The Misanthrope - costume designs

Backstage @ New Rep caught up with Costume Designer Rafael Jaen of The Misanthrope to get an inside peek at his inspiration for the gorgeous show.

What was your inspiration for the costumes, Rafael?

Rafael: The design process has been inspired by a Renoir painting (The Boating Party). Director Adam Zahler has said how much he likes the mood, light and texture of it. For my color palette and fabric choices I have focused in impressionistic paintings by Renoir; for silhouette I have early 1900’s period posters and also portraits from Sargent for the women. Director Adam Zahler and I want to give the show an elegant, colorful, fluid and whimsical look. The idea is to create a highly stylized Edwardian silhouette and evoke the various styles of La Belle Époque. We believe that this goes with the language and actions of the play.

View a slide show of Rafael's sketches and inspiration here: SLIDE SHOW

More about Rafael:
Rafael Jaen is a member of USITT and USA Local 829. He has been designing costumes for over 35 years. His professional design credits include drama, musical comedy, Shakespeare tragedy, opera and dance in regional theatre. His work has been featured in full-page articles in the Boston Globe, Boston Herald and national publication’s including Live Design and TD&T. Mr. Jaen was nominated for a 2006 I.R.N.E Award in Costume Design for the musical Urinetown, produced by the Lyric Stage. Mr. Jaen is currently a Costume Design Faculty at Emerson College. His book Developing and Maintaining a Design-Tech Portfolio was published in 2006 by FOCAL Press/Elsevier. Visit his website.