Matsy Stinson|Design

ICELAND

For the world premiere of the opera ICELAND by O-Lan Jones at La MaMa, Matsy conceptualized, designed and built these costumes and headpieces.

Matsy’s artist statement below:

To create the Huldufólk and Landvættir - the hidden spirits and mythic beasts of Iceland, I did a lot of research on the pagan religion first practiced by the Vikings, and revived as modern Ásatrú in the 1970s. I was especially struck by this faith’s respect for community and nature, and thought that it would be appropriate, and also an interesting challenge to only use secondhand, found, donated, or locally purchased items to create these characters.

Here you see costumes made out of old carpets, curtains, takeout containers and tablecloths, along with an assortment of secondhand fashion from Beacons, The Goodwill Bins, my local secondhand haunt - East Village Thrift and a few other favorite shops. I was able to get yarn, thread, fabric and other items I needed from Materials for the Arts and FABSCRAP - two incredible non profits that keep usable art and fashion materials out of the landfill.

(With the exception of a pair of bull horns that I had to buy from a woman on Etsy…) Everything was purchased in-person in our city, and I carried it home on my bike or via public transit. It felt really important to support business owners who live here and are part of our community. Special shout outs to Mr. Gizmo on 1st Ave, Hamed’s in the garment district, my Buy Nothing Group on Facebook, and Tony my shoe guy on 35th who resoled many pairs of vintage boots for us.

The true MVPs however were my wonderful costume construction students who helped me finish all of these complex creations. I could not have done all this work without them.

Behind the Scenes Photography by Erica MacLean
Progress Photos by Matsy Stinson

A RIBBON ABOUT A BOMB

For the immersive play A Ribbon About A Bomb, the character of surrealist Leonora Carrington delivers a monologue about how stifling it was to be forced into British high society as a debutante. To mirror this emotion in her costume, Matsy created a ball gown to fill an entire room. Using over 400 square feet of fabric, she built a dress that covered the room and climbed up the walls as curtains. The skirt raised to create a tent for the audience to climb beneath, where they could meet the “real” Leonora.

THE RED LETTER PLAYS - FUCKING A

For this production, which was set in the 1970’s, Matsy created paper dolls made of fabric swatches, images from vintage magazines, and her own original sketches. These were accompanied by mood boards with additional research from the era.

SUDS

For the remount of Bluelaces Theatre Co.’s SUDS at Lincoln Center, Matsy embellished six bowling shirts for the ensemble of the show, aka the 'Laundry League’. She hand appliqued vintage fabric remnants onto the back of the shirts, and hand embroidered each character’s name on the front.

SLAPFACE

A little boy shaken by the loss of his mom, finds a motherly spirit in an unlikely place. (Below, Mood boards, BTS photo of Matsy dressing the monster, and a 2 minute clip from the film.) 

URINETOWN THE MUSICAL

In a collaborative design progress with her costuming students at Pace University, these mood boards and costumes were created for Urinetown The Musical.

MAGDALENA FEMANON’S GOWN

Matsy works as a designer and fabricator for NYC nightlife personality, Magdalena Femanon, who famously wears stilts to be the tallest girl at the club. Here is a gown Matsy created for Magdalena’s holiday photo shoot (She stands about 8’ here!).

THE ENCHANTED REALM OF RENE MAGRITTE

In the Enchanted Realm of Rene Magritte, the audience explored winding halls and multiple stories within the iconic painter’s childhood home. Matsy drew inspiration from the incredible aesthetic of his paintings, fashions of the 1940s-60s (when he created his most notable work) and added a bit of a modern twist.

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND

Inspired by the incredible costumes built by the Haitian people every year for Carnival, as well as their tradition of building art pieces out of found materials to leave at the graves of their loved ones, Matsy created this production of Once on This Island using found materials, upcycling, and thrift store finds.

WOYZECK

Pencil sketches of characters from Woyzeck/Production photos by Ellise Lesser

ANNA BELLA EEMA

Inspired by mother-daughter relationships from the past, Matsy created timeless looks for the rural family made up of: a Mother, a daughter (Anna Bella), and the Mud Girl - Anna Bella Eema. Matsy used second hand fabrics, scraps from vintage clothing and antique buttons to custom make these three costumes. She also hand painted/dyed the mud girl’s dress.

POLKADOTS THE COOL KIDS’ MUSICAL

Mood boards and production photos from this peppy kids’ musical about befriending someone who is a little bit different. Matsy designed the costumes, wigs and makeup for this production. below is an image of Sky Square, Lily Polkadot, Penelope Square, and the Square Teacher. Click on any image to enlarge.

THE SKRIKER

MUSE

An immersive adventure for developmentally different/neurodiverse children and their caregivers, Muse was inspired by myths and folklore. Featuring familiar friends such as Dionysus, Pandora and Circe, new ones like Frug the God of Travel, and Squirt the God of Quirks, and scored by Orpheus on the guitar, the audience mixed in with the cast for a unique hands-on experience.