Design Idea Boards

The following part is divided into two sections:  costume and set, and feature design concepts consistent with the production concept statement.

The costume design section includes information on 18th century fashion and Marie Antoinette’s evolution as a style icon. There are entries on Rose Bertin, the Queen’s personal fashion designer; Monsieur Léonard, her personal hairdresser; and Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, her favorite court painter. There are also sections on fashion dolls, paper dolls, and paper dresses, which have directly influenced the costume design concept for the play.

The set design section includes images and contextual information on architecture of the 18th century with a focus on the Petit Trianon, Marie Antoinette’s chateau at Versailles, as well as her personal theatre on the grounds of the Petit Trianon.  Although the play is set in the Tuileries Palace, that structure was destroyed in the 19th century.  Also included in this section is information on toy paper theatres, which came into vogue in the Victorian era and were inspired by actual theatres like Marie Antoinette’s.  The Petit Theatre of the Queen was ornamented by many paper mache elements and employed stage mechanics that paper theatres simplified and aped in their highly decorated and layered construction.   These images and information will be useful when designing sets for La France Sauvée.