Costume Design Skills - Character, period, location, mood and atmosphere

Learning Outcomes

• Explain how costume design communicates character, age, class, status and relationships.
• Identify costume choices that show period and social context clearly on stage.
• Describe how costume can suggest location, climate, community and lifestyle.
• Analyse how colour, fabric, fit and condition create mood and atmosphere.
• Apply costume design ideas to set texts such as Blood Brothers, Stags and Hens and Educating Rita.
• Justify costume decisions using drama vocabulary and precise references to performance.

AQA GCSE Drama (8261) Syllabus

In AQA GCSE Drama, costume design can be assessed as part of practical work and in the written understanding of drama. You need to show that design choices are purposeful, suitable for the play, and linked to the intended effect on the audience. For this subtopic, focus on how costume communicates character, period, location, mood and atmosphere, rather than describing clothes in a vague or fashion-based way.

• Costume design is one of the design routes available to GCSE Drama students.
• You may need to describe, explain or justify costume choices for a character in a set text or performance.
• Strong answers link costume to the character’s role, class, age, personality, emotional state and relationships.
• Period details should fit the time in which the drama is set, including social habits and clothing styles.
• Location can be suggested through practical clothing, local culture, weather, workwear or wealth.
• Mood and atmosphere can be shaped through colour, texture, silhouette, condition and accessories.
• Design ideas should be practical for performance, movement, quick changes, lighting and audience sightlines.

Test Your Knowledge

Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, look more closely at that area during your revision.

1. What costume details might show that a character is poor, wealthy, young, old, confident or anxious?
2. How can costume suggest the period of a play without overloading the actor with unnecessary props or accessories?
3. In Blood Brothers, how could costume distinguish Mickey and Edward when they are children, teenagers and adults?
4. What is the difference between using colour to show character and using colour to create mood?
5. Why must a costume designer consider movement, lighting and quick changes as well as appearance?

Introduction

Costume design is not just choosing clothes that “look right”. In theatre, costume is a visual language. Before a character speaks, the audience can read clues from their clothing: wealth, job, age, taste, confidence, culture, health, and even how they want others to see them. Costume also helps the audience understand the world of the play. A 1970s Liverpool setting, a university office, a wedding night, or a wealthy family home all ask for different design decisions.

For AQA GCSE Drama, you should be able to move from description to explanation. Instead of writing “Mickey wears scruffy clothes”, you should explain what the scruffiness communicates: poverty, playfulness, neglect, childhood freedom, or later a loss of hope. The best design answers are precise and theatrical. They consider how the costume will be seen under stage lighting, how it supports the actor’s movement, and how it helps create meaning for the audience.

Key Term: costume design
The planning and creation of clothing, footwear, accessories, hair and make-up choices used to communicate character, context and meaning in performance.

Reading character through clothing

Costume can reveal character quickly. A designer asks: Who is this person? What do they want? How do they feel about themselves? How do others treat them? What has happened to them before the scene begins?

A costume can show age. A child character might wear shorts, school shoes, a jumper, a coat that is slightly too big, or clothing chosen by a parent rather than by themselves. In Blood Brothers, Mickey and Edward are both played across different ages. When they are “nearly eight”, Mickey could wear hand-me-down clothes, scuffed shoes and a jumper that has lost its shape. Edward, by contrast, could wear neat shorts, polished shoes, a tidy shirt and a clean jumper. These choices would instantly show class difference and upbringing, even though the two boys are the same age.

Costume can show class and wealth. In Blood Brothers, the Johnstone family and the Lyons family come from very different social positions. Mrs Johnstone might wear practical, worn clothing: a faded dress, apron, cardigan, flat shoes, and clothes that suggest repeated washing and hard work. Mrs Lyons might wear a tailored skirt suit, blouse, jewellery and shoes that suggest money and control. The contrast helps the audience understand the pressure behind the baby swap and the social divide between the families.

Key Term: social status
A character’s position in society or in a group, often linked to wealth, class, power, job, education or reputation.

Costume can also show personality. A confident character may wear bold colours, fashionable shapes, sharp tailoring or eye-catching accessories. A shy character may choose duller colours, loose clothing or outfits that help them blend in. In Educating Rita, Rita is a hairdresser who enters Frank’s academic world. Early costume choices might show her energy, humour and working-class identity through bright clothing, fashionable hair, large earrings, or a salon-style outfit. As her education develops, her costume may change: perhaps more restrained colours, different fabrics or clothing that suggests she is trying out a new identity. This change can help show her journey without needing extra dialogue.

Costume can show occupation. Rita’s work as a hairdresser could be suggested through stylish hair, a salon tunic, practical shoes, scissors in a pocket, or a colourful top suitable for customer-facing work. Frank, as a university tutor, might wear a crumpled shirt, jacket, old cardigan or loosened tie, showing education but also tiredness and disorder. These choices can reveal both job and attitude.

In Stags and Hens, costume needs to show a social night out. The characters are in a wedding-related setting, with women and men in the toilets of a dance venue. The clothing should suggest an evening of drinking, dancing, flirting and social pressure. Linda’s outfit could show that she wants attention or escape from her expected marriage. Dave, drunk and unwell, might have a suit or going-out clothes that have become messy: tie loose, shirt untucked, jacket creased. Eddy’s costume might help show masculine bravado: perhaps a leather jacket, open-neck shirt, tight trousers or clothes that suggest he wants to look harder and more impressive than he really is.

Test Tip: When writing about costume and character, use a clear chain: costume detail → what it shows → audience effect. For example: “Mickey’s scuffed shoes and oversized jumper would show poverty and hand-me-down clothing, making the audience see the unfairness between his life and Edward’s.”

Showing period and social context

Period costume helps the audience place the play in time. It does not need to be a museum-level copy of every garment from the year, but it should avoid anything that feels out of place unless the production has a clear concept. At GCSE, you should show that you understand the social and historical context of the play.

Key Term: period costume
Costume designed to suit a particular historical time, using clothing shapes, fabrics, colours and details associated with that period.

Blood Brothers moves across time and follows characters from childhood to adulthood. Costume design can mark these changes. When Mickey and Edward are children, their costumes should allow play: running, sitting, fighting and pretending to shoot. As teenagers, they might move into school uniforms, flared trousers, denim jackets, trainers or other period-appropriate casual wear, depending on the production’s chosen time frame. As adults, costume can show how life has treated them differently. Edward may appear in a smart suit, coat or polished shoes, suggesting education and public success. Mickey may wear work clothes, then later dull, worn, loose or neglected clothing that suggests unemployment, medication, depression or prison experience.

A period costume answer should include silhouette, not only colour. The silhouette is the outline or shape of the costume. For example, a 1970s-inspired costume might use flared trousers, wide collars, platform shoes, fitted shirts or particular skirt shapes. A 1980s-inspired costume might use different cuts, shoulder shapes, synthetic fabrics or stronger colour blocking. You do not need to know every fashion detail, but you should use enough accurate features to make the period clear.

Key Term: silhouette
The overall outline or shape of a costume as seen by the audience, including width, length, fit and structure.

Period is also shown through social rules. In Stags and Hens, the pressure around marriage, gender behaviour and public image matters. Costumes for the women could suggest a night out shaped by expectation: dressed-up outfits, heels, make-up and hair styled for a dance hall or club. The men’s clothing might show stag-night masculinity: suits, shirts, loosened ties, jackets, or clothing that becomes disordered as the night continues. The design should help the audience understand the world of the play: a social environment where appearance, loyalty and public shame carry weight.

In Educating Rita, period and social context can be shown through the difference between Rita’s world and Frank’s. Rita might arrive in clothing that feels fashionable, bold and connected to salon culture. Frank’s clothes may be less fashionable: worn jacket, open collar, creased trousers, old shoes. The contrast is not just about taste. It shows education, class, comfort in certain spaces, and the gap Rita is trying to cross.

Period costume must still work on stage. If an actor has to move quickly, dance, sit on the floor or change costumes, the design must be safe and practical. Heavy period clothing, high heels, tight jackets or long skirts may look accurate but cause problems if they stop the actor performing the role.

Exam Warning: Do not write “old-fashioned clothes” as your full period point. Name actual features: cut, fabric, footwear, accessories, hairstyle, colour, condition, and how these communicate the time and society of the play.

Establishing location through costume choices

Costume helps establish location because people dress for where they are. Location includes country, city, neighbourhood, building, weather, work environment and social setting. On a simple stage, costume can carry much of this information.

Key Term: location
The place or environment where the drama happens, including geographical area, social setting, weather, building type and community.

In Blood Brothers, the setting can be staged with minimal furniture and lighting changes, so costume becomes a useful sign of place. The Johnstone house and the Lyons house represent different social environments. The Johnstone world may be suggested through practical, worn clothing suited to a working-class street: cardigans, aprons, school uniforms, scuffed shoes, coats that are passed between children. The Lyons home may be suggested through cleaner, more formal clothing: smart dresses, suits, polished shoes and controlled hair. Even when the set is spare, the costumes help the audience see two different homes and ways of life.

Street scenes, park scenes and communal areas also need costume choices that feel playable. Children should look as if they can climb, run, argue and play. Adults might wear coats, shopping bags, work clothes or uniforms that show daily life. If the production suggests Liverpool, costume may avoid making every character look generic. It should feel specific to a working community, with clothing that suits everyday life rather than glamour.

In Stags and Hens, the location is a dance hall or club environment, especially the Ladies and Gents toilets. Costume can suggest this location through dressed-up evening wear that becomes damaged by the setting: make-up smudges, shoes removed, jackets thrown over shoulders, ties loosened, sweat marks, damp hair or spilled drink. Because the characters move between toilets and dance space, the clothes should suggest that music, alcohol and social performance are happening just beyond the doors.

Location also affects condition. A character who has been dancing may have creased clothing, flushed make-up, or hair starting to fall out of place. A character in a wealthy interior may have clothes kept neat and controlled. A character from a cramped home may wear practical clothing that has been used repeatedly.

Weather and climate can also be used. Coats, scarves, hats, boots, bare arms, thin dresses or heavy fabrics all suggest temperature and season. If a scene is outside, costume needs to match that world. If characters are indoors at a party, they may have removed coats or dressed for heat and movement.

Key Term: texture
The visible or physical surface quality of a costume material, such as rough wool, smooth satin, worn denim, stiff cotton or shiny synthetic fabric.

Texture can strongly suggest location. Rough wool, faded cotton and worn denim may suggest work, poverty or outdoor life. Smooth silk, satin, fine wool or crisp cotton may suggest wealth, formality or control. In an exam answer, texture is often a better detail than simply naming a colour because it gives the costume physical life.

Creating mood and atmosphere on stage

Costume helps create the emotional feel of a production. Mood and atmosphere are built through colour, shape, texture, contrast and how costumes change over time.

Key Term: mood and atmosphere
The emotional tone or feeling created for the audience through performance and design choices.

Colour is one of the clearest tools. Bright colours can suggest youth, comedy, energy, hope or artificial confidence. Dark colours can suggest threat, grief, poverty, secrecy or seriousness. Pale colours can suggest innocence, fragility, wealth or emotional emptiness, depending on context. Red can suggest passion, danger, anger or violence. Blue can suggest calm, sadness, coldness or distance. The meaning depends on the character and scene.

Key Term: colour palette
The planned range of colours used in a design to create unity, contrast or a particular emotional effect.

In Blood Brothers, a designer might use a warmer, mixed palette for childhood: browns, reds, faded blues, school colours and playful mismatched clothing. As the plot darkens, Mickey’s colours could become duller: greys, washed-out blues, dark greens or browns. Edward may remain neater and lighter for longer, showing privilege and optimism. In the final scenes, darker colours across the stage could help build tension and tragedy.

Costume can also support the musical’s sense of fate. The Narrator might wear a dark suit, long coat, or clothing that separates him from everyday characters. If the production wants him to feel like a witness, judge or warning figure, his costume could be simple, dark and formal. If he appears in different scenes, a consistent costume helps him feel outside normal time.

In Stags and Hens, the mood moves between comedy, social embarrassment and threat. Costumes can help create this shift. At first, the outfits may look fun: party dresses, heels, make-up, suits and going-out shirts. As the night becomes more tense, the same costumes can appear restrictive, sweaty or messy. Linda’s outfit might begin as a sign of independence but later feel exposed when Eddy threatens her. Dave’s wedding-night clothing might become pathetic when he is drunk and being sobered up with water. The change in condition helps alter the atmosphere without changing the set.

In Educating Rita, costume can create a lighter comic atmosphere while still showing serious personal change. Rita’s early clothing may bring energy into Frank’s office. Frank’s costume may make the room feel stale and academic: old jacket, loose shirt, worn trousers. As Rita changes, the audience may feel both hope and loss. If her costume becomes more controlled and less expressive, this could suggest education giving her confidence but also making her question her old identity.

Test Tip: Link mood to a specific moment. Instead of saying “dark colours create a sad atmosphere”, write: “In the final scene, darker, muted clothing for Mickey would support the tragic mood and show how far he has fallen from the lively child seen earlier.”

Costume must work with lighting. A pale costume may glow under bright light, while black may lose detail on a dark stage. Shiny fabrics can catch light and draw attention. Pattern can be useful, but too much pattern may distract the audience or clash with the set. A designer should think about where the audience should look. If a character must stand out, colour or silhouette can help. If they should blend into a crowd, the costume can share the group palette.

Costume changes can also create meaning. A jacket removed, tie loosened, shoes taken off, sleeves rolled up, or hair messed up can show emotional change. In performance, these changes are often more useful than a full new outfit. They are quick, clear and actable.

Key Term: practicalities
The performance needs a costume must meet, including movement, comfort, safety, quick changes, durability and visibility.

A costume designer must avoid choices that look good on paper but fail on stage. Actors need to breathe, move, dance, sit, fight, sing or handle props. In Blood Brothers, children’s costumes must allow energetic physical work. In Stags and Hens, party clothing must allow characters to move through toilet doors, argue, dance, fall or handle drunk characters. In Educating Rita, costumes must allow natural movement in an office setting, such as sitting, crossing the room, carrying books or handling salon-related items.

Key Point Checklist

This article has covered the following key knowledge points:

• Costume design communicates meaning before a character speaks.
• Character can be shown through age, class, job, confidence, taste, health and relationships.
• Social status can be shown through fabric quality, fit, cleanliness, footwear and accessories.
• Period costume should use accurate silhouette, cut, fabric, hairstyle and accessories.
• Blood Brothers can use costume to contrast Mickey and Edward across childhood, youth and adulthood.
• Stags and Hens uses dressed-up night-out clothing to support setting, social pressure and rising tension.
• Educating Rita can use costume change to show Rita’s personal and educational journey.
• Location can be suggested through workwear, weather clothing, social dress codes and costume condition.
• Mood and atmosphere are shaped by colour palette, texture, contrast and costume deterioration.
• Costume must work with lighting, movement, safety, quick changes and audience sightlines.
• Strong exam answers explain why a costume choice affects the audience.
• Avoid vague phrases; name exact costume features and link them to meaning.

Key Terms and Concepts

• costume design
• social status
• period costume
• silhouette
• location
• texture
• mood and atmosphere
• colour palette
• practicalities