Costume II Cirque Du Soleil's KA

I went on a trip back to where I was born and we stopped by Las Vegas for a few days.

I was never much of a gambler and instead took great interest in the sights and some shopping, but what I was really looking forward to was the shows that were being performed there. Las Vegas, apart from being known as the city of sin, is also known to be the city of Cirque Du Soleil. With around 5 plus shows running in different theatres in the area.

I was walking around and I came upon the costumes of KA, I had even managed to pass by the theatre entrance and saw some of the souvenir shops there.

The first thing that popped into my head when I saw the costumes was " Now, I really want to see this production." Unfortunately I was not able to watch it when I was there, instead I turned to the internet to satiate my thirst to watch it. Lo and behold! I found videos of the whole production online. It would have been much better in person but this was a great find for me.

The costumes on the stage were breathtaking. I love their whole concept of the "noh" theatre with the addition of various asian influences throughout.

The costume I came upon during my walk was one of the archers, where seen in the production have tattoos all over their body and they wear leather pants and masks as well. The craftsman ship in it was beyond par and to think they would be running and tumbling around in it made it more impressive.

The other costume was one of the forest creatures, it was latex + spandex with mesh, printed and bejeweled by little glittering "gems". The color that was used were blues and yellows.

But after watching the whole thing I came to appreciate every single article of clothing that I could see. Everything was beautiful and extravagant. They were also very smart for all of performers could move in it freely without feeling any restrictions.

These are the promotional pictures that were on the Cirque Du Soleil site, even though these outfits were not used, they are still works of art in themselves.I like the way that they used white, gold and red. Even the way they separate the Twin Sister from the Twin Brother was smart. The fake chest of the boy was a smart choice for the stage.

These are the costumes that they actually use onstage, red for the girl and green for the boy. I love colors and the patterns that they used, it definitely comes from Asian influence. Cuts that they use are also interesting since it isn't completely Asian, more a fusion and a play on the silhouettes and colors onstage that convey that mythical eastern feel.

I found this picture of Katy Perry and Rihanna with the twins and I decided to use it since you could see their costumes in full view. This is the formal wear of the twins, very different from their clothing at the beginning. At the beginning they wore identical styled robes and here they wear significantly different robes, it is to symbolize that they've grown up and have created their own identity and also to create the distinction between them. I love the robe of the boy, its a cape from his jacket and he has a separate "skirt". If one would notice his costume was more Thai and Malay inspired. The kimono robe of the girl was extravagant and simple, for the quick costume change, but nonetheless still a beautiful piece. Her clothing inspiration is derived more from Oriental East as compared to her brother's SouthEast Asian garbs. Might I add that even their shoes are well though out.

This is a promotional picture of the Officer, his clothing is more on the white, red and gold. His headdress is the focal point of the outfit with the feathers and all and his skirt (not seen here) has slits so that when he moves one can see the movement of the clothing adding to the movement of his body. This reminds me of the chinese acrobats.

Though he wears the least amount of clothing, the Jester cannot be left out. His pants are similar to the wrappings that are more commonly seen with ninjas. Color wise it seemed quite washed out but it is greatly complimented by the makeup that he wears.

The Evil Counselor and His Son. The counselor's outfits is very simple and bright, to say the least, but it convey's his age. His shoes (not presented) are quite similar to the geisha geta shoes that are high and platformed, but in boot form. His son on the other hand sports tattoos all over his body as well as wearing black leather and the style of his pants are similar to armour. The tattoos are printed on a body suit, this makes it more distinct on the stage and it does not distract the audiences when they sweat and move around.

The focus here would be on the bug and not the valet. The puppet was well made and considering it's holding some acrobat inside, the movement is not restricted on the stage and kudos to the one who made it. It's just so believable.

These are the female archers, they have the same tattoos on their arms, they wear leather bodices and woven belts, similar to those of the Ifugao weavings. Their masks and headresses remind me of assassins.

Here a member of the Olympic team is posing with one of the archers and the Archer's daughter. In comparison to the other archers of her tribe, the daughter wears the least amount of black leather and instead wears a bright pink floral ensemble to stand out. I love her boots, it printed with red caps. If you notice the other archer, she is wearing boots, the toes are merely painted on. This is for safety when it comes to the stunts and also to the moving stages. The tattoos are definitely Japanese, derived from a famous artwork " The Great Wave Off Kanagawa" by Hokusai. Most of the tattoos are of cascading waves.

The nursemaid's outfit is relatively quite simple and follows the same color scheme as the valets. Despite the simplicity of her outfit, I love the hat she is wearing. It is definitely some kind of pinya fiber that was used, and the overall look is achieved with the outfit.

Here you can see the Firefly Boy with the Twin Sister. His costume is a full body suit designed with rhinestones and such that reflect the light as he moves. His belt is red and follows the armour design of the east but has a feel similar to the sumo wrestlers in Japan. Twin Sister's outfit here is more visible. Their colors match.

These are the mountain people, their colors are more of the grey tones and most of their outfits are made of fur, but my favorite part of their outfit are their glasses. It's just so kooky.

The valets are the ones who help the Twin Sister escape. Their clothing follow the red tones of the nursemaid's outfit, but since they are the ones who provide more comic relief they wear prints of red and green.

This is one of the dancers at the opening of the performance. The clothing is quite similar to the Officer's outfit, see the slits of the costume? I like the way the colors mesh together and the style makes the whole ambience very out of this world. I like her headdress, it reminds me of the Tibetan and Indian headdresses.

Here are the archers, like I mentioned earlier, aren't their costumes stunning?

These are the forest people. I saw this on display. It's mind blowing to see it in person.

The Archer's Den

The Pageant. Here you can see the other character present. The Empress, the one wearing the huge headdress, is in all white in a white corset dress, geisha style obi belt and kimono sleeves. When she walks out she looks like a statue. The Emperor, the one ewaring the rust belt, is wearing clothing similar to the Thai and the Indian costumes. He's wearing rich rust colored cloth and a beautiful silk sari. His hat, like the Empress, is like the chinese headdresses. Both of them are wearing white platform geta boot shoes to emphasize their height (like the counselor). The Twins are wearing identical royal robes, similar to their parents. White and gold on the outside and their respective colors on the inside. In the more recent performances they wear full red and full green robes.

The other costumes are richly printed and follow the same color scheme. All having the same theme and cuts vary with each person's position
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Here is another picture of the Pageant. See the twins wearing different colored robes?

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All in all, I find that Chantale Vaillancourt did a very good job in term of fusing the various Asian influences and creating a whole new world with it. The colors that she had picked out worked very well for the different aspects of the productions and definitely made the imagination of the audiences go wild. Michael Curry also did well with the puppetry, they were unusual but despite being puppet, they looked quite realistic in the performance itself.

If i had the opportunity, I would definitely watch Cirque's KA live. If not for the amazing acts that they lined up, the wonderful sets they have, the moving stages and the mesmerizing music. I would watch for the costumes and the richness of the world that was created.

~ Krisan

Note: The pictures here are not mine. Some of them have been taken from the Cirque Du Soleil Official Site.