The creative process
can be frustratingly slow and most times it feels as if you’re sending futile prayers
to your mental muse in hopes of a creative miracle. I generally approach groups of characters
starting with the most stereotypical or literal idea and expand from
there. Depending on the color story and
the shape language pulled from research and inspiration, the design can convey
and evoke many different aspects of the story.
This can be especially recognized through the characters I had the most
trouble designing: The Consistorial Court of Discipline, witches, Gallivespians,
and angels. In this particular case, with so many balls to juggle, I never felt
that I had enough time to sit and process my research in a way where I could
then filter into strong designs of my own.
The first few developments of these characters were therefore nothing special;
they’ve all been seen and done in various other films and media. After completing the design of my entire
show, I took some additional time during the summer to further develop these
characters and I’m glad I did. I will
discuss the visual perceptions in greater detail with my re-designs as I move
through each group in the following posts.
Lyra's World (Finally, some designs!)
Lyra’s world is set in an alternate universe similar
the one we live in but with the essence of our historical past and the presence
of some fantastical beings. There is a
practical Steampunk feel to Lyra’s London with the mention of zeppelins, gyroptors,
and anbaric lights.
While the exact time period is not mentioned, I based
Lyra’s world in the early 1900s right before World War I. While people tried to hold onto life as it once was, everything was in flux. They were caught in
the throes of a major lifestyle transition through the mass adoption of
technology that began during the Industrial Revolution. Geographical and scientific discoveries were
still being made that would further revolutionize daily life. Challenges to strict Victorian gender roles
and the rise of the middle class changed much of daily life in Britain and the
Western world. This push and pull of the past and future created a very
precarious present where ideologies that were once a solid foundation for life
no longer seemed relevant. Our world was
quickly getting smaller, and political alliances and tensions created the
atmosphere that set up the cataclysm of the First World War, similar to the
events set in motion by Lord Asriel that eventually leads to the Great War in
HDM. The Church was a major power in
many aspects of society and the economic division of social classes can be seen
through each class’ access to new technology.
With so much still unknown and new, there was still a wide sense of
magic and wonder.
Lyra’s Jordan
Lyra’s story begins at Jordan
College in Oxford surrounded by traditional academia and predominantly male
scholars and professors. Her time here
represents education (in relation to the larger topic of knowledge vs. wisdom),
structure, tradition, and theory. As a
child is wont to play, Lyra feels stifled by the continuous intellectual
discourse of the scholars, she is an individual of action. While Lyra’s formal costume is one of
scholarly uniform, her base costume allows for freedom of movement and
play. In contrast to this, the scholars
are in darker colors and heaver wool fabrication. Range of movement is less important than
academic tradition and formality, especially for those who spend much of their
time studying indoors. 
Lyra’s Oxford
Contrary to Lyra’s Jordan and its urbane and
monotonous silhouettes, Lyra’s Oxford provides a glimpse of the bustling
everyday life in the streets of Oxford.
Lyra spends much of her time here in the chaos of children at play (remember my
previous mention about the importance of play?), navigating relationships
between her peers and adults, and really discovering who she is. Patterns and color palette is expanded to represent more of the everyday wear of working class society. The clothing is more practical and
utilitarian.
Lord Asriel
Lyra’s intimidating father, Lord Asriel is a “tall man
with powerful shoulders, a fierce dark face.” (TGC Ch. 1) Asriel’s name alludes to the angel Azrael, the angel of
death. According to Jewish and Islamic
angelology, Azrael is the angel who separates the soul from the body at the
moment of death which foreshadows Asriel’s actions at the end of The Golden Compass. In some mythologies, Azrael is also seen as
Satan, further developing Lord Asriel’s role as he builds his army in The Subtle Knife and leads the epic war
against the Authority in the Amber
Spyglass. An imposing figure, Asriel is a man of travel and action and his
costume therefore reflects this while still giving off the air of a gentleman
and lord. Research into Lord Asriel’s costume came from explorers in the era
including John Hanning Speke, and Roald Amundsen.
Mrs. [Marisa] Coulter
Lyra's mother and Lord Asriel's lover, Mrs. Coulter is head of the General Oblation Board, the branch of the Consistorial Court of Discipline that experiments on the connection between children and dæmons. She is alluring and beautiful and uses these traits to her advantage. Marisa has Latin and Hebrew origins meaning "Of the Sea" which alludes to the Goddess of Love and Sexuality; Aphrodite, whose lover is Ares, God of War (Lord Asriel). It can be argued that the reason Mrs. Coulter and her dæmon’s name is kept so generic* is that without a set identity, they both represent the evil that is capable within humanity when given political and religious power. To Lyra, Mrs. Coulter embodies femininity, sexuality, high society, and deception. She is the first upper class woman of power Lyra ever meets and she becomes enchanted and fascinated by this woman. Coulter first shows up wearing a fox fur coat, which not only represents her economic status but foreshadows and symbolizes her sly and underlying cruelty as dæmons take the form of animals. When interpreted in this manner, Mrs. Coulter is essentially wearing the skin of a dead dæmon for the sake of flaunting her status and power.
Mrs. Coulter’s
silhouette starts off closer to the women of the era, with shaping in the torso
that falls into soft and delicate fabrications.
With greater power and agency, Coulter’s costume shifts to one that is
more freeing, modern, and masculine as she journeys through various worlds in
pursuit of Lyra.
*Coulter's dæmon is eventually named in a short story released by Pullman after the end of the trilogy.
Lyra Party
After meeting Mrs. Coulter, Lyra is whisked away from Jordan College into London society. It is through her experiences and time with Coulter that she learns about the rules and refinement of the upper class. While glamorous and beautiful, the expectation of children in society is to be seen, not heard. Mrs. Coulter treats Lyra more as a doll, expected to behave at all times in order to be admired by her peers rather than a child. During one particular evening party, Lyra is dressed up in a light frilly dress, obviously unsuited to her needs or personality.
London Society
As Lyra interacts with the people within Coulter’s circle, she quickly
learns that the power and sophistication afforded to them only breeds deception
and corruption. The restraints and devious
roundabout habits of society prevents the free growth of human expression and
individuality. Color Palette,
fabrication, prints, practicality
This opulence and limitation can
be seen in the structured forms of their costume. The jewel tones and
fabrication in silk chiffons and taffetas convey the decadence and vanity of
each costume. Delicate lace and jacquards contribute further to emphasizing
their social class since their ability to afford and wear such textiles means
they are likely not doing any physical labor.
Gyptians
After
escaping the deceptive confines of London society, Lyra is taken in by the water
faring Gyprians. The Gyptians are based
on the Romani (Gypsies) and Irish Travellers from our world. In Lyra’s world, Gyptians are freshwater
nomads who congregate in the Dutch fens, a location which was drained in the
1500s for land reclamation in our world. Their nomadic lifestyle and communal style of
living serve as a contrast to the structured and stifled society of Mrs.
Coulter.
The
Gyptians are the first major group in my design process where cultural appropriation
can be an issue. The Romani and
Irish Travellers have had a long history of appropriation, prejudice, and oppression
by Western Civilization. While the
primary responsibility of fair treatment and representation of the Gyptians
lies with the author and the story, costumes serve as a key visual
representation with the audience. Since
I have no primary experience with these groups, a lot of research into their
lifestyle and history was tantamount in developing a consciousness of this
visual representation. Even equipped
with all my research, I am still unsure as to whether I have a comprehensive
understanding of these topics, so if I have misrepresented the Gyptians or any
of the other following groups of people or, please inform and educate me on
these issues and I apologize.
In
contrast to the blues and dark neutrals of Oxford and the pastel and jewel
tones of London, the Gyptians’ costumes have a much warmer and natural palette. Printed cottons and linens not only provide a
lighter silhouette and freedom of movement, it also adds a greater sense of vitality. Like the costumes of working class Oxford,
the Gyptians costumes are more practical and reflect their nomadic lifestyle.
Lee Scoresby
A Texan
aeronaut named after famous Italian Western gunslinger, Lee Van Cleef and
Arctic explorer William Scoresby, Lee Scoresby provides Lyra and the Gyptians with adequate transportation in the North. I kept
fairly true to Van Cleef’s costumes as I felt that it reflected Lee Scoresby’s
easy-going and sardonic character.
The Consistorial Court of Discipline
The Consistorial Court of Discipline serves as the main political and religious power in Lyra’s World. Drawn from Christianity, the dominant religion of Western Civilization and its shaky history, the Consistorial Court serves as Pullman’s criticism of the corruption of power that occurs when religion is used as an excuse to commit atrocities against marginalized groups and those with less power.
Personally, I struggled quite a bit in designing the
Consistorial Court for various reasons.
The first is that as a non-Christian I am unfamiliar with the nuances of
the rituals of Christianity and all its denominations. My personal knowledge comes from a literary
and academic background and from growing up and living in a society in which Christianity
is so prevalent. Since the religion has such a long, large, and complex
history, it was difficult for me to delve as deeply into my research as I would
have liked given my limited time and remaining thesis work. While I am aware
that religious garb and vestments hold strong symbolism and history, fully
understanding each and every historical religious garment would have led me to
the completion of a wholly different and separate thesis altogether. My fears of misrepresentation led me toward a
design that was much too literal.
After completing the remainder of my thesis, I reevaluated
the role of the Consistorial Court in the story. While they are a religious group, they also
hold political power and a blend of WWI military silhouettes with religious detailing brought greater
significance to what they represented in the story. It also allowed me to add an extra layer of important
historical context that was missing in my initial designs. The addition of militaristic details not only adds to the power and influence of The Consistorial Court, it also alludes to the historical colonization by Western Civilization through the military and the forced assimilation of the oppressed through religion (ie. The Inquisitions) further emphasizing Pullman's theme about the abuse of power when religion is mixed with politics.
With the foundations of
Lyra's Western World properly established, I was ready to move into
designing the more fantastical and unknown world of The North.
In the mean time, how about some back reading?
[Part 1][Part 2]
[Part 3]
[Part 4]
[Part 5]
[Part 6]
[Part 7]
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