The Magic Garment: Principles of Costume Design

by Rebecca Cunningham

Book Overview

The costume designer's art lies in effective interpretation, collaboration, and execution. Doing so successfully requires a solid foundation in general artistic principles and specific knowledge of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1577666135
• ISBN13: 9781577666134
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Waveland Press
• Length: 422 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 7.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Required textbook

This was the required textbook for my college's costume design class. Everyone says it is mandatory for anyone considering a career in this profession. The class I took was geared solely towards the stage costume designer and so is this book. Still it is very usefull to those who desire to work in film.

It's a great beginning

Having taught costume design for a number of years, the one thing I can say with certainty is that no book can do everything. I've used the text for a number of years and find it helpful...especially her approach to analyzing the text (I still use her checklists myself). However, a lot of my students are intimidated by some of the illustrations/examples of work. They don't know how to approach sketching for themselves and there are a couple of other texts that are more helpful in aiding in that particular process. Possibly there could be more graphic illustrations of getting from A to D (show us B & C) instead of just the beginning and the end result. The historical research sources and the historical costume outline are good - again some of my students think that she provides a finite list of resources and as with any historical survey the attention is to avoid variations and or anything beyond high fashion. Generally, a strong introductory text but needs supplementary materials (as does any book). No one has complained about the text; that's a good sign.

Key to the World of Costume Design

As a college student I was first introduced to the book The Magic Garment: Principles of Costume Design by Rebecca Cunningham. The book is simple and consise while providing a wealth of valuable information for the novice or professional. I enjoyed this book so much that I have choosen to use it as the text book for my costume design class. This will be my first teaching experience; however, I feel confident that this book will enable me to help my class understand the art of costume design.