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Thursday, September 23, 2021
‘Masked Singer': Octopus on How Designer Made Show’s Tallest-Ever Costume for Him
www.thewrap.com: The first contestant bumped off “The Masked Singer” Season 6 happens to be the one who sported the Fox singing competition’s tallest-ever costume: Los Angeles Lakers player Dwight Howard.
7 comments:
Olivia Curry
said...
I love the Masked Singer, and while I was sad I got spoiled for the premiere, it was nice to learn that the celebrity under the mask enjoyed their time there and had a good experience with the costume department. I always wondered if the celebrities are involved with the design of the costume, and the article makes it sound like they at least have input on color schemes and some details. Having such a tall costume, it must have been difficult to pattern and fit, especially when most dress forms aren’t nearly that tall. The costume designer, Marina Toybina, always does such a great job with the costumes and makes them colorful and playful. They look very well-made and I would love to work on a Masked Singer costume one day. It’s one of those shows that just makes you happy and distracts you from the stress in your life.
I have never heard about the Masked Singer but after reading this article, I am genuinely interested to watch this show cause it sounds so much fun, not to mention that I really want to see a costume which is 6ft 10in, cause I have never seen that either. I wish the article talked more about the costumes designer's experience and the tactics that she employed to build an octopus costume of that stature. I can only imagine that a regular sized octopus costume would require a lot of intricate work and imagination and once the size is what it is in this case, I think the scale and difficulty of the process only increases. They do bring up the point that the weather was too hot, so knowing more about how they then made sure that it was a comfortable and well- ventilated costume for the NBA player would have been interesting to read about.
The Masked Singer! I love that show! Fun fact about the show- it was originally a concept (and popular show) in Korea! I loved that even as it moved to a western audience, the costumes kept its charm. In fact, the costumes in the US show are far more extravagant than the ones in Korea. I am a little jealous of the costume designers of this show admittedly. It must be so fun to create over-the-top, no restrictions, type of silly costumes for each guest artist. I found it awesome that costume designers were getting some of the spotlight. I feel that costumes can also become the set, creating an environment on the stage that is most personal to the character itself. So much can be told about the inner world of a character through their clothes, and I find it very similar to what I feel set design is meant to do in a theatre. I think the fast fashion industry sells so many clothes that the audience often forgets the individual artistry of each shirt, coat, and shoe and that each one was chosen out of design and careful consideration.
Although I’ve only seen clips of Masked Singer before, I was drawn to those crazy costumes people wear. But I’ve never really thought about the work that happens behind the scenes; I didn’t realise the show had a costume designer that dresses everyone. After reading this article, I wonder what Marina Toybina bases her designs on. Does she meet all the guests beforehand and designs based on what she knows about them? Or does she pick a specific theme each time? It is also amazing how she could have the costume ready for each guest in - I believe - a limited timeframe. I’m also glad to know that the guests could discuss with the designers on what their ideas are. Afterall, the costumes are customised for the ‘singers’
I’ve heard a lot about the Masked Singer and the crazy costumes that are painstakingly designed to hide the identities of the celebrities looking to wow the crowd with their singing skills, so it was really interesting to read this article that detailed a particularly special costume done for the show. To accommodate NBA star Dwight Howard’s height, the show’s costume designer Marina Toybina had to add many technical and practical adjustments to his outfit. Additionally, the design elements (such as the color palette, the exaggerated height, and the temperature inside the costume) that were considered and tailored during the creation of the costume was really cool to read about; it demonstrates exactly how to problem solve creatively in terms of costume design. The judges being able to derive pieces of Howard’s identity from his costume alone also shows the impact and importance of one’s costume; being able to tell a story with just what one’s wearing is really powerful.
Honestly, I've never heard of The Masked Singer, but from what I learned here I'm intrigued in a way I'm usually not in singing competition shows. I admire the fact that the masks and costumes have artistic value and emphasis and are considered an integral part of the show. Although I see how an 8-foot tall costume would take away some of the guessing nature for this contestant (though there are an extensive amount of NBA players who are impressively tall). When thinking of this specific look in a theatrical context, one would want to be sure the costume department is really comfortable working with crafts because it is an extensively constructed piece. I wonder if the props department might be consulted as well because knowledge and skills on puppetry could definitely be helpful here. Not to diminish the skills we know costumers harbour; it would just be a really cool collaboration that could make the process more enjoyable for both departments.
It is truly amazing what costume designers and stitchers can make! This costume is clearly so detailed and is executed incredibly. Often on shows like this costume personnel are under extreme deadlines, even more extreme than theatre deadlines at times, and have to whip out show-stopping looks that look like they have taken months to make. It was lovely to read that the performer loved his costume, and felt comfortable in it enough to dance around and sing on stage every night. Making the performer feel comfortable in a costume they have to wear, especially if they are wearing it long-term, is an amazing and difficult feat. There is always a balance between what the designer wants and what the actor feels comfortable in – oftentimes compromises can be made, but more often than not someone has to lose out on something. In this case, I think the performer lost out in that the costume made him hot; but there is really nothing costumes could have done to fix that anyway.
7 comments:
I love the Masked Singer, and while I was sad I got spoiled for the premiere, it was nice to learn that the celebrity under the mask enjoyed their time there and had a good experience with the costume department. I always wondered if the celebrities are involved with the design of the costume, and the article makes it sound like they at least have input on color schemes and some details. Having such a tall costume, it must have been difficult to pattern and fit, especially when most dress forms aren’t nearly that tall. The costume designer, Marina Toybina, always does such a great job with the costumes and makes them colorful and playful. They look very well-made and I would love to work on a Masked Singer costume one day. It’s one of those shows that just makes you happy and distracts you from the stress in your life.
I have never heard about the Masked Singer but after reading this article, I am genuinely interested to watch this show cause it sounds so much fun, not to mention that I really want to see a costume which is 6ft 10in, cause I have never seen that either. I wish the article talked more about the costumes designer's experience and the tactics that she employed to build an octopus costume of that stature. I can only imagine that a regular sized octopus costume would require a lot of intricate work and imagination and once the size is what it is in this case, I think the scale and difficulty of the process only increases.
They do bring up the point that the weather was too hot, so knowing more about how they then made sure that it was a comfortable and well- ventilated costume for the NBA player would have been interesting to read about.
The Masked Singer! I love that show! Fun fact about the show- it was originally a concept (and popular show) in Korea! I loved that even as it moved to a western audience, the costumes kept its charm. In fact, the costumes in the US show are far more extravagant than the ones in Korea. I am a little jealous of the costume designers of this show admittedly. It must be so fun to create over-the-top, no restrictions, type of silly costumes for each guest artist. I found it awesome that costume designers were getting some of the spotlight. I feel that costumes can also become the set, creating an environment on the stage that is most personal to the character itself. So much can be told about the inner world of a character through their clothes, and I find it very similar to what I feel set design is meant to do in a theatre. I think the fast fashion industry sells so many clothes that the audience often forgets the individual artistry of each shirt, coat, and shoe and that each one was chosen out of design and careful consideration.
Although I’ve only seen clips of Masked Singer before, I was drawn to those crazy costumes people wear. But I’ve never really thought about the work that happens behind the scenes; I didn’t realise the show had a costume designer that dresses everyone. After reading this article, I wonder what Marina Toybina bases her designs on. Does she meet all the guests beforehand and designs based on what she knows about them? Or does she pick a specific theme each time? It is also amazing how she could have the costume ready for each guest in - I believe - a limited timeframe. I’m also glad to know that the guests could discuss with the designers on what their ideas are. Afterall, the costumes are customised for the ‘singers’
I’ve heard a lot about the Masked Singer and the crazy costumes that are painstakingly designed to hide the identities of the celebrities looking to wow the crowd with their singing skills, so it was really interesting to read this article that detailed a particularly special costume done for the show. To accommodate NBA star Dwight Howard’s height, the show’s costume designer Marina Toybina had to add many technical and practical adjustments to his outfit. Additionally, the design elements (such as the color palette, the exaggerated height, and the temperature inside the costume) that were considered and tailored during the creation of the costume was really cool to read about; it demonstrates exactly how to problem solve creatively in terms of costume design. The judges being able to derive pieces of Howard’s identity from his costume alone also shows the impact and importance of one’s costume; being able to tell a story with just what one’s wearing is really powerful.
Honestly, I've never heard of The Masked Singer, but from what I learned here I'm intrigued in a way I'm usually not in singing competition shows. I admire the fact that the masks and costumes have artistic value and emphasis and are considered an integral part of the show. Although I see how an 8-foot tall costume would take away some of the guessing nature for this contestant (though there are an extensive amount of NBA players who are impressively tall). When thinking of this specific look in a theatrical context, one would want to be sure the costume department is really comfortable working with crafts because it is an extensively constructed piece. I wonder if the props department might be consulted as well because knowledge and skills on puppetry could definitely be helpful here. Not to diminish the skills we know costumers harbour; it would just be a really cool collaboration that could make the process more enjoyable for both departments.
It is truly amazing what costume designers and stitchers can make! This costume is clearly so detailed and is executed incredibly. Often on shows like this costume personnel are under extreme deadlines, even more extreme than theatre deadlines at times, and have to whip out show-stopping looks that look like they have taken months to make. It was lovely to read that the performer loved his costume, and felt comfortable in it enough to dance around and sing on stage every night. Making the performer feel comfortable in a costume they have to wear, especially if they are wearing it long-term, is an amazing and difficult feat. There is always a balance between what the designer wants and what the actor feels comfortable in – oftentimes compromises can be made, but more often than not someone has to lose out on something. In this case, I think the performer lost out in that the costume made him hot; but there is really nothing costumes could have done to fix that anyway.
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