Luke Ede on Blak: Costume Notes

Creating the costumes for Blak has been a great process – continuously engaging and challenging. I have loved working with Stephen, Dan, Jake and Matt and incorporating elements of the iconic Bangarra aesthetic into my designs. A lot of the shapes I have crafted are a conceptual representation of the social themes throughout the work and I have been able to explore abstract, symbolic and literal creations at one point or another throughout Blak.

The inspiration for the Scar costumes came from the streets and kids of NE Arnhem Land and their individual flair for wearing clothes. Dan had a cinematic realism, big ideas approach to the project and a very stripped back, minimalistic design aesthetic – really gritty and dirty.

WE ENHANCED THE DESIGNS FOR STAGE AND PUSHED THE BOUNDARY OF REALITY, A RESULT THAT I LATER TWISTED AND TRANSFORMED TO REPRESENT THE TRANSITION THAT HAPPENS FOR THE BOYS.

In Yearning I took a much more symbolic approach. I wanted the costumes to be a natural extension from Jake’s set designs so that the aesthetic was consistent, always connecting back to a contemporary world. I’ve used lots of synthetics and plastics, materials with their own design challenges when it comes to logistics for the dancers – they need to be able to move!

Finally, in Keepers I really wanted the dancers to feel as if they were coming to life out of the set. It’s great being able to feed off the presence of the set designs and lighting schemes and balance the aesthetic by using different tones and fabrics, as well as pushing the boundaries a bit by creating high contrasts.

Luke Ede
Costume Designer