Lyric Opera 2025-2026 Issue 7 - A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 28 ’90s-era grunge, the steampunk costumery of the much-lauded “Tonight, Tonight” video, the album’s well-known iconography — but Billy had another vision in mind, one that perhaps paid homage to the Lyric Opera House itself. “Billy kept throwing around this Art Deco feeling he wanted to convey with the [costumes], but not in a period-correct way,” Chloé says. “He wanted the feeling of Art Deco without it being precise. So I started going backward. Like, what if David Bowie was in an Art Deco movie? That’s how we broke it down.” Each of the five looks onstage bears the House of Gilles stamp: They’re modern-day designer pieces worthy of a runway or red carpet, and true to the individual artists, yet cohesive, part of a common story. The process took roughly six months: There was cutting, pattern-making, and fitting; each costume required at least four separate fittings. “The men are in tuxedos, like a 1930s man would be, but we took artistic license,” Chloé says. “They have exaggerated shoulders; it’s slightly theatrical, slightly Bowie-esque.” Chloé and Gilles worked with printmaker Simon Ungless, a longtime collaborator with designer Alexander McQueen, to finish the pieces. “We did this painting technique on the coats where they look almost wet, but when you look closely, it’s all lace designs,” Chloé says. “The lace transfers are done with a vinyl paint texture, so from afar they will look wet and textural, but when you look up close, it’s actually fine art details.” For the women — soprano Sydney Mancasola and mezzo-soprano Zoie Reams — Chloé and Gilles tapped into their brand’s DNA: romantic, ethereal gowns, impeccably constructed. “The Photo by Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Photo by Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images