Halloween always gets me thinking about some of the more theatrical corsets we have created over the years, and few projects were more exciting for me than making corsets for Interview with the Vampire.
I had been a fan of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles and her books about witches for years, so when costume designer Carol Cutshall reached out to Lace Embrace Atelier during the first season of the series, I was beyond excited.
Carol was looking for a custom historical corset for one of the ladies of the night.
She sent us the most exquisite ivory silk damask and wanted the finished corset to have an authentic historical silhouette. We happily sent her a selection of designs inspired by corsets in our historical collection and archive, and she chose a beautifully curvaceous Edwardian shape.
When the first episode was released, I could hardly wait to see it.
There she was with Lestat and Louis in their elegant apartment, and eventually she disrobed to reveal the corset underneath.
Unfortunately, the camera was pulled quite far away, so much of the detail and beauty of the piece disappeared on screen.
That is one of the funny realities of creating costumes for film and television. Hours of patternmaking, fitting and handwork can go into a garment that the audience may only glimpse for seconds.
But soon afterward, Carol contacted us again. This time, she wanted a corset for Lestat himself.
For an Anne Rice fan and corset maker, that was rather hard to beat.
Creating Lestat’s Carnival King Corset
For the final episode of the first season, Lestat appears as the dramatic Carnival King. Carol wanted the corset to create something of a straitjacket effect, but it still needed to feel elegant, decadent and spectacular.
Very Lestat.
She sent us five different ivory silk fabrics and asked us to variegate them throughout the corset, with piping accentuating the seams. For the foundation, we used our custom Iris Corset, one of the most elaborate corset patterns we make.
I sometimes call the Iris the Cadillac of corsets because it creates extraordinary curves across so many different body types.
Then we added the detail that truly transformed the piece - three dramatic rows of fan lacing down the front! Fan lacing is already visually striking, but using it three times across the front created something almost architectural.
Combined with the different ivory silks, piping and sculpted silhouette, the finished corset had exactly the strange mixture of restraint, beauty and theatrical excess that the costume needed.
When the package arrived, Carol told us that everyone gasped when they opened the box and that it was one of the most exquisite pieces they had ever seen.
Carol was also incredibly generous about sharing photographs of our work and tagging Lace Embrace Atelier on social media. Those posts introduced our work to thousands of new people, and I have always been very grateful for the recognition she gave the makers behind the costumes.
When a Corset Becomes Part of the Character
Projects like this remind me why corsetry is such a powerful part of costume design.
A corset does much more than sit underneath clothing. It can change posture. It can change silhouette. It can change movement.
And sometimes it can completely change the presence of a character.
Historically, fashionable body shapes changed throughout the decades, and the corsets underneath the clothing changed with them. Costume designers still use those same principles today when creating believable historical worlds or unforgettable fantasy characters.
And occasionally, one of those characters happens to be a vampire.
Planning Your Own Halloween Transformation?
You certainly do not need to be Lestat to make an entrance.
Many Lace Embrace corsets work beautifully for Halloween, masquerade, gothic, historical and theatrical looks, including dramatic black corsets, romantic ivory styles, limited-edition pieces and historically inspired designs.
Some styles are available immediately, while others are made to order.
If you are planning a serious Halloween look, ordering early gives you the best selection and enough time for made-to-order pieces to be completed before October 31.
Explore our Halloween corset collection and create a costume people will actually remember.
With special thanks to costume designer Carol Cutshall for inviting Lace Embrace Atelier to be part of this extraordinary production, and for so generously sharing and crediting our work.