Kitchener-Waterloo·Photos

Stratford Festival reveals costumes for Love's Labour's Lost

CBC News got an exclusive look at the costumes for Stratford Festival's production of Love's Labour's Lost, which begins previews on July 30.

Actress Ruby Joy insists wearing a corset is comfortable. 

"I love wearing a corset. I think it's fantastic," she says, running her hands along the structured bodice of her costume. 

"If you're wearing a bad corset, it's terrible. It's the worst. Because it's cutting into you in the wrong way, you don't feel like you have room to breathe." 

In contrast, the corset she is wearing now was designed and fitted to her frame, for her role as Princess of France in Stratford Festival's production of Love's Labour's Lost

Joy says that tailored touch makes all the difference. 

"I can't express enough how amazing a bespoke outfit is. You sort of think 'oh, these pants fit me' or 'this top fits me' when you go into J. Crew or H&M. And then you get in a corset that's been built for your body and you realize, 'Oh no. This is a second skin'," she explains.

Love's Labour's Lost begins previews on Thursday, July 30, and CBC Kitchener-Waterloo got an exclusive look at the costumes for the production during a final fitting. 

Listen to that conversation with Ruby Joy and designer Patrick Clark, below.