The Downstage team is thrilled to work with brilliant local Costume Designer, Rebecca Toon, on our upcoming co-production of Botticelli in the Fire. She blends the opulence of Italian High Renaissance with the electric self-expression of 1990s New York club kids culture to create a lush and impactful visual story. A Betty Mitchell Award-nominated designer and CAFTCAD award winner, Rebecca splits her time between theatre and film. You may have seen her stunning designs in Theatre Calgary’s recent production of Legally Blonde or her Emmy-nominated work as Assistant Designer on The Last of Us, which was shot right here in Calgary.
The Inspiration
For Botticelli in the Fire, Rebecca focused on the lavish world of Italian fashion from 1470–1500 and the explosive, gender-fluid style of early 90s New York City club kids. Blending these influences with her strong visual storytelling, the production becomes a lush fashion journey highlighting the play’s themes of queer joy, ruling-class excess, and the terrifying impact of religious extremism on freedom and art.
In terms of Renaissance inspiration, Rebecca was captivated by sleeves and the distinctive shapes of men’s fashion. She studied the cut and fit of garments, paying attention to heraldry (wearing the colours of one's house, often in blocks). She was also intrigued by the way clothes were attached during this time frame. There weren’t any waistbands, buttons, or zippers. Men’s bottoms, known as hosen, were laced or tied directly to the doublet. Rebecca pays tribute to these structural relationships in the silhouettes of Sandro, Leonardo, and Poggio, subtly referencing the way garments were fastened together in the Renaissance.
From 90s club kid culture, she got excited about the use of colour and pairing things together that visually offer tension between different patterns or colours. It was a period of radical gender expression in nightlife culture. There was an exuberant freedom that filtered into rave culture of the 2000s and continues to influence drag and contemporary fashion. Though brief, the subculture’s impact was lasting, and Rebecca channels that sense of wild experimentation into the show’s aesthetic.
The Process
Her design process began with a reading of Jordan Tannahill’s script. After an initial read, she allowed the material to settle before identifying how many looks are required and what kind of costuming will best serve the story. Collaborating closely with director Clare Preuss, Rebecca recognized early on how naturally the 90s club kid era aligned with the play’s themes. She then dove into research, studying both Renaissance artwork and early 1990s runway shows by designers such as Gianni Versace and Jean Paul Gaultier.
Rebecca’s early research is intuitive and image-driven. For this process, she gathered photographs from Renaissance paintings, 90s fashion editorials and modern street style. She uses mood boards as a communication tool, helping her establish the vibe of each character. These boards are living documents she refers back to throughout the design process.
From there, she begins sketching. Her designs will often morph and change through the rehearsal process as she gets to know the characters more once they are embodied by the actors. This flexibility allows the characters’ inner lives to shape their outer expression.
Audiences can expect to see high-waisted dresses, codpieces, and sculptural Renaissance sleeves paired with colours, fabrics and patterns from the 90s. The production of Botticelli in the Fire is largely rooted in contemporary fashion, yet it carries echoes of the past in its silhouettes and details. Rebecca believes the play could succeed visually in entirely modern dress, but by weaving in Renaissance references, she creates a bridge between Botticelli’s historical world and our present social and political climate.
Optional Reading or Viewing Before Seeing the Show
For those eager to explore her influences, Rebecca recommends the film Ever After, starring Drew Barrymore, as well as the TV series Medici, featuring Dustin Hoffman, for rich depictions of Renaissance-inspired fashion. To understand 90s club kid culture, she suggests the documentary Glory Daze (not to be confused with the Ben Affleck movie), and the book In the Limelight by Gabriel Sanchez. She notes that “the beautiful thing about this play is that you also don't have to have any context whatsoever to understand and be moved by the story.”
Rebecca’s innovative work on Botticelli in the Fire emphasizes the power of costume in visual storytelling. Before a character speaks, the audience has already formed an impression. Clothing can communicate aspects of status, identity and belief in an instant. By fusing Renaissance structure with 1990s vibrancy, Rebecca invites viewers to see the parallels between Botticelli’s time and our own. Her designs do more than adorn the actors—they ignite a dialogue across centuries, proving that fashion, like art, is both cyclical and revolutionary.