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VIRTUALISING COSTUME DESIGN WORKFLOWS
AT CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

Digital-First Costume Design: Innovation Through 3D Scanning & MR VR

Client Name: Cirque Du Soleil

 

Project Name: Revolutionising Costume Design with VR & 3D Scanning.

 

Description: Integrating cutting-edge digital tools to enhance performance, fit, design, concept development, creation, and documentation—optimising workflows for efficiency and precision.

Innovating Digital Experiences & Costume Design at Cirque Du Soleil

At Cirque Du Soleil, I introduced VR, MR technologies through cutting-edge digital solutions that redefined both audience engagement and costume production workflows. From developing an interactive Kinect wall that immersed showgoers in the performance, to pioneering WebVR remote collaboration for costume design, my work blended technology with artistry—pushing the boundaries of live entertainment.

My work also challenged performance enhancement for performers by leveraging fabric simulation software to create custom-fit, simulated costume designs. This approach refined the fit and functionality of their already highly engineered costumes, ensuring optimal movement, comfort, and visual impact—ultimately enhancing their efficacy on stage.

1. Cirque Du Soleil – Interactive Kinect Wall

🚀 Blending Real-World Interaction with Digital Performance 🚀

At Cirque Du Soleil, I developed an interactive projection wall using Unity and Kinect, designed to immerse showgoers in a playful, motion-driven experience. The installation tracked guests in the queue and mapped the ‘O’ show’s Zebra character onto their bodies, allowing them to embody the performance in real time.

✅ Optimized 3D assets for real-time interaction.

✅ Developed a standalone Unity build with Kinect integration.

✅ Created an engaging, touch-free, non-headset digital experience.

This project helped shape how immersive audience interactions could be woven into live entertainment, with insights contributing to Disney Research Labs’ studies on future entertainment experiences.

2. Cirque Du Soleil – WebVR Remote Collaboration

🌍 Rethinking Design Collaboration with WebVR 🌍

What if costume design, fittings, and refinements could be done in VR instead of relying on expensive physical samples? That’s exactly what I introduced to Cirque Du Soleil, connecting teams between New Zealand and Canada to collaborate in real-time via a WebVR platform.

✅ Provided optimized 3D assets for remote collaboration.

✅ Developed workflow instructions to make VR integration seamless.

✅ Enabled cross-border team collaboration by sketching, fitting, and refining costumes in VR.

✅ Expanded accessibility for designers and patternmakers, allowing more team members to interact with designs in a digital space.

✅ Replaced traditional printed PDFs with interactive, visually driven documentation for more intuitive garment production.

💡 Beyond efficiency, this workflow reduced production costs by approximately 30%, far surpassing the initial 5% goal.

This project paved the way for other departments (footwear, props, etc.) to adopt digital workflows for physical manufacturing.

I also served as Lead Costume Designer on a collaborative project between Illumination, Disney, and Cirque Du Soleil, where I developed a digital-first workflow using 3D scanning, fabric simulation software, and VR tools. This approach enabled the rapid production of custom-fit costumes, significantly reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining creative precision.

Photos to come when i get permissions. Apologies.

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