A Culture in the Clothes: Worldbuilding

In week one I spent my time designing the clothes worn by the upper class. With no particular character in mind I wanted to create a base range of clothes that could be adapted to fit a variety of characters.



Initial designs were very distinctive

 


Later I put more emphasis on creating variations within a more standard theme.



Once thing I was particularly conscious about was showing the status of the characters and the values of the world through the clothing - These are the upper class citizens and particularly the idle elite who can be found lounging about in the pleasure gardens of the upper city. I wanted to show this.

Initially, creating the clothing of the upper class citizens was an exercise in avoiding function. I collected together a lot of reference of bulky or obstructive clothing, made with improbable materials or intense details. A sense of the world they were created in was supposed to come through in these clothes and I aimed to design them to instantly represent the values of the people who wore them. These people are the idle elite of the world, and what better way to show you have no need of doing work than to wear clothes that make working almost impossible.

However as the design process went on I turned away from this over the top philosophy for more understated wealth. There are still examples of impractical forms; the coats are loose and billowing, trapping arms or legs and capes are a genuine choice.

Speaking as someone who wears cloaks on a regular basis, they're not an ideal clothing choice if you're looking to move around indoors without sweeping a good portion of the objects on tables off onto the floor

 

One of the main reasons I turned away from the frivolous clothing to a more regimented standard cut to the clothes was to illustrate the conformity that is insisted upon in the metropolis society; in order to fuel their decadent lifestyle the elites prey upon the lower class as veritable slaves however the upper-class are still not free to do as they please. They're separated from the lower classes and encouraged to maintain the status quo of the city, they are in a cage, though it may be a luxurious, gilded one. There is little room or tolerance for deviation away from the standard of the civilization and this is reflected in the clothing that actively encourages people to fit in.

 

The clothing that you wear has a big effect on your psychology, it can boost your confidence or put you in a terrible mood for the day. On a subtler level your clothes can alienate you or amalgamate you into your surrounding society. The costumes I've designed are a uniform provided for the upper class, it's a very nice uniform made with beautiful fabrics and embellishments, but it's a uniform none the less and the wearing of it will inevitably have an effect on the psychology of the wearer, encouraging conformity and obedience by making them subconsciously think of themselves more like one of many than an individual.

A major part of illustrating this wealth is the materials used. The deep colours suggest a lot of effort has to go into making and maintaining the deep shades of red, navy and teal and the fabrics themselves are a key indicator of the wealth of the wearer – for the upper class citizens I imagine garments made of velvets and satins, anything luxurious.

The embellishments themselves are mostly metal, be they woven braids or metal filigree. It’s here that rank can be shown to its full degree in an understated and tasteful manner (even within the upper class there is varying levels of wealth after all) based on what level of craftsmanship you can afford, what metal you can afford, or indeed how much of it you can afford.