• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.1-13
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to examine the trend of plural eclecticism in costumes appearing on the stages of the world's top 4 musicals based on the general researches and establishments made of the mentioned concept. The conclusions of this study are as follows. First, the aspects of eclectics appearing in overall pieces can be defined as situational eclecticism. It can be attributed to the dramatic elements contrasted in the storyline of the musical and occurs in mixture with various situations. Showing combinations of costumes from varying situations at once in the same stage makes the audience feel the dynamic elements of the piece. Second, the aspect of temporal eclecticism, which can be seen in the 'Phantom of the Opera' regarding mixture of crinoline style and art nouveau style, resulted from the partial mixture of classical elements for maximizing visual beauty in the historical pieces. Third, the aspect of spatial eclecticism can be observed in the musical 'Miss Saigon', which used costumes that combined multicultural elements by exposing different spaces and cultures such as America and Vietnam. It eclectically expresses the unique cultures and costumes of each country. Fourth, 'Les Miserables' shows the aspect of situational eclecticism, through its use of mixture of situations in various aspects, and in particular, the male and female costumes that blur the boundaries of life, death, and costume, the mixture of people's costume and aristocrat's costume, and the situational elements where the good and evil are contrasted are integrated eclectically to make the story dramatic.