Whether you're after a special party outfit, a Halloween costume, or just a memento of a much-loved performance, Scottish Ballet's wardrobe can provide, writes Fiona MacGregor
WARDROBES are magical places. Venture inside and you could find yourself in another world, or undergoing a personal transformation. Do you want to be a queen, a bad fairy, a squirrel, a soldier, a giant snowman? Anything is possible.
Like all the
very best magical portals, Scottish Ballet's wardrobe department doesn't have much to distinguish it from the outside. But step through the red doors of the residential-looking building in a quiet street in the West End of Glasgow, walk down a corridor past a shiny-floored studio where lithe dancers stretch and twist in front of giant mirrors, pass the prosaic-looking plastic boxes with comedy labels such as "jocks and socks" and – if you're lucky enough to find the padlock on the sturdy chain on the door to your left is unlocked – then you'll find your dream world.
Walking in here is like stepping into the biggest dressing-up box in the world: an imposing gown from Mary Queen of Scots there, a giant Snowman here; a full-length cream velvet coat from the Snow Queen over there, begging to be stroked.
For more than 30 years this site has been the home to the thousands of costumes that the dancers of Scottish Ballet have donned for performances of works both classical and modern. But as the company prepares to move across the Clyde to a purpose-built home at the Tramway arts complex next spring, many of these outfits – from stripey pyjamas worn in Peter Pan, to tutus designed by Jasper Conran – are being sold.
Tomorrow, scores of costume enthusiasts and ballet aficionados will descend on the company headquarters to rake through the rails of colourful dresses, jackets, animal costumes and myriad other garments in search of the perfect outfit for Halloween, for a burlesque evening or simply a memento of their favourite ballet.
"We know many of these are just going to fly out the door," says Caro Harkness, the head of wardrobe, who has been looking after the costumes and keeping the dancers on their satin-slippered toes for more than 20 years.
"I feel I know all these costumes personally," she says. One sparkly dress she shows me dates back three decades – she remembers the dancer who wore it to greet the Queen Mother when she opened the current headquarters back in the 1970s.
She shows me a rack of blue, red and white silk "Ooh la la" costumes of the French Mademoiselles from a production of Offenbach. Each comes with a headdress with a model of the Eiffel Tower attached to it. "These caused all sorts of problems, she laughs. "The dancers had to duck down to get on stage, but they kept forgetting they had these on, and would end up bashing the tops."
Last year, was the first time Scottish Ballet held a public costume sale and the response was "amazing" says Harkness. About £80,000 was raised. The forthcoming move precipitated this year's sale, but it is not going to become a regular event, so anyone interested in acquiring a costume of their own should jump at the chance, she advises.
"We're expecting a lot of girls who do ballet," she says. "We had a mother and daughter who flew up from Southampton last year. But some people just want a bit of a memento. We had one old gentleman who said he just wanted something that would hold memories for him, and he went off with a wee headdress."
The intricacy of the work in the costumes is impressive. Picking up a black silk and velvet tutu, designed by Jasper Conran for a production of Sleeping Beauty, Harkness points out how the design has been etched in devoré.
Some of the costumes for sale date back to the 1970s. "The costume world is hugely different nowadays," adds Harkness. "Twenty years ago you didn't have (such] stretchy fabrics, so you were always looking for ways to incorporate that. It was a huge amount of work, looking for ways to allow the costumes to be able to expand around the diaphragm, because dancers need that."
When company dancer Nathalie Dupouy models one of the tutus, it's very clear that some of the outfits are definitely created for the petite. But there are plenty of other options for the curvier of frame.
Whatever your shape or style, it's not often we get the chance to transform ourselves from ugly ducklings to Swan Lake beauties.
So take a chance and venture inside the Scottish Ballet wardrobe tomorrow. You might not find Narnia, but the chances are you'll discover something to bring a little magic to your life.
The full article contains 807 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
