James Kudelka’s modern take on The Nutcracker has fast become a holiday tradition for Torontonians. The National Ballet’s Russian-themed production is now entering its 11th year, and will make its Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts debut on December 9. Set to the strains of Tchaikovsky’s enchanting score, the production features cannon dolls, a snow queen, little chefs and an ethereal Sugar Plum Fairy emerging from a Fabergé egg. Wardrobe head Marjory Fielding and wardrobe assistant Grant Heaps—both with the company for more 10 years—are responsible for the hundreds of costumes used in each show. Here, they talk about the costumes’ design, keeping the outfits fresh and ensuring things go off without a hitch.

This is an unconventional Nutcracker. There are bears on roller skates, and Toronto celebrities such Adam Vaughan and Doug Gilmour come in and dress up as clowns, right?
MF: They’re called cannon dolls; they’re celebrity guests. It’s a fun way to get more people involved.

Who actually designs the costumes?
MF: Santo Loquasto is a designer based in New York. We work with him quite a lot. He designs all the Nutcracker costumes and sets. He also designed the costumes and set for An Italian Straw Hat and Theme and Variations.

Do you know where he gets his inspiration?
MF: It’s a Russian theme. I don’t know which sources he used. But he’s a very talented designer, and he just takes off on the shape and time period he’s designing for. You still have the feel of the period, the place where the ballet is set, but it’s more of a fantasy.

Up close, the costumes are very elaborate, even gaudy.
MF: Without all the embellishment, the dancers tend to look like paper dolls, as though there’s nothing defining their shape. Santo does a lot of layering of different patterns.

How many costumes are there in The Nutcracker?
MF: Roughly 120. Right now we’re creating for Sleeping Beauty, which is the biggest ballet. There are about 200 costumes, but it’s three acts. The Nutcracker is 120 in two acts.
GH: They are actually doing children’s fittings over the next few days in here. There are about 60 children per show, in approximately 90 roles—little guards and little chefs. The guards actually quick-change into chefs during the show.
MF: The children’s costumes are made so that they can be altered. These can be lengthened using the bars—hooks spaced at different lengths and widths on the back of the costumes—and also expanded in width. We have bars on the adult costumes as well, because they all use the same ones. But children can grow so fast, it’s important that we can alter them quickly.

How do you keep the costumes in such good shape? Do you tell the kids they can’t run around in them?
MF: Well, we attempt to do that.
GF: The children really are great; they’re very focused and disciplined.

Do the costumes go into storage then after they’ve been used?
MF: They get cleaned and then, every year around the end of November, we pull them out and do repairs. That way everything looks beautiful and is strong enough to withstand the dancing.