Liz Vandal

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Liz Vandal is a French-Canadian costume designer known for designing the costumes for the Cirque du Soleil show Ovo . Her style, which is inspired by futuristic super heroes, insects, and medieval armor, [1] was helpful in creating the costumes for Ovo, a show that brings different insects to life. Vandal was born in Montreal, Canada in 1965.

Contents

Life and career

As a child, Vandal wanted to be a dancer, and in college she majored in computer science, but came back to fashion after "gaining some logic". She has a son named Leonard. Cirque du Soleil contacted Vandal twice before Ovo to design their costumes, but both times fell through. [2]

She began her career as a fashion designer in 1988. She has designed costumes for several companies and organizations such as the National Ballet of Canada, the Backstreet Boys, and The Washington Ballet. In 1990, she began her long career of designing costumes for Édouard Lock, founder of the Montreal dance company La La La Human Steps. She designed for shows such as Infante c'est destroy (1991), 2 (1995), and Exaucé/Salt (1999). She also designed costumes for Lock’s Amelia (2002), André Auria (2002) and Opéra de Paris and Amjad (2007). In 1992, at age 27, she founded Vandal Costumes with partner Yveline Bonjean, where they create costumes in the fields of fashion, theatre, opera, music and film, specializing in dance. The Backstreet Boys hired her in 2000 to design the costumes for their Black & Blue tour. In 2002 she designed costumes for the films The Lathe of Heaven directed by director Philip Haas and La Turbulence des Fluides by director Manon Briand. In 1997, Vandal and Bonjean of Vandal Costumes were nominated for Best Costume Design at the 18th Genie Awards for Night of the Flood , a 1996 Canadian film by director Bernar Hebert. [1]

Cirque du Soleil

Ovo is the first Cirque du Soleil show that Vandal has designed for. In an interview about her childhood fascination with insects, Vandal said: "Insects were here before we (humans) were here, and they will probably be here after we are gone, and we would die without them." [3] Cirque du Soleil director Deborah Colker told Vandal that she wanted an evocation of the insects, not an imitation. [2] Inspiration for the outfits came from French fashion designer Pierre Cardin’s graphic lines and geometric shapes, Renaissance garments' slashed sleeves, and the pleating techniques of Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake. [4] From early 2008 to the spring of 2009, Vandal and the Cirque du Soleil team created 17 different insect costumes including a spider, a mosquito, a firefly, an ant, a butterfly, and a cockroach. [3] The initial cricket costumes each took 75 hours to make. The first insect costume Vandal envisioned was the spider, for which she drew a real spider and turned it into a woman's body. Vandal used the Cirque du Soleil laboratory to develop her own fabrics and textile for the costumes to be sure that they were elastic enough for a great deal of movement. [5] It was important to create the insect costumes in sections with stretchy material, allowing the performers to move easily. At first, Vandal considered using biodegradable materials for the Ovo costumes. But eventually she opted for the usual polyester and Lycra because their longevity made them more 'green' in the long run. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Quidam</i> Former Cirque du Soleil production

Quidam was the ninth stage show produced by Cirque du Soleil. It premiered in April 1996 and has been watched by millions of spectators around the world. Quidam originated as a big-top show in Montreal and was converted into an arena format beginning with its 2010 tour in North America. It then changed back to the Big Top for a 3-month run in Seoul, South Korea before returning to an arena show for its tour to Oceania. The show performed for the final time in Christchurch, New Zealand on February 26, 2016.

Karole Armitage is an American dancer and choreographer currently based in New York City. She is artistic director of Armitage Gone! Dance, a contemporary dance company that performs several times annually in New York City as well as touring internationally. She was dubbed the “punk ballerina” in the 1980s. She earned a Tony nomination for her choreography of the Broadway musical Hair.

Mystère is one of six resident Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas, Nevada. Held in a custom theatre at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, the show was first performed on 25 December 1993, making it the company's longest running show. As with many Cirque du Soleil productions, Mystère features a mixture of circus skills, dance, elaborate sets, opera, worldbeat music, and street theatre-style comedy. Featuring a musical score composed by René Dupéré and Benoît Jutras, the show was created under the direction of Franco Dragone.

<i>La Nouba</i> Cirque du Soleil show

La Nouba was a Cirque du Soleil show that ran for 19 years in a custom-built, freestanding theater at Disney Springs' West Side at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It was a contemporary circus performance featuring acrobats, gymnasts, and other skilled performers. The show's creation was directed by Franco Dragone, who also directed many of Cirque du Soleil's earlier shows. Its title derives from the French phrase faire la nouba, meaning "to party" or "to live it up".

Corteo is a Cirque du Soleil touring production that premiered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on April 21, 2005.

<i>Kà</i> Cirque de Soleil show

is a show by Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. describes the story as "the coming of age of a young man and a young woman through their encounters with love, conflict and the duality of , the fire that can unite or separate, destroy or illuminate."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deborah Colker</span> Brazilian theater director, writer, choreographer, and dancer

Deborah Colker is a Brazilian writer, theater director, dancer and choreographer. She was an awardee of the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance. Colker was also the movement director and choreographer of the 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.

<i>O</i> (Cirque du Soleil) Water-themed stage production

O is a water-themed stage production by Cirque du Soleil, a Canadian circus and entertainment company. The show has been in permanent residence at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, since October 1998. O, whose name is pronounced the same way as eau, the French word for "water", takes place around and above a 1.5-million-US-gallon (5,700 m3) pool of water. It features water acts such as synchronized swimming as well as aerial and ground acts. The O theatre, which is designed to resemble a 14th-century European opera house, has 1,800 seats, thus allowing the performance to be watched by 3,600 people a night since the performance usually plays twice in a given day. The theatre was also designed to meet the special demands of the show.

<i>Love</i> (Cirque du Soleil) 2006 theatrical production by Cirque du Soleil

Love was a 2006 theatrical production by Cirque du Soleil which combined the re-produced and re-imagined music of the Beatles with an interpretive, circus-based artistic and athletic stage performance. The show played at a specially built theatre at the Mirage in Las Vegas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eiko Ishioka</span> Japanese artist and costume designer (1938-2012)

Eiko Ishioka was a Japanese art director, costume designer, and graphic designer known for her work in stage, screen, advertising, and print media.

<i>Zed</i> (Cirque du Soleil) Former Cirque du Soleil production

Zed was Cirque du Soleil's second resident show in Asia. It premiered on October 1, 2008, at the Cirque du Soleil Theater, Tokyo Disney Resort, in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan. Inspiration for Zed was taken from the Tarot and its Arcana; the main character Zed represents the Fool of the Tarot. The show depicted Zed's journey and his role in uniting two mythical groups, the people of the earth and sky. The production closed permanently on December 31, 2011.

<i>Zaia</i> Cirque du Soleil show

Zaia was a Cirque du Soleil stage production based at The Venetian Macao on the Cotai Strip in Macau. The 90-minute show opened in August 2008, bringing together 75 high-calibre artists from around the world. Zaia was Cirque du Soleil's first resident show in Asia and was directed by Neilson Vignola and Gilles Maheu. The custom-built theater housing the performance was capable of seating 1,800 spectators at a time.

<i>Ovo</i> (Cirque du Soleil) Touring circus production

Ovo is a touring circus production by Cirque du Soleil that premiered in Montréal, Canada in 2009. Ovo's creator and director, Deborah Colker, took inspiration from the world of insects. The idea for Ovo was not to be about the acts, nor dancing, nor insects, but about movement. The movement of life permeates the entire show, with creatures flying, leaping, bounding, and crawling. Composer Berna Ceppas brought additional life to Ovo with a score inspired by the music of Brazil. Ovo means "egg" in Portuguese and represents the underlying thread of the show. Graphically, inside the logo of Ovo, is an insect. The two O's represent the eyes and the V forms the nose and antennas.

<i>Koozå</i> Cirque du Soleil production

Koozå is a touring circus production by Cirque du Soleil which premiered in Montréal, Quebec, Canada, in 2007. The show was written and directed by David Shiner, who had previously worked as a clown in Cirque du Soleil's production of Nouvelle Expérience. His experience as a clown and his time with Switzerland's Circus Knie and Germany's Circus Roncalli informed his work on Koozå.

<i>Viva Elvis</i> (Cirque du Soleil) Former Cirque du Soleil production

Viva Elvis was the seventh resident Cirque du Soleil show on the Las Vegas Strip. It resided at the Aria Resort & Casino and premiered on February 19, 2010. The show closed on August 31, 2012. Cirque du Soleil partnered with Elvis Presley Enterprises to produce this show, similar to how they partnered with The Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd to produce the resident show Love at the Mirage.

<i>Totem</i> (Cirque du Soleil)

Totem is a touring show by Cirque du Soleil that premiered in Montréal on April 22, 2010. It was written and directed by previous collaborator Robert Lepage (). Cirque du Soleil describes Totem's theme as the evolution of humanity from its primordial, amphibian state toward the aspiration of flight, taking inspiration from many of humanity's founding myths. The show was awarded the 2013 New York Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kym Barrett</span> Australian costume designer

Kym Barrett is an Australian costume designer of Hollywood films. She is a regular collaborator with The Wachowskis and was the costume designer of their films The Matrix trilogy, Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas and Jupiter Ascending.

<i>Zarkana</i> (Cirque du Soleil) Former Cirque du Soleil production

Zarkana was a Cirque du Soleil stage production written and directed by François Girard. It began as a touring show in 2011 and was converted to a resident show in Las Vegas in late 2012. It premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 29, 2011, and later toured to the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow and the Madrid Arena in Madrid.

<i>Iris</i> (Cirque du Soleil) Former Cirque du Soleil production

Iris was a resident Cirque du Soleil show based in Los Angeles, California. It premiered on September 25, 2011, after preview performances which began on July 21, 2011. The cost for production of the show was nearly $100 million, which included the cost of renovating the Dolby Theatre in which the show was housed. Iris was written and directed by French director-choreographer Philippe Decouflé. The show explored images from the history of cinema and featured elaborate choreography, acrobatics, and a variety of contemporary circus acts. The name of the show, Iris, comes from the camera diaphragm as well as from the colored iris of the human eye.

Zaldy Goco, also known mononymously as Zaldy, is a Filipino-American fashion designer. In 1995, he was featured as a model in a British television advertisement for Levi's. Zaldy was named one of Out magazine's Out 100 in 2006. He was the costume designer for Michael Jackson's This Is It concerts, Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour, and Britney Spears's Femme Fatale Tour. Zaldy designed the costumes for the Cirque du Soleil shows Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, Michael Jackson: One, and Volta. He was also the head designer for Gwen Stefani's fashion line L.A.M.B. He has received five Emmy nominations, winning in 2017, 2018, and 2019 for Outstanding Costumes for a Variety, Nonfiction, or Reality Programming due to his work on RuPaul's Drag Race.

References

  1. 1 2 "Creators: Liz Vandal". Cirque du Soleil. Archived from the original on 2011-03-10. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
  2. 1 2 Jones, Chad. "Evoking an Insect". Theatre Bay Area.
  3. 1 2 Green, Stephanie. "Fashion Designer Brings "Bug Show" to Life". Fashion Blog: Everything about Fashion. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  4. Zinko, Carolyne (6 December 2009). "The Buzz". SFGate. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  5. Michaud, Debbie. "A few questions with Cirque du Soleil costume designer Liz Vandal". Creative Loafing. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  6. Donnelly, Pat. "OVO: Green eggs, no ham". The Gazette. Retrieved 20 April 2009.