TITLE: The Issue

The Maternity Benefit, the Office Workers, the Game Damage, the Call Centre, the Yellow Check and the Silence Regulation costumes were designed for a special show called The Issue, with singing models presenting extreme, meaningful costumes on stage. The Issue presents an abstract living picture of the current state of Hungarian society and its region through short stories that take place in a typical environment of our urban life: the bureau office.

The inspiration for the Maternity Benefit costumes were very personal from my own life: once you become pregnant, you are facing the impossible mission of getting through the bureaucratic labyrinth for mothers. Even during labour you need to be constantly signing papers, going to the municipal office to have your newborn registered in the national tax system. As if dealing with breastfeeding, sleeplessness and a crying baby was not enough hardship for a new mother… This is what I wanted to show through 4 pastel-colored evening gowns, which change during the scene. First, they have pregnant bellies to inflate followed by several inflatable baby-prams forming big skirts.

The Office Workers costumes were inspired by the 2-dimensional paper-dress-dolls, in the style they use in municipal offices: grey, boring and uniformed business suits.

The Game Damage costumes headdresses represent the “animal”, and the dress itself is the “damage” they made.

The Call Centre girls wear a whole “office” on their head, and the main Call Centre girl has a skirt with 9 UV coloured telephones that can be pulled out from the skirt on 10-meter-long cords, while her breast has flashing led-lights in circles.

The Yellow Check costumes are made out of imitation of yellow checks they use in Hungary for giving fines for the citizens, which they have to pay in the post-office. These yellow checks represent total frustration in our lives.

The Silence Regulation costumes were made of sound dimming sponges and egg-boxes, which we use for music-rehearsal rooms, and the wide red mouths were made of red Lego pieces. The performers wear noisy ski-boots to have a contrast with the “sound proof” clothes as a contradiction.