10 Fast Facts about The Sleeping Beauty Costumes
With 184 roles and 80 costume designs, The Sleeping Beauty is PNB’s largest production ever. Work on the production began in October 2023, 15 months in advance of opening night. Over 90 artisans, craftspeople, drapers, stitchers, first hands, dyers, and milliners have contributed to the costume build, including costume designer Paul Tazewell, who also designed costumes for the movie Wicked, the Broadway show Hamilton, and PNB’s Swan Lake. Keep reading for more fast facts about this amazing production!
1. The Sleeping Beauty production team built 268 costumes total, including multiple versions of some costumes for different-sized dancers playing the same role.
The Sleeping Beauty “Costume Bible,” a manuscript with all the designs for the production. Photo © Lindsay Thomas.
2. The Sleeping Beauty build has united costumers from all eras of PNB Costume Shop history. Everyone who has ever held the title of PNB Costume Shop Manager has contributed to the production.
Pauline Smith and former PNB Costume Shop manager Larae Theige Hascall at the PNB Costume Shop. Photo © Lindsay Thomas.
3. 180 yards of black velvet appliqued trim are used to incorporate formlines (a design element of Northwest Coastal art contributed by scenic designer Preston Singletary) on Queen and King Papillon’s costumes.
Amanda Morgan & Dammiel Cruz-Garrido as Queen and King Papillon, photo © Angela Sterling.
4. Over 150,000 rhinestones are used on bodices, tutus, wings, and headpieces. Each jewel is placed and applied by hand.
Mark Zappone in his studio working on The Sleeping Beauty costume build. Photo © Angela Sterling.
5. The PNB Costume shop created 64 tiaras, 60 hats, and 7 masks for The Sleeping Beauty.
Angelica Generosa and costumer Luna Pham. Photo © Lindsay Thomas.
6. Each Lilac Fairy Attendant has 16 individual pieces of sheer fabric, creating a design that looks like a butterfly’s wings wrapped around the dancer wearing the costume.
Lilac Fairy Attendant costume design by Paul Tazewell.
7. There are 18 Nymph costumes (16 in the show, plus two additional costumes for casting) in The Sleeping Beauty. Each one has three skirt layers with hems cut to look like rippling water. It took four months to stitch all the finishing on the hems.
Design elements for Nymph costumes. Photo © Angela Sterling.
8. 32 classical-style tacked tutus have been created for this production. Each tutu takes upward of 100 hours to make.
Tutus for The Sleeping Beauty in the PNB Costume shop. Photo © Lindsay Thomas.
9. Almost every costume in the show has been custom-dyed to a specific color palette. PNB’s lead dyer worked exclusively on The Sleeping Beauty for nine months. Three additional dyers have taken on smaller projects to help with the workload.
Erik Andor and Lead Dyer Wyly Astley in the PNB Costume Shop, photo © Lindsay Thomas.
10. The PNB Costume Shop takes a full shop two-minute dance break every day at 3:00 pm, so that everyone has a moment to stretch, move, and shake it out.
