A costume from the Chekhov Collective’s production of The Seagull, designed by Judy Cornish and Joyce Gunhouse of Comrags. All photos by Katherine Holland.

With only a week until the opening night show of Anton Chekhov’s
The Seagull, the designers behind beloved
Toronto label Comrags—who are creating the wardrobe for The Chekhov Collective’s production—are sewing the final touches before sending off the costumes to the theatre company—and then getting to work on their fall collection. No pressure.

But the affable Judy Cornish and Joyce Gunhouse are used to working under the unforgiving deadlines of putting out a 70-piece collection for the runway—only this time, their world’s a stage and inspiration is the 19th century Russian countryside. And they have 10 actors to model their looks. From their Dundas West studio, Gunhouse, hunched over a sewing machine, and Cornish, assembling looks on mannequins and snapping photos of the final outfits, chatted about their first foray in theatrical costume design, and why the looks (er, costumes) are suspiciously reminiscent of the Comrags woman.
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