Institution
Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT)
Medium
Design
Graduation Year
Class of 2025
Share
Butterfly is my major project—a personal and conceptual reimagining of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (1904), told through costume, movement, and visual storytelling. As the costume designer and director, I set out to explore Cio-Cio-San’s emotional arc through a contemporary dance piece structured in three acts. I designed and created a central costume composed of three handcrafted layers, inspired by traditional kimono and nagajuban. Each layer represents a stage in her journey—love, disillusionment, and surrender. I combined woodblock printing, ombre dyeing, 3D printing, embroidery, and hand-painting to bring depth and symbolism to the garment. The choreography follows her emotional arc—beginning with delicate, geisha-inspired movement that reflects innocence and hope, then gradually breaking down into chaos and, finally, stillness. Throughout the performance, I used shifting lighting to mirror this transformation, moving from soft, warm tones to darker, more fragmented atmospheres that emphasise her descent. To accompany the performance, I also created a short conceptual film that captures the costume in motion, allowing its layers to shift, collapse, and evolve. With 'Butterfly', I wanted to transform costume into a living medium—an extension of identity and emotion—and offer a deeply personal reinterpretation of Madama Butterfly.
