Behind The Scenes with Fiber Optics Costumes on Broadway
I was recently involved in a very unique and high tech opportunity to design and fabricate 4 costumes for the first in history Virtual Reality Broadway Showcase Musical entitled “Taking Wing, The Legend Of Emimencia” https://www.facebook.com/TakingWingTheMusical/ written by Julie Saltman and Johnny Blaze.
What started out as 3 sets of wings and a vest, evolved into high tech costumes that became the talk of the show. Taking Wing, headlined the New York New Works Theater Festival in Times Square of NYC and received the attention of BroadwayWorld.com https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Anti-Bullying-Musical-TAKING-WING-to-Headline-New-York-New-Works-Festival-This-Sunday-20171013
We took a costume design opportunity to the next level when my Orlando, Florida based House Of Vincenza Design and Production House called Melanie Wargo of Electric Diva Creations.
Melanie is a Fiber Optic Designer who tours the festival concert circuit all over the country with her amazing Designs. Electric Daisy Carnival, Burning Man and more.
So now I am going to reveal to you, how all of this amazing technology works. The fiber optic units themselves can be purchased (for about $100) as a self contained UL certified package that comes with a remote control you can use from back stage to active all kinds of lighting changes, dimming and other effects. Step 1 was to build our costume designs for the most part, as usual. The only modifications we had to make to our Wing Designs were to add a spandex pouch pocket to the center back of the design to contain the light weight fiber optic controller with a small hole into bottom of the pocket to plug in the charger unit without taking the entire thing apart. Between shows we plugged the units into outlets or could use a pre charged battery pack. Step 2 was to add the fiber optic wires to the design. By starting in the center back where the controller unit would live, the wings were wired front and back using a combination of braiding the fiber optics and racking them down with clear fishing line stitches that cross crossed from the front of the wing to the back of the wing so the fiber optics were visible from both sides. The lines could have been individually tacked down, but by braiding the fiber optic lines the lighting in that braid was brighter. At the tips of the wings the lines were fanned out and left to hang long to be trimmed later or not. By leaving some dangling lines when the wings were flapped it added a powerful visual flow and flying effect. If you’d like a fiber optic costume consultation on your designs, we can give you some DIY tips or we can do it for you.
For more information contact me:
Gina Vincenza
Costume Rigging Expert
Info@CostumeRigging.com
House Of Vincenza
Fashion & Costume
Design + Production
www.HouseOfVincenza.com
Gina@HouseOfVincenza.com
AKA Psycho Seamstress
Celebrity Seamstress
Www.Psychoseamstress.Com
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President and Founder of
Orlando Fashion District
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Gina@OrlandoFashionDistrict.org
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