For OVO, Cirque du Soleil’s insect-inspired show running in Houston from October 2 to 5, costume designer Liz Vandal drew on a lifelong fascination with bugs. “I’ve always had a passion for them,” she says. “When I was just a kid, I put rocks down around the yard near the fruit trees, and I lifted them regularly to watch the insects who had taken up residence underneath them.” Her designs combine influences from futuristic superheroes and armor, balancing hard shells with corseted silhouettes. To inspire rather than imitate insect forms, she translated their morphology into pleated, veined fabrics and layered structures. The result is what she calls “organic origami.” Her team explored color, pattern, and movement using techniques such as sublimation and permanent pleating to create textured wings, flexible shells, and rigid forms. Each cricket costume took 75 hours to construct. The dazzling result blends designed precision with imaginative interpretation. cirquedusoleil.com
Article by River Oaks Lifestyle Staff
Photography by Marie-Andrée Lemire
Originally published in River Oaks Lifestyle