Departments

Costume Designer

David Alban, owner of Alban Ltd. in Oshkosh

“People who like to sew have a passion for fabrics and what can be done with them. It’s not something that’s learned, it’s something you’re born with. I’ve always had a love of style, fashion, fabrics, fibers, colors and just being able to take different pieces of fabric or yarn or trim and put them together into outfits that make people feel good. As a designer, I like to be inspired by the people I’m working with or the project I’m developing. In college, I had a work study job at the Fredric March Theatre at UW-Oshkosh where I would costume the different plays. I’ve also costumed for The Attic Theatre, White Heron Chorale [now known as NewVoices] and Oshkosh North High School. I’ve been working with Makaroff Youth Ballet for several years now and we are just about complete with replacing all of their Nutcracker costumes. I’ve made probably between 50 and 70 costumes for them. These include 1850s-period party scene costumes with longer coats and stand-up collars for the gentlemen and petticoats with multiple layers of crinoline and lace. We differentiated between the boys and girls, even though they were all girl dancers, by how the costumes were designed. I had quite a bit of creative freedom. I came up with a concept of grouping the families in the ballet in different colors which allowed them to be identified easily during the performance. It blended well, so it produced a very pleasing effect on stage when those colors interacted with each other. Costumes give the audience an additional sensory stimulation. The way the actors are costumed is the icing on the cake. It’s the frosting. It’s the support that the dancers need in order to make their craft as good as it can be.”