- In the opening act, Desdemona appeared to be wearing her wedding dress, which not only symbolizes her love for Othello but her purity to him as well. However, once the intermission was over we see a drastic costume change. We now see her wearing a bright red gown that coincidently goes along with Othello’s speech about the impure hand. In the play Othello says “Hot, hot, and moist… For here’s a young and sweating devil here” (Act 3, Sc. 4) about Desdemona’s character. Because Desdemona’s hand is tainted the marriage will crumble, according to Othello. Iago’s manipulation towards Desdemona’s character causes Othello to see her in this different light, or in this case represented in different clothing. Before when there was no manipulation Desdemona’s costumes were white but now once her image was tainted in Othello’s eyes her costume, in a sense, becomes tainted. Thus, the costumes of Desdemona reflect Othello’s vision of her.
- Othello’s costumes were unique in style as compared to the other men in the play. When we are fist introduced to Othello, he has a murky blue leather shirt as his undershirt a drastic contrast to the uniform black among the men. It is as if the costume reflects his foreign status among the state of Cyprus. On the other spectrum we have Iago, whose costume is pretty stagnant throughout the whole play. He wears his dark trench coat/under shirt and never goes through a drastic costume change. The lack of any costume of changes reflects Iago’s stagnant character throughout the play. From the beginning he is manipulative a trait that continues on to the very end.
- Other minor costume changes are revolved around Cassio. When Cassio was stripped of his power, his badge was ripped from his costume. Cassio’s whole costume revolved around the badge. For example, when his badge is stripped from him, Cassio’s whole character falls. It is almost as if the costume design for Cassio represents his character. What is also interesting to note was that when the badge was thrown to the floor, Iago quickly picks it up and holds it behind his back. It is as if the badge holds all the power, and if Iago lets it go he won’t get that power.
