Esther in Wonderland

Costume Designer for Short Film

Story + Concept

Married to the devoutly religious Avi, and leading a deceivingly Hasidic Jewish existence, the red-haired force-of-nature Esther joins a crew of female breakdancers and furtively drifts down the rabbit hole of hip-hop and breakdance.

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When designing the costumes, I wanted to draw a stark visual contrast between Esther’s two worlds: her traditional, rule-abiding Hasidic life versus her newfound freedom of expression within the breaking community. Much of my influence for the breakers’ clothing was cherry-picked from the 1970s, 80s and 90s: encompassing the birth through the height of ‘old school’ hip-hop and breakdancing. We wanted to depict a ‘wonderland’ of sorts that Esther discovers outside the confinement of the Hasidic community she grew up in. By using larger-than-life colors, oversized silhouettes coupled with skin-tight and skin-baring clothing, I was able to illustrate the dancers’ total liberty of self-expression through clothing and movement — which is forbidden in Esther’s world. In contrast, Esther and Avi are dressed soberly in traditional black-and-white garments which cloak their bodies from neck to ankle, as if held captive by their clothing.

Watch the Trailer

Written by: Stephanie Bollag & Lily Lyor Askenazi; Directed by: Stephanie Bollag

Starring: Naian González Norvind, Sawandi Wilson, Martha Bernabel, Jennifer ‘Beasty’ Acosta, Odylle ‘Mantis’ Beder, Nadjaya Delgado, Samantha Dunn, Pesach Eisen, Alex Hershkowitz

Producers: Stephanie Bollag, Kim Dang, Yves Kugelman, Lisa Mayer-Sommer, Geraldine Schubert

Cinematographer: Zamarin Wahdat; Production Designer: Erin Blake; Composer: Victoria de la Vega; Choreographer: Yansen Abreu; HMU: Molly Fredenberg; Stills Photographer: Emma Trim