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Gabriella Slade is a British costume designer, best known for her work in musicals such as Six, The Cher Show and In the Heights. For her work in the musical Six, she has received the Tony Award for Best Costume Design in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical in 2022, as well as a nomination for the Olivier Award for Best Costume Design in 2019.
Slade was born in Basingstoke, England[1] and trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, graduating with a First class degree in Theatre Design.[2]
Slade was the costume designer for the UK production of In the Heights in 2014.[3][4] The show opened at the Southwark Playhouse to then transfer to the Kings Cross Theatre. In 2015 she was costume designer for the Edinburgh premiere production of Love Birds.[5]
In 2017 Slade collaborated with Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss on the show Six, when it was first launched at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She has been part of the show since, receiving several nominations and awards for her work, both in the UK and US.
The costumes for the musical are meant to be a mix between pop and Tudor, with each queen being inspired by a pop artist: Catherine of Aragon by Beyoncé, Anne Boleyn by Miley Cyrus, Jane Seymour by a mix of Adele and Sia, Anne of Cleves by a mix of Nicki Minaj and Rihanna, Catherine Howard by Ariana Grande and Catherine Parr by Alicia Keys. Each queen is also represented by a specific color, with, for example, Anne Boleyn being green, as a reference to the "green sleeves" she is often associated with.[6]
Slade also designed the costumes for the UK, US and Australian Tours of the show.
She designed the costumes for the Spice World Arena tour in 2019.[7]
In 2021 Slade become the costume designer for the musical Bedknobs and Broomsticks which had a full UK tour run.[8] In the same year she was nominated for a WhatsOnStage Award and Broadway World Award for Best Costume Design for her work on the show.
Slade was part of the creative team for the 2023 UK transfer of The Cher Show, with Arlene Phillips as director and Oti Mabuse as choreographer. In creating the costumes for the show Slade said to have been inspired by Bob Mackie's iconic looks for Cher, as well as some modern pop icons, like Lady Gaga and J-Lo[9] The show presents Cher in three different eras and the role is divided between three actresses: Millie O’Connell plays Babe, Danielle Steers plays Lady and Debbie Kurup plays Star.[10]
Slade won the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Costume Design in 2023, for her work on the show.[11]
UK Awards
| Year | Nominated Work | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | In the Heights | Off-West End Awards | Best Costume Design | Nominated |
| 2019 | Six | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Costume Design | Nominated |
| Off-West End Awards | Best Costume Design | Won | ||
| WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Costume Design | Nominated | ||
| 2021 | Bedknobs and Broomsticks | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Costume Design | Nominated |
| Broadway World Award | Best Costume Design | Nominated | ||
| 2023 | The Cher Show | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Costume Design | Won |
US Awards
| Year | Nominated Work | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Six | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design in a Musical | Won |
| Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical | Won | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Costume Design | Won |
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