Books

A Book Review

On my way home to Montreal, for the usual Christmas festivities with the parental unitz I came across Cirque du Soleil 25 ans de Costumes being advertised in the train magazine.

Having always loved Cirque du Soleil, I knew I would have to get my hands on this book since it was a celebration, of not only their 25 years of performing, but also the celebration of the costumes and the designers so instrumental in making “Cirque”what it is today.

The spectacle that is Cirque du Soleil is just that a spectacle.

The acrobats, the clowns, it’s all too magical. Here was my chance to see these incredible costumes, up close and in detail.

To paraphrase Ernest Hemmingway as the book does “The circus is the only place on earth where one can dream with their eyes wide open”.

What wonderful dreams these exquisitely designed costumes truly are and how wonderfully presented they are in this book

All is explained and chronicled, from the first sketches to the first of many prototypes..

Such details as the weight, how it will wear and how, the chosen fabric, can withstand the rigors of repeated cleaning, and of course, “Can we get enough yardage?” for the doubles and sometime triples needed for a show of this magnitude. The ability for unencumbered movement, involving many fittings, is the primary function.

This book is filled with photos of the workshops, sewing and dye rooms, even the making of all the wonderful, fantastical shoes that make the costumes of Cirque du Soleil what they are.

The book starts in 1984 and goes on to showcase most of its past and current productions, and credits all of its many designers through the past 25 years. Who knew Thierry Mugler worked his “special eye brow raising talents” with “Cirque” in 2003.

As you can pretty well establish now I highly recommend this book. If you cannot read French the visuals alone will blow your socks off. I must also mention that not only are the costumes out of this world but the artistry of the make-up department of Cirque du Soleil play a HUGE part in making the designers vision come even more to life.

CIRQUE du SOLEIL

25 ans de COSTUMES

is available through Les Editions LA PRESSE

librarie.cyberpresse.ca

$39.95