This week in DidYaKnow? we’re dipping into the Cirque du Soleil fact archives for a little insight into costumes for Quidam:
- The fabrics and textures used in Quidam reflect the variegated hues of a megalopolis inhabited by street people. Working in close cooperation, the costume designer and the director have created characters and costumes that reflect the performer personalities.
- Fabrics – Basic costume and lining materials include leather, jute, linen, crepe, wool, velvet, lycra and 42 varieties of silk and 30 varieties of cotton from England, France, Italy and California.
- Colors – The color scheme relies heavily on grey, accented by rich, warm colors and metallic tones.
- There are approximately 250 costumes, 500 costume items and 200-300 shoes in Quidam.
- Each artist has between 2-7 costumes each.
- Each costume is specifically designed for the artist and there are two spares of every costume.
- The costumes of the Banquine troupe in Act One and Act Two are the same design but in different colors. In Act One they are more colorful representing characters in real life. In Act Two the colors of the costumes are muted representing life after war, after tragedy.
- There are 20 wigs in the show which are made from natural hair and are washed and styled for every show! These wigs are hand made specifically for the artist in the costume workshop in Montreal.
- All the shoes are hand painted to blend in with the colors of the costume. These shoes are re-touched and painted everyday. The paint colors need to be exact and are mixed in the costume department on tour.
- There are 30 hats in Quidam including the bowler hat of the Quidam Character which the character Zoe uses to enter the magical world
- All the costumes that touch the skin must be washed everyday and depending on the fabric they are either machine washed, dry-cleaned or hand washed.
- As the artists are so physical there are a lot of repairs to be done on the costumes. The costumes from acts that have friction with apparatus such as Aerial Hoops and Spanish Webs have to be replaced and repaired more often. Costumes last anywhere between 6 months to two years.
- Each costume design goes through at least 10 drafts before the final one is selected.
- Eighty percent of the fabric is custom dyed. These fabrics are usually white and are hand-dyed and printed in custom colors in the costume shop in Montreal.
{SOURCE: Cirque du Soleil}
