Jonna Hayden designs and builds costumes—incredible costumes!
Her costumes aren’t the ones you might find at Halloween parties or those you might see at special social events. Hayden does have an affinity for science fiction and fantasy fashion, including that of Star Trek and comic book conventions. And she also has long-standing ties to the historical roleplaying activities of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) and a record of crafting amazing garments for the Renaissance Faire crowd.
But, for the past 20 years, Hayden’s fashion artistry has been increasingly showcased on local and regional stages. Her expert tailoring and costume design are now associated with the best of the Eugene-area performing arts scene.
She’s known for dressing the artists who work in theater troupes, dance groups, and musical performance companies. Those groups include a long list of small, successful performing arts organizations as well as all the resident arts companies at the Hult Center: Eugene Opera, Eugene Ballet, Eugene Symphony, Eugene Concert Choir, and Ballet Fantastique.
It’s fair to say that Jonna Hayden is a woman of substance and an artist of unique personal design.
Hayden started sewing when she was 5 years old. Raised in a Navy family, young Jonna followed the example of her hard-working mother, who tailored dresses for military officers’ wives.
“I was always in fabric stores,” Hayden says. “I remember riding in shopping carts and running my hand across fabrics as Mom made her way down the store aisles. And I remember the sound of flipping pages in pattern books. To me that was home!”
