It was a busy day today so I thought a couple of pictures from King Lear of 2007 might be nice to look at.
Lear entered through the house, down the main aisle of the theatre, and up onto the stage, so everybody got a good look at the cloak all spread out trailing behind him. He then walked up onto a raised platform where his throne was, and swished it all to the side and sat down. It was a great entrance.
He wore a gold long-sleeved under gown with lace cuffs(supported with Dior net and fishing line, if I recall) and the ruff, attached to the collar, and then the cape with a short over capelet, trimmed in graduated sized bands of gold lame and lines of gold soutache. Lined in gold organza to try to keep it lighter in weight. The reddish dupioni cross sash came from the under gown hip, cross the front and finished on his back right shoulder in a big rosette with tails. Then there was the chain of office. All of this had to be rigged so that everything stayed put, but also had to be able to be undone and got out of quickly.
Ann Curtis designed this show.

p.s fishing line-well, what we have found that works to support things like lace cuffs is the innards of rigilene polyester boning. It's made up of thick translucent filaments like a very heavy fishing line that you can cut apart and then zig over to give support..