour long conversation by which the designer dug into the minutiae of a performance reminiscent of this. “Raf desired to know every detail conceivable. How does an oboe player move their arms? What a few cellist? How could he create a garment that wouldn’t constraint either.”

As Simons signed as much as take the project on, Constanzo was shocked by just how hands on he was. “He desired to know if I could sing wearing four-inch heeled boots. I said I wasn’t sure, so he sent me a prototype pair to Japan where I used to be singing and I walked around my hotel room practising in them. It wasn’t easy, but I could do it.” Then got here the in-person fittings. “I couldn’t imagine how much time and care Raf dedicated to every thing personally,” the countertenor adds. “In a single fitting that I remember lasting almost seven hours(!) he sat and cut a lovely flower by hand out of satin and arranged it on the nape of the neck of certainly one of my dresses. He kneeled on the ground beside the dancers with a pair of scissors, and precisely snipped the pom-pom elements to match their heights and bodies.” 

Though the ultimate looks are being kept under wraps until their debut tomorrow (Saturday 3 September), Constanzo offers up a bit of titbit when it comes to what to anticipate: “I believe the massive red bubble dress with hot pink gloves and rhinestone studded high heels that I enter in is an iconic couture look that screams Raf and opera concurrently.” For anyone wanting to see it in person (and after that description, how could you not?), tickets are still available here, while below, Constanzo discusses the collaboration with Simons in additional detail – from the primary moment he became aware of his work, to meeting him for the primary time, to the ‘babushka doll’ creation the designer crafted for his character.

“Raf desired to know every detail conceivable. How does an oboe player move their arms? What a few cellist? How could he create a garment that wouldn’t constraint either” – Anthony Roth Costanzo

When did you first change into aware of Raf Simons and his work? 

Anthony Roth Costanzo: Right after college, living downtown in Recent York City, I began to change into friends with all types of artists, including some photographers who worked in fashion. They followed Raf’s work with a sort of reverence and ardour that compelled me to research him myself. I quickly became a fan, first of his elemental work with Jil Sander, after which later of his Haute Couture at Dior. After all his eponymous brand has at all times been pushing the boundaries, and it was an inspiration to me that he appeared to have so many ideas and will apply them to such disparate aesthetics. 

Are you able to tell me a bit of bit about how the collaboration with Raf got here about?

Anthony Roth Costanzo: When first developing Glass Handel, I worked closely with the superstar artist George Condo, who painted my portrait for the quilt of the CD. He was friendly with Raf and suggested that Raf might enjoy collaborating on a creative project just like the one I used to be attempting to create. The primary time we met was at George’s apartment, and we spent nearly eight hours talking – Raf desired to know every detail conceivable. How does an oboe player move their arms? What a few cellist? How could he create a garment that wouldn’t constraint either.

Why did you ought to work with him on the costumes?

Anthony Roth Costanzo: I believe anyone of their right mind would want Raf to work on costumes! But in a broader sense, the entire concept behind Glass Handel is to take music I make and let great artists interpret it in their very own medium. Preconceptions and structure across the classical idiom could make it feel uninviting, and yet I think the music itself connects to so many individuals, whether or not they have previous experience with it or not. With the style element, we desired to create an exciting point of access for somebody not aware of this music that would jumpstart a connection. I can’t imagine a more alluring way in than Raf’s visual interpretation.

What were the points of reference, what was on the moodboard? Did you dive into his archives or did he create something latest entirely?

Anthony Roth Costanzo: I actually think that the music was the moodboard; on this case it was auditory and never visual. It was a sort of synesthetic creative process that way. But Raf was also very inspired by the sensible constraints – something I loved to experience. He wound up tearing the sleeves off of all of the orchestra’s jackets so that they could move freely, creating this very rough and tumble look that was dissonant with a smooth, refined, red satin lapel. I never leave the stage, so he created a babushka doll concept for me by which I might layer three dresses on top of one another that would slowly peel off, each its own striking color and shape. 

For performers moving across the space, he designed special rubber shoes that wouldn’t make any noise as they walked throughout the performance in order to not disrupt the music. Every element was chosen for a reason. Most things were latest ideas, but he repurposed some techniques he had used previously, for instance he had created pom-pom dresses previously, and he liked how the movement of those hanging strings could work for the dancers, so he adapted that technique to create costumes for them which can be consistently shifting, revealing the shapes their body make one minute, and complicating them the following.

What was the method like? 

Anthony Roth Costanzo: After several initial brainstorming sessions, Raf made drawings and sent them to me and my co-producers. We checked out the practicalities fastidiously. For instance, he desired to know if I could sing wearing four-inch heeled boots. I said I wasn’t sure, so he sent me a prototype pair to Japan where I used to be singing and I walked around my hotel room practising in them. It wasn’t easy, but I could do it. Then we had a series of incredible in-person fittings.

I couldn’t imagine how much time and care Raf dedicated to every thing personally. In a single fitting that I remember lasting almost seven hours(!) he sat and cut a lovely flower by hand out of satin and arranged it on the nape of the neck of certainly one of my dresses. He kneeled on the ground beside the dancers with a pair of scissors, and precisely snipped the pom-pom elements to match their heights and bodies. He desired to screen-print the words “Glass Handel” on my second dress, but he wasn’t sure of the appropriate font or the appropriate placement, so he had several transparencies made and we checked out every one in numerous positions until we found what we thought was right. You may’t imagine the fun of seeing any artist, particularly certainly one of his renown, putting that much of themselves right into a creative process.

“In a single fitting that I remember lasting almost seven hours(!) he sat and cut a lovely flower by hand out of satin and arranged it on the nape of the neck of certainly one of my dresses. He kneeled on the ground beside the dancers with a pair of scissors, and precisely snipped the pom-pom elements to match their heights and bodies” – Anthony Roth Costanzo

How did having Raf create the costumes enhance the show? 

Anthony Roth Costanzo: There is no such thing as a set for Glass Handel, so the costumes are the architecture of the piece. They draw your eye across the space and really are the unifying thread, together with the music, of your entire experience. The luxurious of the fabrics, the intricacy of the development, the ingenuity of the design, all of it contributes to how the audience perceives the music each aesthetically and emotionally.

Do you might have a favorite look from the show? 

Anthony Roth Costanzo: I believe the massive red bubble dress with hot pink gloves and rhinestone-studded high heels that I enter in is an iconic couture look that screams Raf and opera concurrently.

Through Glass Handel, you aim to bring the Proms and classical music to a latest audience. Why is that this so vital to you? 

Anthony Roth Costanzo: Classical music can provide an emotional catharsis and a spectral beauty for anyone, no matter how much they learn about it. Not only am I keen about bringing this music to latest audiences, but I’m hungry for the narratives that their presence contributes to the music. Performing is a relentless interaction; we reply to the audience we’ve, we reflect their sensibility in our selections, and ultimately we attempt to spin their stories in our art.

You’ve gotten Glass Handel and dealing with Raf Simons under your belt now. If you happen to could work with one other designer on a future production, who would you select and why? 

Anthony Roth Costanzo: I’m over the moon to be working with one other spectacular designer, Jonathan Anderson, on a show I created with Justin Vivian Bond called Only an Octave Apart, which involves London for a month-long run at Wilton’s Music Hall at the top of September. He is completely prolific, and yet every thing he makes – seemingly tons of of things every day! – are well hewn, stunning pieces. I’m thrilled that our show represents his first foray into making costumes for a show.