While the research and meetings and other preparations may give Mr. Long an idea of what a costume might look like, everything can change once designer and actor enter the fitting room. "You never just make something and make someone wear it," he says. "It's always a group effort... I develop the designs by working with the director and choreographer and, if there is one, a live author. That's how it all begins. And then you get to the actor, and they bring in their elements. It's like cooking!" he quips. "I feel like Julia Child sometimes!"
The magic happens in Mr. Long's studio, in which potential costumes are created with muslin or tissue paper and tape, and fabrics are tested under various stage light gels. Different fabrics and dyes can change appearance under stage lighting, and to properly anticipate what an audience will see, Mr. Long uses a special booth in his studio to look at costumes under different colored lights. "The lighting can make it or break it," he says. "You pick a color and you think, 'This is going to be great!' And then you get it on stage and you think, 'Oh, my, what was I thinking?'" Black costumes are a particular problem, due to the many colors and multi-step process used to dye the cloth. Certain lights, particularly lavender tints, can pierce through black dye to reveal other colors that had been on the fabric before, ruining the effect. "You have to do lots of color testing," he says, but is quick to add that the whole process is "fun."
And now he is putting his talents to use for charity, costuming the titular mascot of The St. George Society. The society was founded more than two hundred years ago to help support Englishmen in New York. Today, it has expanded to offer aid to many different groups. "It's a very wonderful charity, and they do a lot with various causes," Mr. Long says. "The main fundraiser is the St. George Ball, which takes place on the feast day of St. George. They just recently started having someone personify St. George and read a proclamation welcoming people to the ball." June Briggs, co-chair of the ball, asked member William Ivey Long to help make St. George's costume memorable. Using a painting by Victorian artist Bourne-Jones, Mr. Long created a costume of metallic-looking plastic and chain mail, which he describes as "the complicated part." Janet Boer, who designed the chain mail for Spamalot, knitted a flexible but realistic chain mail for St. George. "He can tap dance, if he wants to, because there's so much movement in this armor!" Mr. Long says merrily. "But of course all he has to do is stride on and be valiant. There's no dragon in sight." The Reverend Nigel Massey of the French Church of St. Esprit played the Saint himself, representing multinationality– or perhaps the time when England ruled Calais, Mr. Long quips.
The theme of St. George certainly resonates in modern New York as much as it did in ancient England. We still have dragons, and often need help in overcoming them. "The dragons are poverty and illness and despair," Mr. Long says, "and these are things that the St. George Society helps combat."
