Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2011 - 17

A few years later the Met asked Diffen back, under somewhat closer budgetary control but full artistic freedom. "I was
there for ten years as resident designer." But, he adds, "There
was not much designing. "Costumer would have been a better
title. I had to deal with different figures and different women.
I had to fit Pavarotti and Domingo, and Sharon Sweet. She
was big."
Diffen says that working with stars was always difficult for
him. "Barbara was the one who was always very good at making
stars' clothes and making the stars feel comfortable. But I loved
working for the opera, and I loved Sally Caldwell. She did some
wonderful work. My favorite designers were Irene Sharaff, of
course, and Alvin Colt, and Desmond Heeley. Willa Kim was always a very faithful designer."
Today Diffen lives quietly at his sister's country house, "a
beautiful brick Edwardian pile," as Roberts calls it. He speaks
regularly on the phone with friends in New York, and still
works, but mostly with larger needles. "I do a lot of quilting
these days, and dictating my memoirs. The last dress I made
was a wedding dress for my niece, that was in 2006."
John David Ridge started working for Diffen as a draper
in 1966, contemporary with Parsons. He left in 1970 to run
the costume department at Julliard. Then from 1975 to 1980
he ran the workrooms at BVH before taking over design for the
Halston line. "He was brilliant doing that," says Diffen.
Today Ridge designs for stage, film, and television. "Ray
taught me so much," says Ridge. "He believed in tossing
people into the deep end of the pool, and his standards were
very high."

Despite Diffen's claims that he did not know how to handle stars, Ridge says "Ray dealt very well with people, designers
as well as actors." But it was as a draper that he shone brightest: "Ray knew how to make anything, and if he didn't know,
he figured it out. And he loved a challenge. I remember one
design that called for a quick change. I asked the designer how
we were supposed to close the quick change, and Ray said,
'Oh, don't take all the fun out of dressmaking.'"
Diffen brought "English attention to detail and period
authenticity," says Ridge. "When he started Ray represented
a whole different way of making clothes. Not just so that they
looked right, but were built historically accurately. That was
perfect for designers like Irene Sharaff who knew how to get
the most out of them. But regardless of the designer Ray and
Barbara always made clothes for the stage, not just costumes.
They did it right regardless of the design."

"...regardless of the designer
Ray and Barbara always made clothes
for the stage, not just costumes.
They did it right regardless of the design."

Barbara Matera in her shop. Courtesy of the personal
collection of Jared Aswegan.

Barbara Matera, Unlimited
After some initial tension when she established her own shop
in 1967, the gleesome threesome of Ray Diffen, his protégé'
Barbara Matera, and her husband and business manager Arthur remained close friends. Contemporaries recall sumptuous
weekends and fabulous parties at their vacation home in Athens, NY, in the Hudson Valley, north of New York.
"Barbara never wanted to have a huge shop," says Jared
Aswegan current owner of Matera's. "She wanted to be small
and work on challenging stuff with fun people. Her core philosophy was to be creative and fun. The shop got big with no
one really noticing." Originally Tony Meechum from Switzerland was also a partner in Matera Ltd. says Aswegan.
There is a Broadway legend that Madame Karinska once
met Matera in the lobby of a theater and pantomimed passing a crown from her own head to Matera's. As allegory the
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2011