The alleys of the huge Cirque du Soleil costume workshop, located on the outskirts of Frédéric-Back Park, are teeming and bubbling. In the aftermath of the ice storm at the beginning of April, this almost magical effervescence reflects the home stretch that the dozens of little hands have just approached ECHO.
It must be said that, four years after its creation, it was high time to see the Cirque’s most recent show materialize on stage, for which a whole chain of artisans was mobilized to design an unprecedented texture that resembles crumpled paper, the common point of the costumes of all the characters, whether animals or humans, in this poetic fable about our relationship to the world.
“Since that doesn’t exist, we had to speak with our suppliers and our in-house researchers to develop our own transformed fabric,” explains Claudia Petta, coordinator at the costume workshop, a true center of expertise where very specific trades, such as hat makers and wig makers.
“The transformation of materials is really what defines Cirque when it comes to costumes. We never use a material as it is, as we can find it in a store, ”adds Tania Camiré, assistant to Nicolas Vaudelet, costume designer for the show. And to continue: “We had to find how to create an impression of crumpled paper, so that the artists were able to wear the garment and perform with it, to do acrobatics. »
From 2019, the conceptualization of this material occupies an important place. On the eve of the presentation ofECHO under the Big Top of the Circus, in the Old Port of Montreal, on April 20, the last balls of fabric — soaked in steam and then stored for a while to keep them crumpled — are almost ready to be transformed into stage.
Well-oiled mechanics
Thanks to the skills and techniques honed over the years, the Cirque du Soleil costume workshop is now able to invent and manufacture pieces from A to Z. “70% of our costumes are made using research and development, whether in the transformation of fabrics, textile design, etc. “, emphasizes Claudia Petta. Most of the clothing intended for shows thus originates from a raw material, natural or synthetic, white, which will be modified by dyeing, sublimation, screen printing or any other process of alteration.
All this very collaborative work then comes to life in one of the costume design rooms. “The first thing to do when an artist arrives is to take measurements, to the nearest millimeter, and a 3D scan of his head,” says Tania Camiré. Given the complexity of the numbers performed during the shows, there is no other solution than tailor-made. “The headgear must in particular be comfortable and hold up during high aerobatics. You can’t afford to neglect technique. There are a lot of parameters to take into account,” she says.
In this regard, Claudia Petta does not fail to insist on the fact that almost all the artists ofECHO wear something on their heads, like the 26 animals performed in the Circus arena. “When the artists unfold in the air, it’s important that they don’t lose their hats and that they can see well,” she says.
To do this, all the artisans of the costume workshop rely on the APTO standard (for Artistic, Performance, Techniques and Operations) developed by Cirque du Soleil, which ensures both aesthetics, the comfort, safety and reproducibility of the garments. “We will always try to find the materials best suited to the artist’s act, to preserve the look, but also so that he is able to put on his show,” recalls the coordinator.
The unusual
“We also have access to a lot of materials that are normally used in the medical environment,” adds Tania Camiré. Installed at her workstation in the clothing workshop, the props maker Véronique Marcoux boasts for her part of the advantages of this diversion of initial function, done for example with Podiatech. “You just have to heat it up and mold it directly on the body. It’s great, because it resists processing and cleans up well. You have to think about life on tour! she points out.
Then comes the moment of the fittings by the artists. “We make them wear their costumes during rehearsals, and that’s how we see what needs to be improved. The acrobatic sequences are really a stage in the validation of the costumes,” says Tania Camiré. There can be a lot of costume back and forth, depending on the performance; they are essential to achieve the result that will be discovered during the presentation of the show. “It’s a multi-pronged process, quite long, but when you approve things, you’ve gotten the hang of it,” she says.
The Cirque du Soleil’s costume workshop, the largest in North America, and perhaps even in the world, also contains another incredible place: the Materials Library. “That’s where we keep all our samples,” reveals Tania Camiré, who adds that this unique space for creativity pushes her and her team to always go further. “Without that, we wouldn’t have fun,” she concludes. As for Claudia Petta, she is convinced that with all the knowledge, all the tools and all the resources available to the group, the possibilities are endless…