Notre Dame de Paris; Costumes

by
Helene Segara, Garou, Daniel Lavoie, Patrick Fiori Original cast Notre Dame de Paris pciture image

Helene Segara, Garou, Daniel Lavoie, Patrick Fiori Original cast Notre Dame de Paris

Unlike other musicals, Notre Dame de Paris has a very different take on costumes. Like every interpretation of costumes, it’s part the current style, in this case late 90’s in France and the period the story, which takes place in 1482. However, the costume designer, Fred Sathal didn’t seem take much from the fashions of story’s period, she pretty much did her own thing.

Helene Segara as Esmeralda Notre Dame de Paris design by Fred Sathal

Helene Segara as Esmeralda design by Fred Sathal

Fred Sathal is a couture fashion designer who got her start in theater. Her designs are described a luxury bohemian and she likes sequins and beading and has unique techniques on fabric manipulation. Her point of view is clear in Notre Dame de Paris’ costumes.

Helene Segara as Esmeralda Notre Dame de Paris picture image

Helene Segara as Esmeralda Notre Dame de Paris

The costumes in Notre Dame de Paris are really polarizing. I have seen some hate, down right hate, on Esmeralda’s green dress and I can see where that comes from. The original dress doesn’t move very well and the details on it, with its unique swirled velvet-like fabric, patched work seams that are dyed slightly different and sequins, get lost and aren’t that notable. The costumes have so many little details that they aren’t that well suited for a stage show.

Garou as Quasimodo Notre Dame de Paris picture image

Garou as Quasimodo

These costumes just don’t read as medieval. They do seem to have more of a late 90’s couture vibe while sort of relating to the characters. I would say that as a standard representation of a costume, Quasimodo’s is the best. That being said I do like the characters have some color coding, they wear a mostly a single solid color so that a member of the audience can identify the character from far away.

Julie Zenatti as Fleur de Lys Notre Dame de Paris

Julie Zenatti as Fleur de Lys Notre Dame de Paris

The costumes differ somewhat from show to show, cast to cast especially both of Esmeralda’s costumes and Fleur-de-Lys‘ to a fair degree. It’s kind of amazing how much the green dress differs when they try so hard to keep it the same. The exception is the Italian version which is similar in concept but very different, it has more movement and is more exaggerated. Really I could spends weeks discussing these costumes in depth, hell I could spend weeks just talking about the fabric of the green dress, but I will not.

Bruno Pelletier as Gringoire in Notre Dame de Paris picture image

Bruno Pelletier as Gringoire

This costume are more representation of the characters rather expressing grandiose musical costume preferences while maintain the designer style and the minimal nature of the show. If you like them, great, so do I and if you don’t than it’s understandable.

 

 

Fun Fact-  Phoebus’ chain mail shirt is real chain mail and Patrick Fiori lost like ten pounds running around while wearing it

For More
http://rivercygnet.hubpages.com/hub/nddp-costume-esmeralda-green
http://rivercygnet.hubpages.com/hub/esmeralda-white-dress
http://rivercygnet.hubpages.com/hub/fleur-de-lys-costumes-of-notre-dame-de-paris
https://www.thehunchblog.com/2012/04/esmeraldas-green-costume-defense/

The Costumes of the King’s Academy Production

by
Esmeralda, Quasimodo, and Laverne King's Academy Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Esmeralda, Quasimodo, and Laverne King’s Academy Hunchback of Notre Dame

At last we come to my favorite part of any Hunchback products, the costumes! Though to be honest wasn’t going to discuss the costumes but there are a few point I feel I need to mention about the King’s Academy production.  Now I was in a High School play once and I know they didn’t care about the costumes like at all and it was a fairly well regarded school for theater, though I’m not sure why. Anyway unlike my old middle/high school the King’s Academy did try in the costume area, it’s just some costumes are much better than others.

Let’s start with the negatives.

Frollo’s costume is boring. It’s just black vestments with a red stole. It’s not inherently bad, just dull. But it’s Quasimodo’s costume that leaves me  wondering. First off, he has no make-up for the facial deformities and I forgive that, I really do and I’m a heartless critical nitpicking monster but what I can not forgive or wrap my head around is the white label. Just why? It makes his costume looks so lazy.  Also I don’t really care for the costumes the dancers wear during Hellfire and yes this is a colossal nitpick. I mention it because I actually like the light up tutus the dancers wear in Heaven’s light. At first I thought they were cheesy but it works  with the song and the point of the dual songs is the light reference. I just wished the dancers looked more like fire in Hellfire. I think they were almost there but the pants should gave been red in tone and not black, though I suppose they could have been and the video just makes the look black.

Stuff I sort what like.

I like the tutus in Heaven‘s light, there are cheesy but I appreciate them.  Speaking of the dancers and the ensemble, I appreciate that they have the appreciate costumes for the roles they have.

Esmeralda’s costume is one of the few costume in the main cast that is pretty much a copy of the Disney costume but it’s done well and looks nice.

The gargoyles are the only costumes that look like they were made from starch for the production and in that sense they stand out in a good way.

Heaven's Light King's Academy Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Heaven’s Light King’s Academy Hunchback of Notre Dame

Next time Conclusion of the King’s Academy Production

Frollo, Quasimodo and Ensemble performing Esmeralda King's Academy Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Frollo, Quasimodo and Ensemble performing Esmeralda King’s Academy Hunchback of Notre Dame

Reactions to the La Jolla Promo Video

by

Last week I posted the Promo video of the La Jolla production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame on the blog’s Facebook page, so some of you have seen this already.

These are my reaction to the video, what I like and what I dislike. This might be  my only chance to discuss this since it’s looking unlikely that I will make the Paper mills  prodution this spring and who really know if this show will get an audio recording, or go to Broadway or La Jolla will just magically send me a video recording of the show for christmas but anyway here we go.

Ciara Renee and Michael Arden in the Jolla Production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Ciara Renee and Michael Arden in the Jolla Production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame

What I liked:

No Gargoyles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES! Yeah sure they have their place in a kids movie in a franchise that has character like this but in a musical that is boosting being closer to the original story, no, just no.

The Sets- the sets are lovely. As silly as this might sound, I really like the floor. It’s not only accurate to Notre Dame but ti’s a nice visual statement.

The cast looks like they are having fun – I know this a ploy, if the cast is having fun then I the audeince will have fun, take my nonexistent money, (I’m a broke blogger). But I do enjoy the fun the seem to be having.

The Costumes – Across the broad these costume look great.  A few of the ensemble‘ costume caught my eye one being yellow and having an  most painterly touch to it and the other had leather-like components which is great but the two costume I really want to take about are Esmeralda’s costume. The promo video doesn’t show her in the prisoner costumes so we can’t talk about that but it does show her casual and performance dress. Her performance dress reminds me of across between Bollywood and Ren-faire, I don’t mean that in a negative way. They is something about the fabric or the sparkles just reminds of costume I seen in Bollywood film specific movies that features courtesans who are performing a dance number.  However the neckline reads more medieval, I dunno I think it works and it’s pink though if it were red I don’t think I would have minded. That being said I’m sick of seeing Esmeralda in red or pink as her primary color and for that reason Esmeralda’s casual  costume here is a breathe of fresh air for  me. It’s mostly blue which is a color she does wear in the novel although I think turquoise was color to the novel. The costume is very similar to the Disney costume as it the same basic cut, she also wears a purple skirt and her corset had gold stripes. The hip scarf is devore blue velvet and ti reminds me a little bit of Esmeralda costume in Notre Dame de Paris, whether this was intentional or I’m just making a connection that is not there it’s still a nice touch that adds a bit of texture to her costume. I wished her sleeves had been more puffy, it would have made a nice visual for the audience but that is a nitpick. Also I like that her knife is back though now that I think about, Esmeralda must have had a knife in the Disney version so it’s a null point. I wouldn’t I love her costumes but I appreciate them.

What I didn’t like:

Quasimodo’s makeup – It just looks like two lines of his face, it’s lackluster. Considering the scope of this production it just very underwhelming. Now to be fair, the promo video make not have a good shot of it but it seems like the deformity is coming more from the actor making a face than makeup. In a show like Notre Dame de Paris where everything is minimal, they can get way this the deformity being implied rather than realized but here I don’t think they can. And considering Quasimodo’s characterization in any version is wrapped up in his deformities, it’s not a little thing.

Hmm, only one thing I didn’t really like, either the video was too short or I’m going soft.

What did you think of the promo video?

Costumes in the 1997 version of Hunchback; There is something familiar about these costumes

by
Salma Hayek as Esmeralda, 1997 Hunchback of Notre Dame, picture image

Salma Hayek as Esmeralda, 1997 Hunchback of Notre Dame

The costumes in the 1997 version of the Hunchback were done by John Bloomfield. Bloomfield’s credits include Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Waterworld, two movies not known for their costumes. Of the two movies, Robin Hood is more similar in style and design to Hunchback’s costume and two costumes show this more than others.

Edward Atterton as Gringoire, 1997 The Hunchback picture image

Edward Atterton as Gringoire

Speaking in favor of costumes as a whole they do look old. So many times in film and TV, the costumes look new and pristine. For a film like Hunchback this should not be the case, the clothes should look old and worn. This is something that was seen in Robin Hood. But are the costumes good? Meh, they’re average. Nothing is wrong but nothing is really is amazing.

Mandy Patinkin as Quasimodo, 1997 The Hunchback picture image

Mandy Patinkin as Quasimodo

Let’s just get Quasimodo and Frollo out the way. Quasimodo’s look is pretty much stolen from 1939 version. It’s a good Quasimodo look compared to the 1956 version but the Chaney version set a standard for how Quasimodo should look and the 1939 version exceed it, so most versions try to match the 1939 version. This version did and didn’t add anything.

Richard Harris as Frollo, 1997 The Hunchback picture image

Richard Harris as Frollo

Frollo’s costume……..well…………it’s probably the most interesting costume in the whole adaptation. I don’t mean interesting as good thing though. Frollo’s look in the novel was meant to be severe and austere but this version’s Frollo amps it up. He wears a black cowl robe which is what he wears in the novel but the total baldness just makes him look silly. In my 1997 Frollo post I said he looks like Nosferatu from the 1922 movie and he does. It’s too austere of look to take it seriously.

Salma Hayek as Esmeralda, 1997 Hunchback of Notre Dame

Salma Hayek as Esmeralda, 1997 Hunchback of Notre Dame

Then we come to Esmeralda’s main costume. It’s a conventional medieval get-up. She wears a chemise with ties at the sleeves to reveal more arms, a corset and a skirt. The color is mostly shades of red tones however their is multiple colors mixed in the skirt and corset. The skirt itself looks like multiple scarfs that were fused to form a skirt. However the skirt is dyed in a vertical pattern and it seems to be a very light fabric. Though this costume is very inauthentic the different colors does help make it not as boring as it could have been.

Salma Hayek as Esmeralda and Edward Atterton as Gringoire, 1997 Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Salma Hayek as Esmeralda and Edward Atterton as Gringoire

 

Unfortunately, this costume is made a little silly by the slave bracelet and the shoes. The shoes are forgivable on a practical sense but Esmeralda should be barefoot and somehow I think this costume would have been better sans the footwear. The Slave bracelet however is just silly. Slave Bracelets are bracelets that attract to a ring by a chain. They are based on Indian jewelry. My guess is the idea of her wearing one was to help push her an exotic beauty but the addition of it looks cheap.

Lady Marian in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves picture image

Lady Marian in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Esmeraldas’ costume and the one wore by the Phoebus-like guard are very reminiscent of Robin Hood costumes. Esmeralda’s costume with it scarf like skirt is similar to costume wore by Lady Marian. Once I learned that Bloomfeild did both movie my head link these two costumes together. Phoebus-like guard has the same heavy layered and studded armor that was used in Robin Hood and it’s black so you know he bad. However the loose layers in very similar in both films.

Salma Hayek as Esmeralda and Edward Atterton as Gringoire, 1997 The Hunchback picture image

Salma Hayek as Esmeralda and Edward Atterton as Gringoire

The costumes could have been boring but some decisions there were made either made them look good or silly. at best these costume are average to ok nothing more or less.

I just want to say, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is like a guilty pleasure of mine, I loved this movie as kid.

Next time; Sets

Sets 1997 Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Notre Dame Set in teh 1997 version of Hunchback

What Would Quasimodo Wear?

by

Tomorrow is Halloween. A day of candy, costumes and feeling mildly scared in a fun way. But what would our dear Hunchback characters wear as their costumes?

Phantom of the Opera Halloween Costume for Quasimodo picture image

Phantom of the Opera Halloween Costume for Quasimodo

Quasimodo  – Phantom of the Opera (Another deformed French but considered sexy by many)

Darth Vader Halloween Costume for Frollo picture image

Darth Vader Halloween Costume for Frollo

Frollo –  Darth Vader (he love wearing black and has a flair for dramatics)

Flapper Halloween Costume for Esmeralda picture image

Flapper, Halloween Costume for Esmeralda

Esmeralda – Flapper

Chick Magnet, Halloween Costume for Phoebus picture image

Chick Magnet, Halloween Costume for Phoebus

Phoebus – Chick Magnet

Edgar Allan Poe, Halloween Costume for Gringoire picture image

Edgar Allan Poe, Halloween Costume for Gringoire

Gringoire –  Edgar Allan Poe

Jack Sparrow, Halloween Costume for Clopin picture image

Jack Sparrow, Halloween Costume for Clopin

Clopin – Captain Jack Sparrow

Wicked Queen, Halloween Costume for Fleur de Lys picture image

Wicked Queen, Halloween Costume for Fleur de Lys

Fleur de Lys – A Wicked Queen

Beer Keg, Halloween Costume for Jehan picture image

Beer Keg, Halloween Costume for Jehan

Jehan – Beer Keg

Kangaroo, Halloween Costume for Sister Gudule picture image

Kangaroo, Halloween Costume for Sister Gudule

Sister Gudule – Kangaroo (she wants to keep her baby close to her)

Lady Gaga, Halloween Costume for Djali picture image

Lady Gaga, Halloween Costume for Djali

Djali – Lady Gaga (would need to be modified for a Goat)

5 Hunchback-ish costumes

by

There still time for a Hunchback of Notre Dame costume! But you don’t need to limit yourself to the characters from the book or the films. You can create a costume that is inspired from the book. This is a list of 5 Hunchback-ish costumes you can create fairly quickly and be creative with.

1. Quasimofo – Obviously a joke-ish costume but you can make the hunchback in to one badass. I would recommend wearing a suit with shades and getting some kind of hunch like a pillow. And maybe a toy gun .

2. Pope or King of Fools – This doesn’t have to be Quasimodo all you would need is to make-up your face to be ugly. The from there get a jester crown and a robe some kind.

3. A Bell – there is no Hunchback version that doesn’t have bells in it. You can wear all yellow maybe get some yellow bell-bottoms or you can incorporate actual bells into your costume. This one would be a creative one to pull off.

4. A Gargoyle – Gargoyles are a major part of Notre Dame’s charm and Quasimodo in a lot of ways in liken to one. It’s a great costume idea as recognizable and not often done. You can have a lot fun with one. You can get a Gargoyle make-up Kit or buy stuff like a pig snout and spray-paint it grey and then wear grey face paint and grey clothing.

5. An Executioner – executioners play a huge part in the book, Quasimodo is whipped and Esmeralda meets her end by one. So why not put the fear in the massive with it as a costume. Wear all black with a hooded mask and carry either an axe or a to fit the book a noose or a whip.

Gypsy/Fortune Teller Costumes

by

Looking up Gypsy costumes on Amazon yields a lot different costume results.You get Belly-dancing, bar wenches, pirates, fortune tellers, stuff label as Gypsy and even a costume of the 300 Queen. Basically a standard Halloween Gypsy costume has a few core elements; bright colors, hip scarfs, corset, texture/patterns and gold elements. More often than not these costumes are in the “sexy” variety of costumes. Of Course, most pre-made Halloween costumes for women are “sexy.”

These Costumes are some of the Gypsy/Fortune Teller variety available on Amazon.

 

Gypsy Princess Adult Plus Costume picture image

Gypsy Princess Adult Plus Costume

 

 

Gypsy Princess Adult Plus Costume

Disney color scheme, seems to be very inspired by the Disney costume to-boot.

 

 

 

 

In Character Costumes, LLC Fortune Teller Dress picture image

In Character Costumes, LLC Fortune Teller Dress

 

 

In Character Costumes, LLC Fortune Teller Dress

Lots of texture and pattens that go quite nice together. Could easily be a pirate costume as well.

 

 

 

 

 

California Costumes Women's Mystic Gypsy Costume picture image

California Costumes Women’s Mystic Gypsy Costume

 

 

California Costumes Women’s Mystic Gypsy Costume

The boots kill me in this picture, it’s like a costume The Nanny would have wore.

 

 

 

 

 

InCharacter Costumes Good Fortune picture image

InCharacter Costumes Good Fortune

 

 

Elite Sexy Good Fortune Teller Gypsy Costume

Las Vegas version of a Gypsy/FortuneTeller. It’s silly  with the lace, confetti-dot, satin and faux velvet but I don’t hate it.

 

 

 

 

Leg Avenue Women's 3 Piece Crystal Ball Gypsy Peasant Dress With Puff Sleeves picture image

Leg Avenue Women’s 3 Piece Crystal Ball Gypsy Peasant Dress With Puff Sleeves

 

 

Leg Avenue Women’s 3 Piece Crystal Ball Gypsy Peasant Dress With Puff Sleeves…

The Ruffle tier skirt is a reminds me a skating costume but considering there have been a few notable Notre Dame de Paris skating performances that may not be too out-of-the-box

 

 

 

 

In Character Costumes, LLC Women's Gypsy Costume picture image

In Character Costumes, LLC Women’s Gypsy Costume

 

 

In Character Costumes, LLC Women’s Gypsy Costume

Very quintessential Halloween Gypsy Costume even though it goes with the stereotypical vest and not the corset.

 

 

 

 

 

Leg Avenue Women's Seductive Gypsy Costume picture image

Leg Avenue Women’s Seductive Gypsy Costume

 

 

Leg Avenue Women’s Seductive Gypsy Costume

Overly Sexy with Disney color scheme, I find the “corset” a little silly.

 

 

 

 

 

Ladies Sexy Shimmery Fortune Teller picture image

Ladies Sexy Shimmery Fortune Teller

 

 

Ladies Sexy Shimmery Fortune Teller

The way the skirt hangs this costume reminds me of a Gothic Lolita costume.

New Lens Notre Dame de Paris Lens

by
Esmeralda's Design from Notre Dame de Paris picture image

Esmeralda’s Design from Notre Dame de Paris

I just finished a new Squidoo Lens. It’s on Esmeralda’s Green Costume. I want to make a few lenses on the Costumes from Notre Dame de Paris. I picked the Green Costume first because it’s iconic, it’s my favorite  ^_~ and it differs so much from cast to cast. This lens is the reason I’m late with my article this week.  This lens was labor of love for me ^^. Please Enjoy though I may add more (sewing patterns that work for this costume  are hard to find).

Anyway Please Check it out – http://www.squidoo.com/nddp-costume-esmeralda-green
Let me know what you think. Leave a comement, sign the guestbook, or just vote in the polls ^_~