ROSE HUDSON
Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries (2014)
The Dressmaker blue hat
production that sparked for Rose that first excitement for theatre work and she remembers the moment she was sewing flowers on an Edwardian hat for the Ascot scene during tech week and thinking, “This is what I want to do”. From here the next step was to figure out how this was possible. The answer came later that year when Marjorie Head, millinery supervisor at the Melbourne Theatre Company who had also bought materials in the Stella Long sale, offered Rose a job on Christmas Eve. Working as Marjorie’s assistant for two years, Rose took over that role and then stayed on at the MTC for almost twenty years. The first production she worked on involved creating pieces for The Importance of Being Earnest starring Geoffrey Rush.
Working in the world of theatrical millinery is different to fashion millinery, Rose discovered. In theatre work, the milliner is very much bound by the designs presented by the costume designer. Rose explains: “The first step is a discussion with the designer about how they think the millinery might be made. This part is collaborative where I will give my opinion on what materials will be used or how a certain style will be achieved. A designer might have a fabric in mind for a particular trimming which might match with the garment, but may not be suitable for the hat. While I consider the role of the milliner in the costume production process to be important, the designer has an eye on the bigger picture, the look of the whole show, so they always have the final word in how my hat will look. I once spent two weeks working on a red velvet bonnet with elaborate ruching for
56 | the hat magazine #81
Rose with topper
Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries (2014)
a production of Chekov’s Uncle Vanya for the Melbourne Theatre Company. At the technical rehearsal, when the actress appeared on stage wearing it, the director during a production break wondered if it should be cut because it was ‘too distracting’. The designer, Angus Strathie (costume designer Moulin Rouge!) with whom I’d worked closely to achieve its fabulousness, fought hard to have it kept in. It’s always fantastic to work with designers who love hats, it makes my job so much easier.”
Throughout her career Rose has worked as a freelance theatrical milliner alongside her other positions. She has created pieces for television including Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and films such as The Dressmaker. Most recently, she made the hats and headwear for the feature film Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears. Freelance commercial theatre work included Sunset Boulevard with Hugh Jackman, Beauty and The Beast, Scrooge, Anything Goes and more recently, headdresses and hats for the Australian production of The Book of Mormon. Working with Melbourne-based Crawford Productions to contribute to dozens of
television series including Carson’s Law, All the Rivers Run, All the Way, The Man from Snowy River, Whose Baby?, Alice to Nowhere and many more, Rose has also worked on productions for the Australian Ballet, Victoria Opera and Opera Australia.
In the early 1990s Rose taught the millinery component of the fashion design course at RMIT University as well as short courses at Swinburne University. She also taught a few units of the millinery certificate course at Kangan Institute. Currently Rose teaches the Costume Accessories unit at Melbourne Polytechnic as part of the Costume for Performance diploma course. Rose enjoys sharing her skills and knowledge of the industry. While in her early years in millinery she was told to work quickly, she later learnt good work takes time. “Ultimately you have to decide what kind of work you want to do.”
In 2009 Rose resigned from her position at the MTC and passed the reins over to Phillip Rhodes, a fellow theatrical milliner. She had chosen to return to study to complete her VCE (education certificate)
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