There's a wave of fashion folk designing stage costumes for the performing arts and Dutch designers Viktor and Rolf are once again dabbling in costume design. They have created costumes for Der Freischutz (The Freeshooter), a romantic opera by Carl Maria von Weber that will be playing at Baden-Baden's Festspielhaus. The fairytale outfits have been painstakinly decorated with one million Crystallized™ Swarovski elements, which play with the light enhancing the exaggerated three-dimensional shapes. The stage design is kept to a minimum so the costumes and crystals play quite an important part in the aesthetic. Organza, silk, satin and lurex feature in rich tones with type emblazoned on the chest and shoulders. Inspiration for the choir costumes comes from traditional Germanic dress, including Dimdl and Lederhose fashioned from black neoprene. This is the second time the duo have been commissioned by director Robert Wilson, designing outfits for "2 lips and Dancers and Space" in November 2004.

The opera staring Julian Banse and Steve Davislim debuts on May 30 at Germany's largest opera venue, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden.

Here is a video, which goes behind the scenes of the project.

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