EXPRESSIVE INTERPRETATION AND ELEMENTAL SYMBOLISM IN COSTUME DESIGN FOR EXHIBITION: A STUDY OF GARMENT OF NATURE

Abstract

Costume design has increasingly moved beyond its conventional function as distinctive attire in theatrical performances to emerge as a manipulative element of design and expressive communication. However, within exhibition contexts, particularly in educational institutions, there remains limited scholarly attention to how costume functions as an interpretive and symbolic medium that communicates abstract and elemental ideas. This study addresses this gap by examining expressive interpretation in costume design for exhibition, using the creative project Garment of Nature, an elemental costume exhibition presented during the UNIBEN Theatre Arts Festival 2025 at the Department of Theatre Arts, University of Benin. The exhibition featured costumes designed by 400-level Costume Design (major) students. The study adopts a qualitative, practice-based research methodology, combining creative production with ethnographic strategies, including participant observation, informal interviews, audience interaction, reflective design documentation, and pictorial evidence. It explores how natural and abstract elements, such as rain, ice, cloud, smoke, and silver are translated into costume through colours, texture, form, and material manipulation. Findings reveal that expressive interpretation enables costume to transcend conventional apparel, functioning instead as a visual and semiotic language that communicates emotion, symbolism, and conceptual narratives. The integration of elemental symbolism within an exhibition framework enhanced audience engagement and interpretive depth, allowing viewers to experience costume as a multidimensional expressive form. This study contributes to costume design scholarship by foregrounding exhibition costume as a site of visual communication and artistic inquiry, demonstrating how practice-based research expands theoretical understanding of expressive interpretation in contemporary costume design.