& Juliet Costume Designer Reveals the Challenge of Making Clothes Right for Shakespeare and Max Martin

A Tony winner for Peter and the Starcatcher, costume designer Paloma Young has been nominated for her work on this season’s & Juliet.

In the latest “Building Broadway” segment on “The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal,” Beth Stevens talks to the costume designer about her inspiration and process for constructing the old-world meets new-age garments.

Young encountered a unique set of challenges with bringing the & Juliet designs to life. Young knew early on in the process that although the musical is set in the era of Shakespeare, straight period clothes were out of the picture for this jukebox musical set to the pop hits of the late ’90s and early aughts. Not only was she combining Shakespeare with modern pop culture, she also had to contend with Jennifer Weber’s athletic choreography.

In creating her concept, Young said, “We did want it to feel like anyone who ever has ever had any experience with a Shakespeare show would get something that they expected, but in an unexpected way.”

To achieve the looks, Young fused traditional Shakespearean elements with 1990s and 2000s streetwear. Many of the costume pieces were built from scratch within a “candy color palette,” as Young described...READ MORE