Augustan Roman Fashion Relating to the Aeneid

Statue of a Young Woman Wearing a Peplos - Roman Copy of a Hellenistic Original

Rome, Museo Montemartini (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003

Altar of the Gens Augusta from Carthage; Roman, c. 14 CE

The first side depicts Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius leaving Troy; this scene is thought to imitate the statue group in the Forum of Augustus, with the addition of a gnarled tree with a bull's skull in its fork.

The third side depicts the goddess Roma seated on a pile of arms, reminiscent of the Roman panel on the Ara Pacis. Here she holds a pillar on which a winged Victory has just placed a shield, the clipeus virtutis; on the left is an altar with a large cornucopia, caduceus, and globe.

This altar was built by the freedman P. Perelius Hedulus in a sacred precinct on his private property
Tunis, Bardo Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010

Marble Statue Group of Bacchus and Spes, Roman, Augustan or Julio-Claudian, c. 27-68 CE

The god of wine leans on an statue of the allegorical goddess Spes (Hope), who has a high headdress and long sausage curls; she holds a flower in her right hand and lifts up the side of her tunic with her left hand, as shown on coins. The group has extensive restorations by the eighteenth-century Italian sculptor Vincenzo Pacetti--the legs, feet, neck, and arms of Bacchus and and the feet and arms of Spes; the head of Bacchus is ancient but does not belong to this statue group.
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012

These are just some examples.It's quite hard to identify specific Augustan clothing from other Roman eras. This is particularly because the dates on many of the statues and such art have quite large time frames. However, because I am creating costumes from the Aeneid my designs can be a mixture of Augustan/ other Roman eras and Bronze Age Greek (which is also hard to identify) because I Virgil was invisioning a fantasy which I can incorporate creative licence. 

All information and images was copied from http://www.vroma.org. This is because I couldn't describe the images better than their existing descriptions.They are an organisation with the best supply of images of various Roman and Greek artefacts I have found. Their Project Co-Directors are Barbara F. McManus (The College of New Rochelle) and Suzanne Bonefas (Rhodes College) and their Web Designers are Barbara F. McManus and Daniel Jung (University of Bergen).

The Aeneid, Virgil

For my new Costume project I have decided that I want to design for characters in Virgil's Aeneid. I studied this literature during my A levels in Classical Civilisation. I had an amazing teacher so I've always loved Homer and Virgil. I personally found Virgil's interpretation of Homer to be more lavish in description. I have noticed that there is little specific physical description of clothing therefore I have free reign on my creative interpretation. Therefore I am going to be influenced by the contemporary fashion of the Augustan regime in Rome, artwork of both Virgil's and Homer's work,  and Bronze Age Greek fashion (which we have very little remains of, mostly jewellery).

I'm going to design six costumes, including male designs, which I am very dubious about. I know I need to learn but I am so much more comfortable with designing for the female body. Also, I'm not sure I can even draw men haha. I will create one of those outfits, I am considering Dido because I love her character, the fiery reds that would be associated with her passion for Aeneas and my sister would make a beautiful Dido.

So, for a refresher, who was Virgil and what was the Aeneid?

Virgil was a Roman writer for the Augustan regime, which spanned between 27BC and 14AD. His texts including the Aeneid were panegyrical, there to create favourable propaganda. It's purpose was to instil tradition, patriotism and propaganda into Roman society after the civil wars. Therefore, the idea that the Romans were descendants of the glorious Bronze Age Trojans may have lead to pride and the need to rebuild their power and identity. 

Virgil's Aeneid was inspired by the Classical Greek writing of Homer including the Odyssey and the Iliad. Homer is a or group of poets whom recorded the oral tradition of Greek stories told by bards in writing. It has been estimated that the Trojan War, the aftermath of which Virgil depicts, happened between 1123BC and 1113BC. Virgil began work on the Aeneid 26BC and died 19BC without finishing his work. However Augustus Caesar had it published against Virgil's will. 

The Aeneid is the story of Aeneas whom Julius Caesar is supposedly a descendant. He is a prince of Troy and leaves Troy after its destruction after the Trojan War. Aeneas is supposed to show Roman duty (pietas). He does this by founding Latium which gradually becomes Virgil's contemporary Rome after several generations (not on the same site though). The Aeneid shows his plight, his fighting with his urge for pleasure instead of duty, such as his marriage to Dido. 

Anyway, on with the pretty pictures for inspiration!

Afshan

What Is The Role Of A Costumer Designer?

I wish to go to University to become a Costume Designer. But, I myself actually don't fully grasp what the role of a Costume Designer is, hence I want to post about it.
According to wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn costume is defined as "the attire characteristic of a country or a time or a social class". Therefore costume design is the envisioning of such clothing for a character. Costume design is used in entertainment such as dance, theatre, film and opera. 

The costume for a character is representative of their person including personality, gender, age, style, social status, occupation, place of habitation, mood etc. The costume can distinguish minor and major characters, relationships and changes in characters. It also enables performers to emotionally and physically portray their characters accurately. It must also be comfortable, flexible and durable for practicality. 

 The costume is intended to make a visual statement to the viewers. The costume is intended to seamlessly merge into the production as there is communication with the director, lighting designers and set designers.

The Costume Designer starts by understanding the concept and story of the production. If there is a historical setting, the appropriate fashion must be researched and referenced. Rough costume sketches are presented to the director and design team. Once affirmed, the final designs are composed. Also, the number of performers requiring costumes including those without vocal roles. 

A costume plot is required. This is a diagram or list of the number of performers in each scene and their movement. This enables the understanding of how many costume changes are required. 

Obviously there is more to costume design than I have covered, but this is the basis and this will help me create my portfolio for my University application for Costume Design. This is to aid me on my journey.

Afshan

Bibliography:
http://www.aact.org/people/costumedesigner.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costume_design
http://www.artsalive.ca/collections/costumes/designer_role.php?lang=en