Naturally Dramatic

Sustainable Costume Design

Costumes play a central role in the creation of films and live stage performances. 

Costumes are linked to the global fashion industry, which produces 8-10% of global CO² emissions (4-5 billion tonnes annually) (Niinimäki et al., 2020, p. 189). Though it has considerably smaller impacts, if the entertainment industry adopted sustainable textiles design, best practices would attract consumer interest and encourage adoption in other industries.

The entertainment industry has started moving towards “greener” processes, but much work still needs to be done (Astikainen and Puolanne, 2019). Traditional ways of making costumes have little regard for how it effects the environment or employees.

While digital technology has had a big impact on the film industry and is drastically changing how movies are made, costume design is still a specialized trade, relying on traditional techniques and materials that require a great deal of handwork to create custom costumes for specific bodies and specialized use. Significant resources are dedicated to creating them, even though the life-cycle of a costume is short, as most film productions run for only three to six months.

Bio- and bio-based materials outperform many toxic materials. ‘In many cases, bio-based materials are considered the best alternative to currently dominant fossil-based ones’ (Kääriäinen, 2020, p. 12). Though sustainable costume design is still in its early days, it will help to reach the Sustainable Development Goalsfor decent work and economic growth; and it contributes to re-thinking industrial production processes by providing innovative techniques and materials that can be regionally sourced; further, it helps with responsible consumption and production.

Urs Dierker

German-born textile designer and costume researcher Urs Dierker develops and creates surface designs and effects for film costumes, and critically investigates the making and history of film costumes. Urs has worked in North America and Europe on stage productions at the German State Opera Berlin and for the Metropolitan Opera New York. He has worked for over a decade on film productions including The Handmaid’s Tale, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, and Star Trek Discovery. Urs is a member of IATSE and was a board member of CAFCAD Toronto.

Urs has a Master’s degree from York University, Canada, a post-graduate diploma in sculpture from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Israel, and a BA in visual communication from the University of Applied Science in Bielefeld, Germany. Urs is also a men’s tailor educated at the German State Opera Berlin. He has given lectures at the School of Fashion at Ryerson University and at the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design at York University. Urs has presented conference papers on costume design in Canada and England, and publishes in popular and academic publications.