Rustenburg's HAIR RAISING Cast Members Receive Designer Costumes

The cast members of Rustenburg's production of HAIR RAISING were excited to receive their designer stage costumes for the show. The dresses took several months to complete and were the brainchild of talented Claremont couturier, Victor Kok.

Kok studied fashion design at Cape Town College of Fashion, has received commendations from City and Guilds, holds various accreditations including Achiever of the Year Award and Technical Award (2004) and subsequently selected as his speciality eveningwear. Mr Kok's elegant designs have been featured on "Destination SA" and in several South African publications. He has dressed a number of well-known celebrity figures, including Jo-Ann Strauss (Miss South Africa 2000) and Cindy Nell (Miss South Africa 2002).

Kok's outfits for Rustenburg's production of THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE (2013) received much praise and media coverage. Respected South African fashion editor, Robyn Cooke, who attended THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE," wrote, "I was phenomenally impressed. The set and props were amazing. Clever and functional and added to the telling of the story. Most of all I loved the costumes. So, so much. I loved the use of yellow, which is of course a trend colour for Spring-Summer 2013. I thought the attention to detail was extraordinary. And I think that the Brodie dresses are going to become stuff of school legend."

Kok's designs in 2013 were, however, for specific characters within a historical era. In 2014 his expertise and creativity were seriously put to the test because in HAIR RAISING there are no consistent characters.

The HAIR RAISING costumes, therefore, had to be both ambiguous and symbolic. They needed to be applicable to an array of scenes and open to multi-fold interpretation. They also needed to encapsulate visually the purpose of the production. This inferred a more conceptual and abstract approach.

The patchwork motif can be associated with the process which saw HAIR RAISING grow and develop. Fragments of stories, anecdotes and recollections have been gradually added in much the same way that squares of fabric were carefully pieced together to form 14 unique garments. The cast listened and learned from poignant testimonies shared by Karin Wiese (diagnosed with cancer in her Matric year at Rustenburg in 2006), Kelly Quinn (breast cancer survivor) and Dr Irene Boeddinghaus (from the Life Vincent Pallotti Oncology Centre).

Kok is especially proud of his association with HAIR RAISING because his own family has also felt the impact of cancer.

HAIR RAISING will be performed in the Kemp Hall at Rustenburg from 19 to 23 August this year.

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