Festival of Fantasy Parade coming to Magic Kingdom in 2014

Jose

Jose

Well-Known Member
From the Swing Thugs aboard the Tangled unit’s massive longship to the troupe of Scottish dancers announcing Merida’s arrival in the Brave unit, costume designer Mirena Rada carefully planned and executed the detail of each piece. Visual cues such as color and texture choices were taken from each float and incorporated in the costume designs. Additionally, she closely studied the style guide of each film for whimsical details and fabric patterns to capture the essence of each story.

Putting a modern spin on classic elements is a theme that resonates throughout Rada’s designs. From the swan neck collar and iridescent feathers on the Princess Garden unit’s Swan Court ball gowns to the sculpted conch shell headpiece and shimmering pastel dress that comprise The Little Mermaid unit’s Seashell Girl, the old and new are blended seamlessly – a trend that is ever present in today’s fashion world.

The production process mirrors current fashion trends, utilizing new technology to design and print custom fabrics in house. Rada partnered with Walt Disney World Resort costumers to select fabrics that would withstand the central Florida climate while also accommodating the needs of each performer.

An innovative 3D printing technology brought to life even Rada’s most intricate concepts, with the hauntingly elegant beaks of the Ravens in the Sleeping Beauty unit being a prime example. Using a 3D origami program, a paper beak was created and placed on a performer’s head to obtain the initial scale and shape. A digital sculptor then worked on the filigree beak design, which was printed, fitted and refined to produce the final shape. Each piece was base coated, bronzed, lacquered and gilded with fiery Swarovski stones to complete the finished look.

In the true spirit of fashion, each look was not considered complete until complemented by the perfect hair, makeup and accessories. The Finale unit’s Cha Cha Girl is the queen of head-to-toe ensemble with her big top inspired fit and flare dress, bolero jacket embellished with sequins, star spangled tights and hair reminiscent of pulled taffy exuding the essence of Storybook Circus in New Fantasyland. However, simple touches that might elude guests, such as the elegant gold tones incorporated into eyelashes on the female Swan Court members, and in the custom socks worn by the Lost Boys were not overlooked – a testament to Disney’s attention to detail.



Read more: SNEAK PEEK: 'Festival of Fantasy' Parade Details, High-Res Photos - Disney News by Stitch Kingdom
StitchKingdom.com - The #1 unofficial source for news on Disney
 
SpectroMan93

SpectroMan93

Well-Known Member
I hope I'm allowed to post this, but LaughingPlace provided some really great fun facts as well today:
"Disney has shared some fun facts about their upcoming Festival of Fantasy parade:
  • Parade features a cast of more than 100
  • Disney characters from more than a dozen classic stories are represented among nine parade floats
  • 40 additional characters are presented in animated or sculptural form
  • Performers appear on stilts, swings and pendulums, bringing a kinetic energy to the procession
  • The Princess Garden lead float stretches more than 50 feet long
  • The Jolly Roger atop the Peter Pan float flies 28 feet above the parade route
  • Mickey’s Airship finale float is the tallest float topping out at 32 feet
  • The trio of finale floats span more than 90 feet along the parade route
  • Elaborate costumes are being crafted by 10 different costume houses, in eight cities, in two countries — including Creative Costuming facilities in both Florida and California.
  • Some 27 separate custom designed fabrics were designed by Mirena Rada in collaboration with Creative Costuming Graphic Artist Paul Jordan.
  • Counting interfacings and trims, it takes 28 separate fabrics to make up one Swing Thug #1 Costume (Tangled unit). His vest requires vinyl to be cut into 75 separate diamond shapes and then stitched onto cool max fabric.
  • Some pieces, including the Seashell Girl (Little Mermaid unit) headpiece, were digitally sculpted and then grown to size with a 3D printer.
  • It takes 30 yards of fabric to make one Seashell Girl costume which includes 12 different colors of Nitex Mesh.
  • The coral pieces for the Coral Twins (Little Mermaid unit) were custom designed. They are being hand poured in three separate colors by the artisans of the Creative Costuming Craft Team and baked and finished for 16 hours each in an oven.
  • The socks worn by the Lost Boys (Peter Pan unit) are custom designs that were knitted to order in Hong Kong.
  • Minnie Mouse’s Dress and Hat (finale unit) uses 95 gold lame dots that are cut out, “blinged out,” and then sewn on.
  • The Bubble Girl (finale unit) headpiece is made from three separate clown wigs that are blended together by the Creative Costuming Millinery Team.
  • Cha Cha Girl (finale unit) – Her wig was designed with 148 yards of horsehair in four colors, that is then rolled, pressed and curled by hand.
  • The Steampunk-inspired Maleficent Dragon stretches 53 feet from snout to tail and reaches 26 feet in the air.
  • Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Creative Entertainment team members partnered with Tony Award-winning designer Michael Curry on the development of the Maleficent Dragon."
Disney's drawn out announcements of the details of this parade is quite genius. They knew this would be an amazing parade, and the slow reveal gives it that grandeur.
 

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