Employing smart technology in theatrical costume design

This thesis is about smart technologies and innovative fabrics represented in theatrical costume design in the modern era. After giving information on costume design and smart textiles as a theoretical framework, the applied part of the study is presented as the author's own models for costume design using smart technology. Thus, in the thesis, certain questions were tried to be answered by considering these issues. Throughout the study, the author realized the difficulty of obtaining smart textiles, both because of the very high prices and trying to find the places where they are sold. So, the author designed and produced the textiles and costumes on her own by way of the necessary electronic equipment, namely the microcontroller, a set of LEDs and inflatable clothes, which are used in two different performances. It is understood, as a result, that smart theatrical costumes could help to form an entertaining show with a captivating and almost magical atmosphere, where, for example, the colors are used to express the psychological state of the theatrical performer, and the inflatable costumes enable the actors to reach impossible shapes and sizes. Costume design using modern technologies opens the doors for new theatrical performances that could not be held in the past. Keywords: theatrical costume design, smart technology, theater, fashion design