COSTUMES Amaluna costume designer Mérédith ... - Cirque du Soleil

COSTUMES
Amaluna costume designer Mérédith Caron has brought a company of fabulous and
eclectic characters to life through the magic of her creations. She imagined the world of
the show – the mysterious island of Amaluna – as existing somewhere in the
Mediterranean as a true meeting place between East and West, a distant land where
ancient and modern times overlap and blend harmoniously, and several different eras
and cultures have seemingly melded into the same location.
Her complex multidimensional costumes evoke a world of day and night that is
unquestionably contemporary, yet overlaid with the spirit of the Elizabethan period and
containing subtle references to the Orient and Scandinavia. “It’s the encounter of
humanity, the glorification of the beauty of the human being,” she explains.
The Amaluna costumes are a symbiosis between theatre and acrobatics. For Mérédith,
the character and the costume are inseparable. “One calls out to the other. It is a
communion, a symbiotic relationship,” she says. “But above all, it is the artist that I
dress.”
To dress the artists, Mérédith has created “progressive” costumes with multiple
configurations. Some of them put on a parade uniform for the more theatrical moments
in the show, and performance costumes when they perform their act. Many of the
garments are equipped with pads and other removable parts – the wearers might, for
example, remove the sleeves and keep their doublets on, or remove the doublets
altogether and perform in their shirts.
Women with the right stuff
Amaluna recreates a fabulous female mythology on stage. Inspired by Asia Minor, the
corseted costumes of the Amazon warriors are augmented with ponytails and highheeled
black and red leather boots in a look that is more fantasy than historical reality.

The world of Amaluna is also populated by a layer of unruly half-human, half-animal
characters, freely inspired by the world of Shakespeare’s Tempest. Lizards, peacocks and
fairies rub shoulders with each other.
Denim – A contemporary material and emblem of adolescence
The choice of materials is as important to Mérédith Caron as the lines of the garments.
She has given denim doublets worn by the Boys who land on the island of Amaluna a
distinctly Renaissance look: The sleeves are slashed to reveal the lining, and the
garments are embellished with a very 18 th century velvet flocking to create the
impression of a contemporary jean jacket.
Queen Prospera’s daughter Miranda, who is about to move into adulthood in this
remote environment, wears linen, cambric and distressed velvet – a selection that is
highly reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance. Her costume expresses her enthusiasm
and thirst for discovery.
The meeting of the aesthetic and the acrobatic
Some of the items are quite voluminous, but even though they are also light, they are
never allowed to impede the free movement of the artists. The costumes with pink
accents worn by the girls for the Icarian Games act feature removable tutus so as not to
hinder their movements. The Renaissance-style sleeves are open at the armpits to
ensure their arms will have a full range of motion.
The costumes of the two unicyclists are fitted with cages that hide their legs in a
reference to the aesthetics of the Spanish Golden Age. The cages are made of
perforated material to allow the artists to see the unicycle seats. During their act the
cages break into two pieces, announcing the start of the storm after which the budding
love between Miranda and her suitor will be tested.
Raw talent and musicianship
The musicians in Queen Prospera’s entourage are creatures of the night who wear
costumes that underline their strong personalities and their rock star aura with a really
current look. Mérédith was inspired by the clothing styles of major figures in the worlds
of music, fashion and film such as k.d. lang , Roy Orbison, John Galliano, Tim Burton and
even a rock version of the Village People. “You might well see girls in these kinds of
clothes among the heterogeneous fauna of a bar in avant-garde Berlin, for example,”
says Mérédith. “Hence the link between the costumes, the music and the decidedly rock
sensibility of a show that celebrates beauty in all its guises.”

Close-ups on the costumes
• Queen Prospera wears a large golden mantle composed of four rectangles on which
are printed in sublimation the cover image of GAIA, the book of photographs taken
in space by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté. It shows a majestic cloud system
captured at a distance of 350 km above the earth's surface.
• The peacock costumes are made up of 14 layers of heat-pleated materials trimmed
in leather and stretch metallic fabric. The tails open out to a “fan” of eight feet with
hydraulic pistons that compensate for their weight. Made in the same proportion to
the performers’ bodies as the bird’s fans have to theirs, the tails are attached to the
artists with belts that hide the mechanisms under embroidered feathers. The
skeleton and leaves of the fans are made of the same Fiberglass material used in the
manufacture of fishing rods, and screen-printed metallic paper is glued to the leaves
to recreate the iridescent look of peacock plumage.
• For the Valkyries’ costumes in the Aerial Straps act, Mérédith Caron was inspired by
the oceans, above and below the surface. Shades of blue and green evoking
Scandinavia mix with shades of sky and sea to compose a soothing palette of
sophistication.
• The cages of the unicyclists’ costumes have a diameter of almost five feet and a
height of two-and-a-half feet. The materials they are made of include Kevlar – a
thermoplastic polymer – and gold leaf.
• The white dress worn by the artist performing the Peacock Dance comprises a
bustier and a skirt. The bustier is made of stretch nylon tulle covered with white
beaded lace and Swarovski crystals. The skirt is made of 65 yards of white nonstretch
nylon tulle covered with silver lace and Swarovski crystals. The dress has a
total of 6,500 Swarovski crystals and 325 silver lace additions. The tail features 12
two-meter pleated polyester voile panels with sunray pleats (bias-cut knife pleats,
narrower at the top than at the bottom, producing a flared effect), printed with
white peacock feather designs.
• There are over 130 costumes in Amaluna, made up of nearly 800 different items.