If you're a musicals fan, like all of us here at Crystal Parade HQ, you will love the new FREE exhibition at the V&A museum, Re:Imagining Musicals. The display celebrates the glittering world of musical theatre, exploring the evolution and craftmanship of iconic musicals, from Miss Saigon and My Fair Lady to modern classics like SIX the Musical, and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. And on the subject of SIX the Musical, we’re delighted to share that Crystal Parade supplied the Preciosa crystals used to crystallize the boots and microphone for the fabulous Aragon costume currently on display. One of our extremely talented customers Jane, from Crystalled By Jane, hand embellished the costume accessories – adding the final sparkling touches to an already iconic costume.
Jane used Preciosa Non Hotfix crystals in Jet and Light Colorado Topaz to decorate the boots and microphone in the same style as the main costume. We spoke to Jane recently about the project to find out more about her part in this wonderful display.
CP: When were you first approached by the V&A exhibition to embellish the shoes and microphone for the costume?
JW: SIX The Musical was approached by the V&A many months ago when they were initially planning the exhibition. I became involved as the principal embellisher of the SIX costumes and worked under the direction of the costume designer, Gabi Slade.
CP: Approximately how long did it take you to complete the project?
JW: I embellished the boots and the microphone. It takes about 5 hours to embellish a pair of boots, and about 4 hours for the microphone.
CP: Which glue did you use for the project and did you use a pick-up tool for the rhinestones?
JW: I'm unfashionable amongst embellishers as I exclusively use ordinary wax pencils to pick up and place the crystals, rather than a fancy branded tool. I can't tell you which glues I use as that is a trade secret! It's taken me many years to determine which glues work best on different surfaces, but I can tell you I use professional-grade glues which stick hard!
CP: Which crystals did you use and in what sizes?
JW: I used Preciosa Maxima crystals throughout. The boots I use only SS20s, whereas I used smaller SS7 & SS12 crystals for the mic to give a finer finish.
We love Jane’s work and we think you'll agree the results are amazing! So head down to the V&A Museum to view this stunning creation and see our crystals sparkle under the lights.
To see the full ‘behind the scenes’ making of the Aragon costume, watch the V&A video here.
