When costume designer Rafael Jaen was creating the wardrobe for Pippin, the 51st Annual Spring Musical at Boston's Emerson College, forgetting the original Bob Fosse production proved to be his biggest challenge. “I had to step back and pretend I never saw or read anything about Pippin at all,” he explains. “I had to take myself back to Venezuela [Jaen's native country] and start as fresh as I could. It was like baking bread, and I kept folding ideas into the concept until it was the right texture.”
After thoroughly analyzing the script for ideas, Jaen followed the storyline and created his design scheme accordingly. “Pippin starts off as a dreamer so a blue sky color is his metaphor,” he says. “When he goes into the war scenes, partial camouflage is used to emphasize that, because that is a catalyst that brings war to the mind of audiences of all ages, from World War II to the war in Iraq.”
Since Charlemagne, Pippin's father, is a historical character, it was easier to dress him in clothes that were reminiscent of the Byzantine period. “He has a tunic that is used by the Catholic Church today,” Jaen comments. “But instead of putting red trip on his cape, I used camouflage to bring in the war aspect. War is war regardless of period.”
