Cirque du Soleil's costume shop in Montreal isn't just where the company's dazzling outfits are stitched together, it's where characters in its shows are brought to life, many from the imagination of costume designer Dominique Lemieux.
The 51-year-old Canadian says she simply tries to realise the director's vision. With Zaia, she opted for a warm colour scheme rather the conventional blues and silvers associated with space travel. 'I was inspired by the cosy feeling of people sitting around a campfire, gazing up at the sky,' she says.
For a mid-air dance sequence, she spent more than a year scouring textile suppliers around the world to find a fabric that would flow and catch the light as the performer twirled. 'We finally found it in an Indian shop in Montreal. I couldn't believe it was so cheap,' she recalls.
All fabrics undergo intense testing in Montreal to ensure they can withstand daily washes and performers' athletic moves before being approved for use in a costume. A typical fitting requires the artists to stretch and leap in their outfits.
'We even have a device on which to suspend performers in the fitting room because this show [Zaia] has so many aerial numbers,' Lemieux says. 'Many costumes needed to have a harness underneath. It drove us crazy.'
Performers' needs must take priority when outfits are put together. With the aerial dance, for instance, she wanted to sew crystals down the legs but since the performers put their weight on those places, they wouldn't allow it. 'I am careful to listen to them because I don't want to endanger their lives,' she says.