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Valor: Noble Coat

Costume Design & Construction Breakdown

Project Inspiration

With an immense itch to do some original design, dive deeply into historical menswear (an oft overlooked aspect of fashion!), and indulge some fantastical whimsy, thus was born the Valor coat.

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While the silhouette and general material choices hold true to the intended era (17th C. Venice), the accessories and details pull from a more theatrical fantasy. Two-tone dupioni crossweaves, 600+ Swarovski crystals, and 60+ hours of hand embroidery and Canadian smocking adorn the attire. Custom hand-made jewelry and 3D printed accessories/buttons add to the opulence!

Project Details
Awards & Relevant Media
Design, Details, and Breakdown
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Design Sketch & Inspiration

Architecture from historical buildings in Venice (upper right) informs the diamond and jasmine-diamond patterning of the smocking, which is also evident in the black doublet. Dark colors punctuated by striping (burgundy doublet) and a cavalier cloak (lower right) are also typical of the era. Additional details are enumerated on the sketch (left).

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Sewing Details

Work in progress shots of the sewing elements of the garment. The sleeves feature 40+ hours of two types of smocking: beaded honeycomb (top left) and an adapted jasmine flower diamond (lower left). The garment features flat felled seams in addition to 30+ yards of custom bias tape and piping (lower center, lower right). The top right photos demonstrate the raised herringbone embroidery that adorns the seams of the pants.

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Prop Work: Light-Up Staff
3D Printed Parts

To obtain a custom but identical button design in multiple sizes (and allow for rhinestone inlays without breaking the bank), I mocked up a quick model in Solidworks and printed them in Black V4 on a Form 2. The center gem is also printed on a Form 2, but is treated with a UV-cure gel nail polish, and treated with a duochrome powder to mimic a real gemstone's color shifting properties.

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The Masked Guild ring design was drafted in Fusion 360 (utilizing the mesh manipulation function for the "mask"), and also printed on a Form 2 for fit testing before sending out for a copper metal print with a powder coat. The eye gem was a resin print, inset into the metal print, and also treated with the same duochrome process.

No Dungeons and Dragons character is complete without a proper weapon-- thus, a staff! The staff breaks down into 3 parts and is designed for doing tricks (as I did on stage), which requires a nearly seamless join-- hence the lathed connectors. The addressable rainbow LED strips are controlled via an arduino with a rechargeable battery pack that will last for about 6 consecutive hours of use at the brightest setting.

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