Design for female mechanic

I researched into female factory workers from different eras, and developed my ideas by taking influences from the imagery of factory fashion for women. I also took ideas from my initial designs of the male mechanics; I intend to create the costumes for the main male and female characters similar to each other, as a way of complimenting the two costumes and representing the relationship and similar characteristics of the two mechanics.
In the development of the design for the female mechanic, I bought back the influence of Steampunk and used this image as inspiration.

I wanted to create a feminine shape for the actress playing the mechanic, and wanted to incorporate a sense of femininity. I looked at using straps and belts at the waist to create a feminine figure and silhouette, yet still portraying a practical and realistic operative uniform. The bloomers would also convey this idea; they have feminine connotations, yet would be practical in a working environment.

Initial Design meeting at Pumphouse

 After developing my research, i have spent the last week developing my initial designs for the mechanics. Lois, Louisa and I took a trip yesterday to the Pumphouse to show Pip, the director and the actors our initial design ideas for the costume and set. We talked through our ideas with the team and we discussed our overall designs. The team seemed really happy with what we had come up with since the last meeting, and were comfortable to discuss what they liked about our designs and what we could develop.

This meeting was useful as the team had decided on the cast and how many characters would play in which scenes. By the end of the day, the director had decided that there would be two main mechanics who would be speaking, one extra mechanic, and two child mechanics. One of the two mechanics is played by a female, therefore, i will research female factory workers and incoporate this with the research i have already produced. A challenging prospect is that the female mechanic would prefer to wear a dress, so i will combine the practicality and sensibility of a factory worker with a feminine style.

The director had also mentioned to me that my costume designs were a bit too comical for the characters, so i intend to develop my designs and make them more 'earthy' and 'realistic'.

• I intend to develop my analysis of the two main characters and make them more similar to each other, as their characteristics include finishing each others sentences and speaking in unison. I imagine them to be old friends, that have worked with each other over such a long space of time that they have become each other, both visually and mentally.
• The third mechanic will look very similar, but will have slight differences.
• The children will look similar to all three mechanics, but will be toned down and won't be as broken down as the mechanics due to the fact that they haven't been working in the Pumphouse for as long. I will incorporate both past and present styles into the costumes of the children.