BUTTERFLY, The Australian Ballet School

Butterfly is a modern fairy tale told through movement, blending realism and magic with classical and contemporary technique. Designed to appeal to all ages, it features 80 full-time students of The Australian Ballet School. Choreographed by Lucas Jervies, with costume and set design by Hugh Colman, this new production fully embraced textile design and digital fabric printing to bring its vision to life.

Working from Hugh Colman’s costume designs, we transformed fabrics into living pieces of art. The process began with creating toiles for each garment, mapping out major design lines and motifs to ensure precise placement. These design elements were then digitized, and graphic artwork was meticulously painted digitally to achieve the painterly aesthetic seen in Hugh’s designs. Sampling and color testing followed to refine colors, textures, and placement.

Once finalised, we moved into bulk production, printing custom-designed fabric panels tailored to each garment. Every piece was cut and sewn with precision, contributing to a cohesive, hand-painted effect across the entire production—a testament to the power of digital printing in costume design.

Butterfly, 2021 The Australian Ballet School

Production Credits

Choreography: Lucas Jervies
Music: ‘Le Papillon’ by Jacques Offenbach
Set, Property & Costume Designer: Hugh Colman
Lighting Design: Paul Jackson

Photo Credits: Sergey Konstantinov & Lynette Wills