The Herald Sun: Flesh and Bone

See article in its original context here.

FEET arched, tendons stretched and backs to the wall, Kate Denborough and Gerard Van Dyck are out to amaze us in a new exhibition of physical theatre Flesh and Bone.

And this dynamic duo – known as KAGE – are hitting the ground running in costumes created by Lisa Gorman.

The Melbourne designer and KAGE Ambassador is thrilled to see Denborough and Van Dyck galivanting around in her black and white jumpsuits.

“Its an urban utilitarian look,” Gorman explains. Van Dyck nods: “We wanted a fashiony feel rather than a fully costumed look for this show. Lisa ‘got’ that from the word go.”

With their angled zips, press-button studs and safari suit collars, Gorman’s cotton rayon jumpsuits are tailormade for a theatre space.

“More than dance” is KAGE’s motto. So, asking a non-theatre person to design clothes for a production seemed as natural to its founders as doing the splits.

Denborough explains: “We’ve known Lisa for some time, we’re friends, and friendship is a good place to start. We trust each other’s aesthetic and it’s been a very amicable process.”

Gorman – who launched her label in 1999 – calls her KAGE commission “an integrated collaboration”.

“The costumes I designed had to be part of the show rather than THE show,” she said.

Flesh and Bone explores and blurs traditional gender roles. Gorman’s challenge was to interpret this androgyny theme for a theatre, not a catwalk.

“Actually, what I’ve designed for the dancers here is not representative of what I do as a commercial business at all. I did it for me.”