Mercutio Mori
Mercutio is a queer, Japanese-American costume designer and visual artist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They have been creating art their entire life and began constructing fantasy costumes and cosplays as a teenager. Their practice focuses primarily on costuming, both historically inspired and fantastical.
Mercutio's work draws heavily from fairy tales and folklore, as well as the works of Brian Froud, Arthur Rackham, and other fantasy artists. With these fairy tales in mind, they enjoy creating characters and backstories to accompany their costumes. They also love researching new time periods in search of their next historical piece.
"Goblin Market"
Goblin Market is a theatrical costume line inspired by the Victorian poem of the same name by Christina Rossetti. The poem tells the story of two sisters, Laura and Lizzie, who who encounter a band of goblin merchants in the woods near their home Laura is tempted by the call of the goblins and exchanges a lock of her hair for a taste of their fruit. The following night, she ventures out again but
finds she can no longer hear the goblins. Struck by an intense desire to taste the fruit again, Laura begins to waste away, becoming pale and sickly with longing. Lizzie, realizing that her sister is dying, decides to seek out the goblins and bring back some of their fruit for Laura. The goblins try to tempt Lizzie to taste the fruit as well, but she refuses. Angered by Lizzie’s defiance, the goblins reject her silver penny and attack her, forcing the fruit upon her and covering her in juice and pulp. When she continues to resist, they disappear into the night, leaving Lizzie to return home to Laura, seemingly empty-handed. Laura, in a frenzy, kisses the fruit juices and pulp off her sister’s body and is cured; the poem ends with an older Laura and Lizzie regaling their children with the cautionary tale.
This line imagines Rossetti’s poem as a stage play and features costumes for each of the two sisters and three goblin merchants. Inspired heavily by mid-to-late 18th-century garments and silhouettes, Goblin Market fuses the realms of history and fantasy, drawing the audience into a world populated by whimsical and dangerous Fae creatures. Designed for presentation on a small stage with an intimate audience, each ensemble and each accessory is crafted with luxurious textiles and intricate hand-sewn details that bring these characters to life.
The Characters:
Laura
“Laura is the wild and free-spirited sister, always running off to dance and daydream among the flowers. After tasting the goblin fruit, she begins to waste away.”
Lizzie
“Lizzie is responsible, level-headed, and deeply caring of her sister. When Laura falls ill, it is Lizzie’s strong will that saves them both from the goblins.”
Malus
“Malus is an exuberant, puckish creature with high energy and an air of mischief. Of all the goblin characters, they are the best instigator, stirring tempers with their taunting calls.”
Ficus
“Ficus is a sociable and flirtatious character, and they are adept at ensnaring victims—drawing unwitting souls toward them with honeyed tones, but always dancing just out of reach.”
Hystrix
“Hystrix gives the initial impression of being calm and laid-back but quickly reveals themself to be a tad dark-humored and cynical, perhaps the most malicious of the goblins.”
Behind the Scenes:
The costumes for Goblin Market depart from historical accuracy by combining machine sewing for major areas of construction and hand-finishing techniques for details only. While not faithful to original 18th-century construction methods, using a sewing machine helps the production of the line move forward in a timely fashion while still allowing for some attention to fine details. This is crucial for theatrical costumes, particularly for theaters with small costume departments that might not have the time or resources to devote to painstakingly hand-sewing a period-accurate garment. Machine-sewn seams also add strength to areas of heavy wear and strain, ensuring that the costumes are durable enough to withstand a full performance run with minimal repair work. However, small finishing details and embellishments such as hemming and applique work and are still hand-sewn to minimize visible machine topstitching.
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When creating a historical silhouette, support structures are key to achieving the correct shape. Both sisters’ silhouettes were built from the base layer outward. Firstly, a chemise or shift protects all other garments from the sweat and dirt of the body. The shift is a simple dress made from linen and occasionally cotton. Assembled primarily from squares and rectangles, the shift is simple to construct, generates minimal fabric waste, and is a universal garment for all socioeconomic classes. After the shift comes a pair of stays, or the 18th-century predecessor to the Victorian corset. Under normal circumstances, stays are critical to achieving the correct torso shape; however, Goblin Market circumvents the wearing of stays for ease of dressing. Instead, Laura’s jumps replace her stays, and Lizzie’s caraco features internal boning that mimics the shaping and stiffening effect of proper stays. Next is the bum pad or rump, which is a large, padded cushion that ties around the waist and creates the signature roundness and hip fullness of the 18th-century silhouette. Over the rump comes the petticoat, which is made of linen. The length of the petticoat must be measured over the rump to ensure that the hem is even and parallel with the floor, and the front, back, and side measurements will all be different lengths. Only after all undergarments have been donned can the actor’s body truly be measured for their costume. All these layers, working in tandem, create the base shape over which the outer garments must fit. Proper undergarments are the most crucial elements of historical dress—without them, there is no shape or structure, and the authenticity of the costume is in jeopardy.
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The costumes for Goblin Market are designed to accommodate small costume departments by virtue of most garments fitting a wide variety of body sizes. Petticoats, skirts, and rumps are secured to fit with ties, while shirts and chemises are constructed out of large squares in a period-accurate, one-size-fits-most style. Any added fullness in these garments is controlled by gathers, pleats, or drawstrings. Additionally, the waistcoats, corset, and jumps all feature lacing that allows them to be tightened or loosened as needed for different actors. This slightly wider range of sizes means that the costume department does not have to custom fit every single garment to new actors between seasons, thus saving the theater money, time, and effort related to custom tailoring their costumes.
