Lovisa Litsgard

The Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren

The Brothers Lionheart is the story about two brothers, Jonatan and Karl, who die and go to the after-death land Nangijala. Nangijala is a place of adventure and fairytales, but there is a tyrant, Tengil, who they need to fight to achieve peace and freedom again.

I designed nine characters for this project, seen further down, and made the costume for the character Jonatan Lionheart.

Jonatan Lionheart

The character of Jonatan is portrayed as the perfect hero and saviour. He is big brother to Karl (Skorpan) Lionheart, the narrator.

When designing the character Jonatan, I needed something that communicated both beautiful leader and quiet humbleness. He would never dress fancy and over the top, but that is how other people see him. Two difficult contrasts to unify.

Most of his design choices are quite literal. I placed the main weight of the garment low to the ground, because he is down-to-earth and it also enables magnificent movement for his legs while not being in the way. The idea of his main textures being based on laser cutting comes from him giving away too much of himself inhis selflessness, leaving holes. The colour yellow comes from him being the golden boy in the story. Successful and admired by all but himself.

Time by Lovisa Litsgard

The narrative of Time is set during an early spring day, but in several years at once, overlapping. Elvira, just about to graduate from school, and now visiting her grandma in her big old house, has an important conversation with her grandma Astrid. Recounting memories and telling tales from old times, Astrid helps Elvira understand herself and open her eyes to how wonderful and terrible the world is around her.

What none of them knows, is that in this particular house, the veil of time is thin, so to say, and echoes of past and future residents all appear to live there together. Separated by time, and connected by time. Parallel while also sequential, interactive and also utterly unaware. One could call the echoes of past times ghosts, but it would not describe what they are, and what would they call you? A ghost from the future?

As Elvira comes to realise, they are all connected through their universal experiences of life and death, love and loss. History is to be learned from, not repeated, neither glorified nor forgotten. We’re all just human, living, breathing, having a bad day, or experiencing a life changing event. We follow past, present and future inhabitants searching and finding and losing connection.

The character I have chosen to make is Aubrey, living in 1926.

Aubrey

(1888-1944) (56y)



Aubrey, a white bisexual woman with her roots in Italy, is 38 years-old in 1926. Her parents are not alive, and she has inherited all the money as their only child. She started out her career as an actress but started writing scripts as soon as she could. Now, a moderately successful

screenwriter and producer of silent film, she has created a large network. She is proud to a fault and uses her charisma to her advantage. She is witty and knows what she is talking about, but if she sometimes does not, no one would never know. Working in the creative industry she follows the latest fashion trends. Ambition has given her a strong work ethic verging on workaholism. She has developed a loud and harsh tongue to be taken seriously at work and likes to hunt pheasants. A fine shot too.

The jazz musician Melissa, Aubrey’s girlfriend who she lives with, is the only one who ever gets to see Aubrey’s softer side. The only one she dares to be vulnerable with. Even when work is swamping her, taking time away from her sleep, she always makes time for Melissa and goes to her gigs as often as possible. Aubrey’s role in this narrative is to represent romantic love, and a problematic working life.

Aubrey will die in the Second World War during a bomb raid. Melissa will live on for another 26 years, but will not be able stay in their home and will sell the place to Louise, to escape the memories.

Design Choices

Being a person who works in the creative industry and with a past life as an actress, Aubrey knows all the latest trends. The fabric in her garments needed to be fabulous and new, and the cut on point.

I did several experiments for making the fake fur out of the wool scraps I knew I would get from the coat and hat. I knew fur was needed to make the costume look fashion 1926, but I did not want to use plastic fake fur, nor real fur (in my opinion it is a precious material that should be used for clothes that are worn in daily life, not costumes). Instead, I chose to make my own, an alternative route which tied well in with the surreal themes as well.

The symbol I chose for her is the scalloped shell. The shell is both a symbol for love and one of the most common shapes in Art Deco. The shell is also hard on the outside, protecting a softer inside, making it the perfect analogy for her personality.

The stylised shell shape is present in all her garments; in the cording on the coat, the seam placement on the hat, the cuffs and shape of the skirt of the dress. Of course decorated with freshwater pearls to keep the theme right through.