Since 1950,costume, makeup andprosthetics have builtthe people on stage.
Our atelier in Barcelona was created with Menkes, our long-standing partner, and it is there that every bespoke garment is designed and produced. The bond with its owner Jacobo Menkes goes back more than twenty years and rests on one shared conviction: a great production is also born from the strength and identity of its costumes. From there the work extends to everything an audience reads as a person, from garments and footwear to makeup and prosthetics.
A house of costume since 1950
Menkes has been making stage costume at the highest level since 1950, and is an institution in the international theatrical landscape: a place where sartorial tradition, aesthetic research and innovation coexist in rare balance. Each creation takes shape through a dialogue between direction, stage movement and material, until it becomes a work conceived for the stage.
Cut from a study of functional anatomy
Garments are developed from a detailed study of functional anatomy and body dynamics, so the performer keeps full freedom of movement, precision of gesture and absolute control. We work with high performance materials chosen for multidirectional elasticity, tensile strength and long term structural stability.
A microclimate around the performer
Construction addresses breathability, thermoregulation and moisture management as design parameters, not afterthoughts. Combining technical and natural fibres keeps an optimal microclimate around the body, reducing muscular fatigue and raising the efficiency of the performance itself.
Shoes designed as performance tools
The same research goes into professional theatrical footwear. Soles are engineered to optimise ground adhesion and impact absorption, minimising stress on joints and spine. An ergonomic fit in flexible yet resilient materials ensures efficient energy transfer between body and movement, through complex and repetitive stage work.
Readable from the last row, under any light
Every colour, texture and application is chosen so that faces stay expressive and flawless from any seat. Stage makeup here is a technical discipline: it has to resist sweat, heat and movement, stay hypoallergenic under daily use, and hold its reading whether the light turns warm, cool or hard from behind.
Prosthetics that change the shape of a face
Silicone, latex and foam latex prosthetics physically modify the shapes of face and body, so a performer can become a mythological creature or an imaginary character with a level of realism that painted makeup cannot reach. Modern materials keep the piece light and flexible, so expression and freedom of movement survive the transformation.
A wardrobe conceived with a sustainable mindset
Sets, costumes and props are all conceived with a sustainable mindset from the first sketch, and the atelier carries its share of that. Organic and sustainable textiles are used extensively across the production cycle, and recycled materials are creatively repurposed wherever the garment allows it. Reducing impact is only half of the intent. The other half is letting the show itself carry the message, because a costume seen by a full theatre says it better than a statement does.
Every visual detail tells a story. In our Atelier, we dress the identity of the protagonists. These are not mere garments, but tactile extensions of the creative concept that make the atmosphere of the show tangible.
Characters built, not dressed
Barbossa, Haddock, the Red Queen, Dupont, Panoramix, The Mask, Obelix and Asterix: prosthetic and costume work from Billy Bones, Dreamworld, The Wizard, 100-2 Nights, Peter Punk, Timeless and Starwalker.
16 changes per show, every week
Wardrobe logistics designed around the rotation, not around the fitting.
Handcrafted per performer
Tailoring built for one body, then maintained across a full contract.
Custom stage footwear
Built in house alongside the costume, as a single system.
