PHILIP J SHAW. PIC CREDIT: MATTHEW COTSELL
32 Scene
Jaq Bayles rummages through the wardrobe of Philip J Shaw – the costume designer to many a reigning Queen
) What attracted you to costume design?
I have always made costumes for myself, and I would often put far too much effort into the costume than it needed. At university we would have themed nights out, so one week I’d be a farmer, the next I’d be a pirate, then Where’s Wally? or the Easter Bunny. I’d love to be able to make something that would transform you into someone else for a bit. I like to dress up and be silly but I’m not a
performer and hate to be on stage, so the next best thing was to make costumes for the amazing performers I know. Can you tell us about the outfits you made for Joe Black to wear on RuPaul’s Drag Race? The whole Drag Race production is very secretive, the queens are not allowed to tell anyone that they’re on the show. But, when you get a drag queen asking for several very specific outfits in a very short space of time, you do
So far (22/01/2021) I made the David Bowie sequin gown for the ‘UK Gay Icon’ runway; and a caterpillar to butterfly transformation dress that unfortunately didn’t make it to the main stage. For the Bowie dress I was given the Life on Mars reference and it had to mix with the classic Black style of fishtail dress that I have made many times before. I studied where the seams and pockets of the original suit fell and worked them into the design. I was able to do multiple fittings to get the shape just right. The transformation dress is something that I specialise in. In fact, one of the first drag outfits I made was a Beauty and the Beast transformation dress for Misnie (formerly Miss Disney). It mixes costume making and engineering to achieve a magical and unexpected transformation between the two. I was given the concept of ‘caterpillar to butterfly’ and had to work out the outfits and to transition between the two without either being too bulky. For the Christmas promo I made a glitter green fishtail dress which The Guardian described as “a sultry Christmas tree”.
MISNIE. PIC CREDIT: AYLA CARLI
I had about three weeks for the whole set of costumes, and the next time I saw them they were on the main stage. How did you feel about being part of the Joe Black team for the show? I’m so proud to be part of the team that works with Joe. It’s amazing to see all our hard work paying off. Dan Chapman, of the Riah Hair Studio, is brilliant at styling wigs, and does so for loads of the Brighton performers. Arran Shurvinton does a great job of accessorising and adding that extra sparkle to my costumes. Greg Bailey takes wonderful photographs of it all. And of course there are other costume makers around the country that do beautiful work for Joe too. Would we have seen more of your outfits had Joe progressed further and if so what have we missed out on? Joe is posting his looks weekly as the show progresses on his social media feeds. I find out what’s been used at the same time as everyone else. Who else have/do you make costumes for? I make costumes for a lot of the Brighton queens -–Lydia L’Scabies, Alfie Ordinary, Misnie, Dave the Bear, Psychofag to name but a few. In 2019 I had seven different outfits in the Big Brighton Drag Pageant, which was so surreal. I was gutted when the 2020 pageant was cancelled as I was just starting to get enquiries. One of my most high-profile costumes was a ‘Royal’ look for Cheryl Hole, worn in the Drag Race tour opening number. We based it on
LIFE ON MARS DRESS
BRIGHTON’S FROCK STAR
get an inkling that this might be something exciting.
