Should she wear black? Should she have big hair? Those are some of the challenges facing Gina Vito, a University of Louisville Department of Theatre Arts student designing a costume to portray the famed fairy-tale princess in a 1980s setting.
Vito and four other theater arts students are each creating an outfit—complete with accessories, makeup and backstory—casting Snow White in five different decades of the 20th century. The students also will try to capture her look in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.
Each student is limited to spending $100 or less per costume, said Melissa Shepherd, UofL’s theatre arts costume shop manager.
“This puts them in the driver’s seat of design,” Shepherd said. “They have to learn how to balance their own budgets with their creations just as theater professionals do.”
The students plan to finish work on their creations Oct. 3 in Room 123 of UofL’s Studio Arts Building at Floyd and Warnock streets from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Models will wear the costumes Oct. 4 in a contest at the Gifthorse, 805 E. Market St., from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. during the First Friday Trolley Hop.
A panel of judges including Alicia Hardesty, a designer from the television show “Project Runway,” will review the costumes and advise students on their designs. A popular vote will decide the contest winner.
The student who takes top honors will receive a gift certificate, and the winning costume will be displayed at Gifthorse throughout October.
