EPCOT New Costumes for Voices of Liberty to debut soon at EPCOT

Emi

New Member
I had never realized they had replaced the original elaborate costmes with those absolutely horrible Glee Club from the 1990s outfits. I can understand needing something much coloer because they had to perform outside, but those polyester unimaginative nightmares definitely needed to go! The new ones look fresh, more comfortable, have nice colors and sem to work well together. So glad the parks are starting to realize that the comfort of the castmembers count for something, and are starting to replace the ugly, worn out costumes with those of a better quality. Well done!
 

ᗩLᘿᑕ ֊ᗩζᗩᗰ

Hᴏᴜsᴇ ᴏʄ  Mᴀɢɪᴄ
Premium Member
There's something about the style, rope-like embroidery and vested designs of the dresses that remind me more of something out of the old west. Late 1800s or even early 1900s. Give them to regular cast members over in Frontierland. They're not up to snuff for performers/entertainers, and certainly not at American Adventure. But people working at guest services, retail, restaurants etc at Frontierland I could see it.
All I see is Circus Ringmaster. Scratch that, it's seemingly equal parts: Frontierland, Fantasyland, Liberty Square and Main Street USA.
 

Old Mouseketeer

Well-Known Member
Absolutely hideous. Why would they ever think of borrowing costumes from Toontown? Of the four generations of Voices of Liberty costumes, these are far and away the worst. The original opening day costumes were loosely based on a college project of mine from the US Bicentennial in 1976--each singer was an American archetype and the unifying factor was a muted pallet of red, white, and blue. This is totally undocumented so I'm not offended by skepticism (but I was there and I know what happened). In hindsight this was a clever look for a college choir, but a little academic for Disney.

The longest lived were the mid-late 19th century ball gowns. These were identified by the year they represented (such as 1860 or 1883). They were magnificent and worthy of the stately rotunda of the Pavilion. The most recent contemporary red and blue outfits and their predecessors were a long-time alternative for Voices, mostly for special events outside the pavilion. I suspect that Post-Covid they were a convenient, cost-effective alternative because some garments could be purchased off the shelf. Remember, union performers don't share costumes.

Now we have these abominations. They remind me of the so-called "Donald Duck Chair" in the Haunted Mansion. At least they're not mint green like the gown Carrie Coons wore as Bertha Russell in the Finale of The Gilded Age season 1.
I truly hate these. They detract from the performance rather than enhance it.
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Careful…. Bobs friends will quickly point out that “Disney is a business” and how it simply doesn’t make sense to spend more money on something “nobody” cares about. Don’t worry… they will write it simple terms as if you don’t understand basic business like they do :)

<heavy sigh>

This "Bob's friend" doesn't like it.

So, what are you going to do with that information?

The question's rhetorical. I know it won't lead to a re-evaluation of your prejudice.
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
What if The Voices of Liberty guest-starred on an episode of Scooby Doo? 🤔



(From a post in another thread...)

What if American Colonialist wore leisure suits? 🤔



(And now, to roast the original costumes...)

What if The Voices of Liberty could only wear curtains and sofas? 🤔



The holiday costumes are perfect, tho. 😍
 
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WorldExplorer

Well-Known Member
The women look like they should be hanging out in front of a cottage in the woods offering my MMO character in-game currency if I get their magic staff back from the goblin that stole it.

The men look...um...

I don't like it.
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Collaboration is key in a project like this – not just within the Costuming team, but also in partnership with the Voices of Liberty cast. “When we fit our performers for costumes, we make sure they demonstrate movements they might need to make during the show, which can vary person to person,” Aubry explained. “For example, our vocal captains use a wide range of arm movement while conducting, so comfort and mobility in the back and shoulders is of extra importance.”


Marketing lies...

1. The vocal captain's arm movements are barely movements. They don't direct the singers like an orchestra conductor needs to. They bring their hand chest high and pinch their fingers.

2. If one person needs room in their shoulder for this minimal conducting, how does that explain that every other peice of clothing on every other performer is oversized and baggy? Are they going to do Rockette kicks? Are they going to do gymnastics?



“We wanted to create a cohesive look that celebrated the grandness of the rotunda in which they perform and the impact of their musical presentation through incorporating a visual aesthetic of music itself,” explained Josh, Costume Designer with Disney Live Entertainment. When it came to the color palette, he found inspiration from a vintage American flag. This allowed him to create unique looks for each performer while still coordinating with the whole group, illustrating the way in which individual voices come together as one.

Marketing lies...

3. What vintage flag? I'd like to see it. What vintage flag had three shades each of burgundy, yellow, and blue?

4. What they're wearing does not mesh with the rotunda in color or design.

5. The visual aesthetics of music? You put musical decals on them? Like a little boy putting fire decals on a toy car to make it go faster, do musical iconography make the performers sing better? Do they clue the guests listening them sing realize that what they're doing is... music? Maybe they could wear drum and cello costumes instead to better get the idea across.
 

HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
Collaboration is key in a project like this – not just within the Costuming team, but also in partnership with the Voices of Liberty cast. “When we fit our performers for costumes, we make sure they demonstrate movements they might need to make during the show, which can vary person to person,” Aubry explained. “For example, our vocal captains use a wide range of arm movement while conducting, so comfort and mobility in the back and shoulders is of extra importance.”


Marketing lies...

1. The vocal captain's arm movements are barely movements. They don't direct the singers like an orchestra conductor needs to. They bring their hand chest high and pinch their fingers.

2. If one person needs room in their shoulder for this minimal conducting, how does that explain that every other peice of clothing on every other performer is oversized and baggy? Are they going to do Rockette kicks? Are they going to do gymnastics?



“We wanted to create a cohesive look that celebrated the grandness of the rotunda in which they perform and the impact of their musical presentation through incorporating a visual aesthetic of music itself,” explained Josh, Costume Designer with Disney Live Entertainment. When it came to the color palette, he found inspiration from a vintage American flag. This allowed him to create unique looks for each performer while still coordinating with the whole group, illustrating the way in which individual voices come together as one.

Marketing lies...

3. What vintage flag? I'd like to see it. What vintage flag had three shades each of burgundy, yellow, and blue?

4. What they're wearing does not mesh with the rotunda in color or design.

5. The visual aesthetics of music? You put musical decals on them? Like a little boy putting fire decals on a toy car to make it go faster, do musical iconography make the performers sing better? Do they clue the guests listening them sing realize that what they're doing is... music? Maybe they could wear drum and cello costumes instead to better get the idea across.
Shill. 😉

You’ve asked out loud many of the questions I had in my head on these new costumes.
 

TrainsOfDisney

Well-Known Member
The question's rhetorical. I know it won't lead to a re-evaluation of your prejudice.
Prejudice of who? Bob? I don’t get him at all. I get Eisner, and can at least understand some of his faults (and he indeed had faults) but Iger I have no clue what makes him tick.

But if you meant of Bob’s fans on this site? Just don’t defend everything he does with “Disney is a business” - which you don’t.
 

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