O (Cirque Du Soleil) - Costumes

Costumes

Costumes for O drew inspiration from many sources: commedia dell'arte, the Baroque, India, the Arabian Nights, as well as Venetian courtly fashions. The costumes' silhouettes are defined by the design and are accentuated by the transparency of the selected materials and fabrics. Many costumes' base design are leotards which are then expounded upon: this includes the Zebras and Flayed Ones, among others. The Flayed Ones' leotards, for example, originally had hand-painted muscles on them, as digital screen-printing was inaccessible at the time of creation. Another special attribute critical to costumes in O is their treatment to help withstand the water and chemicals in it. To achieve this feat, roughly 40% of the costumes have been applied with a specific type of silicon sizing. In addition, the materials chosen are more durable and had to be able to both mould to the performer's body and dry quickly. Over the years the best fabric found for the costumes has been nylon mesh, which performs well either wet or dry.

A few additional facts regarding the costumes include these below.

• A separate room was built with timed heaters and fans to air-dry many of the costumes which cannot be tumble-dried.
• Sixty loads of laundry are done nightly to wash the costumes which can be machine washed.
• The swimmers' costumes are replaced every 3 months.
• The Comets' costumes last for a full year.