Comforting Lights
written and directed by
Mame Toure
For the early-seventies strip club look, Comforting Lights drew inspiration from vintage issues of Playboy Magazine; each dancer's style was curated based on how her character would interpret the trends of the day.
Set in a very specific time and place (Tennessee in 1972), this project allowed for a level of period accuracy that costume designers are not usually afforded. I began by combing through digital archives of fashion and southern magazines from that year, arming myself with the knowledge I needed to build the world of these dancers in this club. I worked out of NYU's drama school inventory to furnish costumes for this piece, relying on my research to find clothes that fit within the historical framework. I also found myself leaning into texture contrasts to demonstrate relationships between the characters -- more luxurious-looking and feeling garments for girls in positions of relative power, more homespun or plain materials for the struggling protagonist. Ultimately, I ended up reflecting the slow unraveling of the protagonist's psyche with layers of flannel and macrame.