Public Animas Ceremony Part 4a: Trust Your People: The Costumer

Continued lessons from the Public Animas Ceremony: An Invitation to Passion.

Our Angel of a seamstress. A rare photo taken at a PBG (Brewer's Guild) gathering.
She looked like this for months, regardless of what shenanigans
were perpetrated in her midst, she doggedly seamed, adjusted, altered.

If The Vision is true, it will find the right people. Trust them.

Three people contributed needful infrastructure to this ceremony; the costumer, the choreographer & the Magus/DJ. First, the costumer. 

I began very early with the costuming for the ceremonial Officiants because I knew that constructing any kind of clothing takes time, especially something out of the ordinary, something that comes from the vision of a needlework artist.

I also had set a goal not to allow this event to to become a financial bloodletting -- a condition which has afflicted our community unnecessarily over the past few years. Starting early allows decisions to be made carefully, thoughtfully & also gives ample time to scout for the best pricing. Her words to me after we spent under $100 on notions, fabric & fusing to costume the five Officiants was, "We positively stole that fabric..." And we did.

And after we found her a lovely, unused, adjustable dress form for only $40 thanks to local internet listings, we of course knew, this thing was charmed.

Of course, ultimately, we ended up with subtle differences & the costs inevitably adjusted accordingly.

Aesthetic influence: Mermaid Skirt, 
 Erte Inspired with Side Train in Silver
by Chovihani, Etsy.

Part of The Vision's aesthetic was influenced by Erté, in particular, an Erté inspired ensemble with a slightly Greco-Roman feel & a mermaid skirt. I am crazy about Erté. I feel his designs & artwork bear a magical subtlety which penetrates the subconscious -- often because what he designed appears simple through the clean lines of his artistic rendering, but in actuality, they are often nearly impossible to execute in reality. 

Our Angel discovered the same after she had settled on this mermaid skirt costume for the central Officiant & drafted some truly lovely, mirror-image Erté designs for the two Officiants on the ends: 

Angel's original Erté inspired designs for Officiants.

Several months into the preparations, she sent me a message stating that she struggled long enough to make this design happen & it simply was not practicable, at least not with our cotton poplin. She needed to conjure a new design. Enter the subtle differences.

She settled on an infinity dress design, in a new fabric, which worked out even better really because its versatility will allow the Officiants to use the dresses in the future again & again. Subtle, fortuitous differences.

And for the men, something that just worked beautifully from the beginning.

Men's Officiant design (plus center Officiant ensemble).

What is the significance of costuming? Why is it worth the effort? I can only speak from my own experiences, but I find that when humans put forth the effort to present a well-rounded aesthetic, ritual & ceremony have more psycho-spiritual impact. Aesthetic introduces an element of surprise & evokes a sense of otherworldliness. It also expresses a sense of value -- value for what you have created together, value for what you are presenting to your fellow humans, your spirits, your deities, your tribe. Ceremony is Sacred Theatre, dressing the part is natural procedure.

Chaos in Costume. Animas Officiants doing something...
(Certainly not the best photo, but great angles on attire.
Photo credit: Papa Faunus

This is why the magick of a visionary costumer is so essential & why trusting them is a necessity. The ceremony would not have had the same atmosphere without her ideas, efforts, limitless patience & talent. Purchasing pre-made costuming would not have contributed the energy, the passion that these hand made garments brought to the ceremony. Everything Angel gave to this project was imbued in these garments -- her energy-steeped creations charged the Officiants & the event as a whole. She made this ceremony what it was, without her, it would have been something noticeably different. For this, she has our deepest gratitude.

If The Vision is true, it will find the right people. Trust them.

And make sure they know they are valued.

Thank you Angel. Thank you.