[中] [ENG] 專題訪問：香港舞台服裝再生的想像與可行性

訪問：陳國慧

文：黃寶儀

舞台服裝的生命不限於台上演出的剎那，劇場工作者能以可持續發展的思維，為閒置的演出服裝重新賦予價值。對於編舞伍宇烈、舞台服裝設計師何珮姍、造型及美術指導葉頌恩，以及時裝設計師黃琪與楊展來說，演出服裝的生命是可以通過升級再造（upcycling）得以延續與重寫。

此文章所有照片由城市當代舞蹈團提供 All photo in this article provided by City Contemporary Dance Company

攝 Photos by Pazu CHAN @ Common People Productions

永續服裝設計的前緣與期許

伍宇烈與何珮姍在其創作中，早已實踐為服裝尋找第二生命的理念。得力於城市當代舞蹈團前服裝主管李慧娥（Linda）的支持，伍宇烈在2018年與舞團合作《香．夭》時，使用了該團的服裝庫存，並以舊衣再造的方式設計演出服裝。他於2021年加入城市當代舞蹈團後，亦沿用升級再造的概念。除了在2021年的舞季小冊子拍攝中，讓舞者穿上舊衣重造的舞衣外，其亦在創作《大鄉下話》時，重用《香．夭》的演出服。伍宇烈有意識地延展服裝的生命，正因其不甘富有故事的服飾被掩埋，亦想借此引發更多人對升級再造的興趣。

何珮姍則受香港演藝學院的訓練而對升級再造感興趣。演藝學院的編舞工作坊限制學生，以學院庫存改造舊衣來設計演出服裝，使其學習如何在有限預算下發揮創意。「我並不是因為使命而重用物料，只是將舊衣當作可用資源，避免浪費。」何珮姍與伍宇烈對升級再造的想法不謀而合，二人合作的《甩隙咔》所有服裝大多是舊衣新造。其中一套燕尾服更是以紙皮色的購物袋所造。何珮姍視升級再造為一個好玩的方法，並在有限的預算中，找到了永續設計的樂趣。

楊展則視升級再造舞台服裝為一個推廣與教育的機會。其有感舞台服裝只有在重演時才能再見天日。然而，以改造舊衣來設計整部作品的演出服裝，需要充足的時間提前準備。若能預先規劃，創作團隊將能解決重用舊衣所帶來的時間與成本問題。楊展與伍宇烈都相信永續服裝設計能透過舞台實踐普及。二人在合作《屎撈人 — 愛便便愛》時，便曾探討以破洞的肉色舊襪製成舞衣。即使最後並未採用此一設計，但他們仍持續思考如何在舞台上實踐綠色設計，並教育大眾升級再造的價值。

舊衣新造的挑戰與限制

再造舊衣所耗費的心力與成本，往往比新製服裝更為高昂。「正因升級再造比較貴，才難以成為主流。」黃琪直言，改衣所投放的時間、人工以及庫存租金，增加了改造舊衣的成本。在寸金尺土的香港，騰出大量空間存放舞台服裝是一件奢侈的事，而充足的儲物空間卻是重用舊物的必要條件。何珮姍以歐洲舞台設計師為例。由於他們有寬裕的空間，因而能保留佈景板，使佈景板的背面與原有設計得以被重用。然而，香港的土地成本再加上劇場預算所限，不利於服裝保存，增加了重用舊衣的難度。

在劇場製作的流程中，服裝設計師的角色相對被動。升級再造的設計方式受制於編導的創作意念、製作期以及現有庫存。「舞蹈與戲劇作品有其主題，設計師並不能以個人出發。」何珮姍點出舞台服裝設計與時裝設計的分別。「舞蹈比較抽象和感受性強，設計師因而有較多發揮空間，戲劇則有劇本，角色寫得立體明確，設計師需要在貼合角色的前提下發揮其創意。」舞台服裝是作品的其中一環，而設計師所考慮的不單是設計意念，其成品要兼顧作品主題和演出整體，更要趕在演期前完工。因此，即使藝團有服裝庫存，要在符合成本、主題及工期下，覓得合適再造的舊衣比全新設計更費心力。

本地重演與海外巡演能直接重用演出服裝，然而近十年來巡演的機會並不多。伍宇烈憶述城市當代舞蹈團的《中國風．中國火》便因巡演所需，而備下兩套演出服於庫存。舞團的服裝保存只是以備不時之需，而非出於服裝的文化價值。舞團曾因空間有限而將不少舊衣贈予他人，包括伍參與製作的《男生》與《甩隙咔》。本地著名編舞黎海寧作品的舞台服裝為唯一例外。「當時有不明文規定，不可以丟棄黎海寧的作品。」伍深感單靠個人努力難以保存富有歷史價值的設計，其慶幸舞團庫存完整地保留黎作的服裝。畢竟每一套服裝都蘊含了設計師的心思與時間，不應輕易被捨棄。

在限制中思索服裝來世的可能

升級再造所投入的心思與時間，不應被負面地標籤為額外成本。葉頌恩指出正因為設計師付出的人力與時間，使舊物增加了新造以及淘寶所欠缺的創意價值。「再造舊衣可被視為一種引用創意、歷史與角色的方式。舊物是有意思的。」若成本背後的價值能被看見，便有機會讓更多人付諸實踐以及參與其中。楊展與黃琪正以連結社區的方式，嘗試擴闊舞台服裝的想像，並將改造舊衣的價值推廣至大眾。

舞台服裝的可持續發展不僅單靠重用服裝庫存，楊展指設計師可放眼於社區網絡。「保良局提供人手生產的布料，設計師可以借助社區組織進行布料生產。」楊展現時與保良局合作，該組織的院舍人士在接受訓練後，便可以提供基礎的穿線、縫紉以及搓羊毛服務。社區網絡與劇場服裝生產的連結需時建立，但只要有充足規劃，升級再造在劇場服裝設計的全面應用是有可能的。除了保良局外，楊展亦提及位於上環的社企「壹合」，該組織教授新來港婦女車衣，能代為縫製環保包裝。設計師如能善用社區資源與人力，便能在控制成本、配合製作時間下，由布料生產開始以可持續方式製作舞台服裝。

除了可借助社區網絡建立服裝的可持續性，設計師也能預先為服裝計劃再生用途（afterlife），以延續舊衣的價值。在與甄詠蓓以及嘉道理農場暨植物園合作的「動戲大地藝術節」中，黃琪不但以升級再造製作全部演出服裝，更想好服裝在謝幕後的去向。其製作的服裝已在生產前，提早被設計成產品，演出結束後再於期間限定店（pop up store）出售。「因為早已想好了下一步，所以我在製衣時，大多選用方便剪裁的方塊形狀，避免浪費。」黃琪的提前規劃以及對藝術項目的宏觀思考，把服裝可持續發展的實踐推前一步。若設計師能在製作前，已考慮到如何賦予成品第二生命，將能長遠地推動永續設計。

推動舞台服裝再生的條件與策略

創作團隊的開放心態是實踐永續服裝設計的關鍵。若團隊成員能把升級再造所帶來的挑戰視為一次富有玩味的探索，當下的限制也不過是遊戲關卡。由於劇場創作以編導意念先行，升級再造服裝以及重用舊衣需要主創團隊配合。何珮姍建議可反向思考，由設計師先提出設計，再請編舞或編劇以服裝為中心進行創作。「創作可以不需要按步就班，藝術本身就是刺激、聯想。」其以劇作《我在大戈壁沙漠收數的日子》為例，該作先由編劇潘惠森提出劇本大綱，然後曾文通設計出沙漠佈景，潘惠森再按此撰寫劇本。劇場本是自由想像的空間，製作的挑戰只要在團隊一致配合下，亦能是一次好玩且有價值的過程。

創作團隊的視野固然是舊衣再用的重要因素，然而藝團組織的系統以及藝術發展管理者的願景亦必不可少。若組織能為製作者提供支援，將有助創作團隊在永續劇場設計上走得更遠。楊展建議藝團與藝術發展組織為採用升級再造設計的製作團隊，提供額外預算資助。而葉頌恩則提議本地創作者可以參與綠色舞台發展的國際項目及會議，以爭取知名度，從而喚起更多關注。普及表演藝術的可持續發展需要管理者有宏觀的思維與策略，讓志同道合者有共同努力的方向。「要求管理者有願景是否太過分？在系統未準備好的時候，我們不能光等待，而是要有人願意犧牲，踏出第一步作志願者。」伍宇烈自薦為服裝庫存管理建立系統，並召集意念相同的志願者，推動劇場的可持續發展。表演藝術界若能有系統及策略輔助創作者，重用舊物的設計思維將能更易付諸實踐。

要將舞台服裝的永續發展由業界普及至大眾，劇場工作者需由教育著手。英國現時的《劇場綠皮書》為表演藝術從業者由製作、建築以及營運角度，提供可持續發展的規範與實踐建議。何珮姍表示香港的演藝教育能借鑑海外案例，將舞台製作的永續發展納入課程，以啟發創作者的思考。「現時要讓人看到升級再造設計，也能說到故事、達到製作目標。」她點出成功案例的重要性。若劇場人能在實踐中展示永續設計的可行性，便能向業界以及大眾推廣此一概念。

劇場的未來發展不能單靠業界努力，更需要藝術發展管理者、教育體系以及觀眾共同推動，讓舞台服裝的永續實踐能由台上延展至社區。

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黃寶儀

藝評人。熱愛文學、舞蹈及戲劇。評論文章曾刊於《明報》、《三角志》及《上海藝術評論》等文化刊物。

Interviews: The Imagination and Feasibility of The Afterlife of Stage Costumes in Hong Kong

Interviewer: Bernice Chan

Text: Bowie Wong

Translator: Eva Kan

The life of a costume does not only last for a performance on stage. Theatre practitioners can give value to unused costumes with a sustainable mindset. For choreographer Yuri Ng, costume designer Cindy Ho, stylist and art director Perpetua Ip, and fashion designers Kay Wong and Yeung Chin, the life of a costume can be extended and rewritten through upcycling.

此文章所有照片由城市當代舞蹈團提供 All photo in this article provided by City Contemporary Dance Company

攝 Photos by Pazu CHAN @ Common People Productions

Connection and expectation for sustainable costume design

In their works, Yuri Ng and Cindy Ho have long practiced the idea of finding a second life for their costumes. When Ng worked with City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) in Requiem HK in 2018, with the support of Linda Lee, the former Wardrobe Mistress of the company, he used CCDC's clothing stock and designed the costumes by upcycling. After joining CCDC in 2021, Ng continued to practise the concept of upcycling. In addition to the 2021 season brochure photography where he let the dancers dress in upcycled costumes, he reused the costumes from Requiem HK in his creation of Home Sweat Home. Ng has consciously tried to extend the life of costumes because he does not want these imaginative clothes to be buried, and hopes to arouse people’s greater interest in upcycling.

Cindy Ho’s interest in upcycling came from her training at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. In the school's choreographic workshop, students were only allowed to make costumes from old clothes at the Academy's stock, so that they could learn how to be creative on a limited budget. “My act of reusing materials is not driven by a mission. I'm just using the old clothes as available resources to avoid wastage.” She and Yuri Ng happen to share the same view on upcycling, and most of the costumes in their collaborative work Luck-quacka were made from old clothes. One of the tailcoats was even made of cardboard-coloured shopping bags. Ho sees upcycling as a fun way, and she has found the joy of sustainable design within a limited budget.

Yeung Chin regards the upcycling of costumes as an opportunity for promotion and education, as normally stage costumes will only be brought to light when a performance is rerun. However, making upcycled costumes for an entire production requires ample preparation time. If the creative team can plan ahead, they would be able to overcome the time and cost problems associated with the reuse of old clothes. He and Ng believe that sustainable costume design can be popularised through stage practice. When they collaborated on When a Poo Woos, they explored the idea of using old, skin-coloured socks with holes in them to make dance costumes. Even though the design was not adopted in the end, they continue to think about how to practice green design on stage, and educate the public on the value of upcycling.

Challenges and limitations of upcycling old garments

Revamping old clothes is often more laborious and costly than making new ones. “It is precisely because upcycling is more expensive that it is hard to become the mainstream.” Kay Wong says directly that the time, labour, and rent of storage involved in clothing alteration increase the cost for upcycling. In Hong Kong, where land is scarce and expensive, it is a luxury to spare a lot of space to store stage costumes, but adequate storage space is essential for reusing old items. Cindy Ho quotes European set designers as an example. Since they have plenty of space, they can keep the settings and later reuse either the backs or original designs of the settings. However, in Hong Kong, the land cost, coupled with the constraints of theatre budget, is not conducive to costume storage, making it more difficult to reuse old clothes.

The role of the costume designer is relatively passive in the theatre production process. The upcycling design approach is subjected to the creative ideas of the choreographer, playwright and director, the production period and the clothing stock. “Dance and drama works have their own themes, and designers can’t create their designs from personal perspective,” says Cindy Ho. She points out the difference between costume design and fashion design. “Dance is more abstract and of feelings, so designers have more room for creativity, while drama has a script and the characters have clear images, so designers need to be creative while adapting to the characters.” Stage costume is an integral part of a production. Designers have to consider not only the design concept, but also the theme of the production and the performance as a whole, and they must finish their work before the performance period. Therefore, even if the company has a stock of costumes, it takes more effort to find suitable ones for upcycling than to design new ones if it is required to fit the cost, theme and schedule.

In local reruns and overseas tours, costumes can be reused directly, yet there have not been many touring opportunities in the last decade. Yuri Ng recalls that because of the need for touring, CCDC kept two sets of costumes in stock for the production of China Wind．China Fire. The company's costume preservation is for contingency needs, not for their cultural value. Due to space constraints, it has given away many old costumes, including those of Boy Story and Luck-quacka in which Ng participated in production. The only exception is the costumes from the works of Helen Lai, the renowned local choreographer. “There was an unspecified rule that Lai's works could not be abandoned.” Ng feels deeply that it is hard to preserve designs of historical value through personal efforts alone, and he is grateful that the company has kept the costumes of Lai's works entirely. After all, each costume is contributed by the thoughts and time of the designer, and should not be discarded so easily.

Pondering possibilities for costumes’ afterlife within limitations

The effort and time invested in upcycling should not be labelled negatively as an extra cost. Perpetua Ip points out that it is the labour and time devoted by the designer that brings a revamp and creative value which we cannot find in Taobao goods to the old items. “Upcycling old clothes can be seen as a way of applying creativity and referencing history and characters. Old items are meaningful.” If the value behind the cost can be seen, there is a chance that more people will put it into practice and get involved. By connecting with the community, Yeung Chin and Kay Wong are trying to broaden the imagination of stage costumes and promote the value of clothing upcycling to the general public.

The sustainability of stage costumes does not only depend on the reuse of old costumes. Yeung says designers can set sight on community networks. “Po Leung Kuk provides handmade fabrics. Designers can draw support from community organisations to produce fabrics.” Yeung is now working together with Po Leung Kuk. After receiving training, some residents in its hostels can provide basic threading, sewing and wool-rolling services. The link between community networks and theatre costume production takes time to establish, but with adequate planning, full-scale application of upcycling in theatre costume design is possible. In addition to Po Leung Kuk, Yeung also mentions a social enterprise in Sheung Wan—Project House @1QRW. This organisation teaches new migrant women sewing so that they can help to sew eco-friendly packaging. If designers can make good use of community resources and manpower, they are able to produce stage costumes in a sustainable way starting from the production of fabrics, while at the same time control the cost and match the production time.

Apart from using community networks to build up sustainability for costumes, designers can also plan the afterlife of costumes in advance to extend their value after the performance. In the ÉLAN Eartheatre collaboration which involved Olivia Yan and the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, Kay Wong not only produced all the performing costumes by upcycling, but also planned in advance for the usage of costumes after the curtain call. Before the production Wong’s costumes had already been designed as products, and were put on sale at a pop up store after the show. “Because I have the next step in mind, when making the garments, I mainly used square-shaped fabrics that are easy to cut to avoid wastage.” Wong's advance planning and macro point of view on arts projects take the practice of sustainable clothing one step forward. If designers can think about how to give a second life to their products before making them, they are able to facilitate sustainable design in the long run.

Conditions and strategies for promoting afterlife of stage costumes

The open attitude of the creative team is the key to the practice of sustainable costume design. If the team members can see the challenges of upcycling as chances to explore playful things, the limitations they encounter are just like game stages. Since theatre production is driven by the ideas of the playwright, chorographer and director, upcycling and reusing old costumes requires the cooperation of the leading creative team. Cindy Ho suggests doing reverse thinking: let the designer come up with the design first, and then ask the choreographer or playwright to create a costume-centred work. “Creating a work can be done without a step-by-step process, as the arts is about stimulation and association.” She cited the play When I Was Deserted as an example. In its creating process, the playwright Paul Poon first proposed the synopsis, then Kelvin Tsang designed the desert scenery, and Poon then wrote the script accordingly. Theatre is a space for free imagination, and tackling the challenge of production can be a fun and valuable process as long as the team acts in concert.

While the vision of the creative team is an important factor in the reuse of old costumes, the system of the arts organisation, and the vision of the arts development management are also indispensable. If the organisation can provide support to the producers, it will help the creative team to go further in sustainable theatre design. Yeung Chin suggests that arts groups and arts development organisations can provide additional budgetary support to the production teams adopting upcycled designs; Perpetua Ip suggests that local creators can participate in international projects and conferences on green theatre development to gain visibility, and hence arousing more people's concern. The popularisation of the sustainable development of performing arts requires the management to have a macro mindset and strategy, so that the like-minded people can work in the same direction. “Is it too much to ask the management to have a vision? We can't just wait when the system isn’t ready. We need people who are willing to make sacrifices and take the first step as volunteers.” Yuri Ng volunteers to create a system for costume storage management and to gather like-minded volunteers to promote sustainable theatre development. If the performing arts sector could assist the creators with systems and strategies, the design concept of reusing old objects would be easier to put into practice.

In order to popularise the sustainability of stage costumes from the industry to the general public, theatre practitioners need to start with education. The UK's current Theatre Green Book provides sustainable development guidelines and suggested practices for performing arts practitioners from the perspectives of production, buildings and operations. Cindy Ho suggests that Hong Kong's performing arts education can learn from overseas examples and incorporate sustainable development of stage productions into the curriculum to inspire creators’ mind. “Today we need to show people upcycled designs while being able to tell a story and achieve production goals.” She points out the importance of successful examples. If theatre practitioners can demonstrate the feasibility of sustainable design in practice, they will be able to promote the concept to the industry as well as the public.

The future of theatre does not depend on the efforts of the industry alone, but it needs to be facilitated together by the arts development management, education system and audience, by which the sustainable practice of stage costumes can be extended from the stage to the community.

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Bowie Wong

Bowie Wong is an art critic with a passion for literature, dance and theatre. Her works have been featured on Ming Pao, Delta Zhi, Shanghai Art Review and other cultural publications.