The Armor 戲劇服裝 by Samantha Chijona Garcia and Vladimir Cuenca

The Armor 戲劇服裝 by Samantha Chijona Garcia and Vladimir Cuenca is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2020 A' Design Award 銀獎 in 表演藝術設計 Competition Category.

銀表演藝術· 2020

The Armor 戲劇服裝

by Samantha Chijona Garcia and Vladimir Cuenca

Client: Jazz Martinez Gamboa

A' Design Award 銀獎 Winner in 表演藝術 Category

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Colors

The Design

About The Armor 戲劇服裝

呢套盔甲係為莎士比亞舞台劇入面理查三世呢個角色而設計嘅戲劇服裝。呢套服裝用回收同棄置嘅物料製成。金屬線縫喺斜紋布外套上面，而重疊嘅皮革護脛就用皮帶同扣環連接，組成一個獨立嘅結構。鎖子甲手套將衫袖封住，而一頂內襯金屬條嘅絲絨帽就充當頭盔。呢六個部分可以隨住劇中角色嘅轉變而加上或者除下。呢個設計同時反映出國王嘅一面，以及佢內心脆弱嘅一面。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 銀獎

The Armor 戲劇服裝是 A' Design Award 銀獎得主，這是授予頂級、華美而令人印象深刻的設計的極為崇高的認可。銀獎得主是極其卓越、極具創造力的作品，展現出其設計師傑出的專業技能、才華與敏銳。預計The Armor 戲劇服裝將成為一件出色的典範之作，兼具非凡的專業性與深刻的創新性。這件贏得 A' Design Award 銀獎的設計是一項備受矚目、令人欽佩的發明，造福並拓展藝術、科學、設計和技術的界限。The Armor 戲劇服裝是一件令人羨慕的創作，它喚起渴望，帶來積極的情感，並激發驚嘆與讚嘆。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: This armor, made with fully recycled materials, mixes metallic corset nerves referring to the classic western armor, topped by a butcher's chainmail glove that evokes the bloodthirsty of the character with leather leggings overlapping layers denoting the various faces assumed by the character during the plot. From a modernist vision in terms of fabric, overlapping and weaving of pieces the structure refers to the vulnerability of the King and the man who lives at the same time in Richard III.
Dimensions & Packaging: Armor- 45cmx30cmx55cm
Helmet- diameter:57cm High: 23cm
Tags: Costume design, Shakespeare, Richard III, Armor, theater, cuban designer, Samantha Chijona Design, schijonag.
Production Technology: The armor is compound by 6 pieces. 1: The metal structure, it is metal lines sewn on a twill weave jerkin jacket, 2: the leather armor, leather gaiters overlapping forms an independent structure that joins the rest of the set with leather straps closed by buckles, 3: The metal glove, a chainmail glove closes the cuff to give the sleeve a shot, 4: The helmet,
a velvet hat lined with metal strips works as an armor helmet 5: The pants, a black twill pants and finally 6: Black leather boots to the knees.
Design Challenge: The development of the piece became a challenge, I wanted to do something great for the character but working in Cuba is always difficult due to the lack of resources, so while researching, I also located materials. Looking in an antique warehouse I found these old pieces of unused corsets bones and leather leggings and decided to use them. With only one month to prepare the entire theater play with more than 16 characters we were detained in this armor for a week, assembling, testing and sewing piece by piece in search of achieving an attractive but useful result.
Research: My research flew over two essential aspects, the historical and the technical. After having studied for years Western and Japanese armors, the challenge of creating one was wonderful. I had to solve how I should use the historical engineering structures in those garments with the modern materials I had in hand. I read and compiled images and information, of the western armor, I appropriated the metal and the order of the parts while from the Japanese I took overlays of leather pieces sewn with cord. The result was a very visual and modern armor that keeps its basic function, protection.
Inspiration: Having studied for years structures that we use when dressing and that have protected and distancing ourselves from the real world I choose one of my favorite, the armor. I took advantage of the study of Western and Japanese war pieces and modernized it with the use of materials and disused pieces. The text of Shakespeare's play emphasizes the two faces and the physical problem of the character I used it as inspiration to separate and show the two parts of Richard III.
Project Duration: The project started in June 2018 in Havana, Cuba and ended in September 2018 in Havana, Cuba.
Operation Flow: The piece is compound by 6 small parts, the main three, armor jacket, pant and boots are easy to put, also it has another leather structure which should be placed with buckles while the hat and the glove are closed by an elastic piece. the interaction between the actor and the piece is determined for the modular form of the main piece, the person can take off the leather part, the helmet, the glove and keep only the base jacket, pants and boots, in the same way he can add more pieces throught the evolution of the character inside the theater play.
Patents: Copyrights belong to Chijona, Samantha, 2018
Team Members: Designer and Creative Director: Samantha Chijona
Designer: Vladimir Cuenca
Image Credits: Image 1,2,3,4,5: Samantha Chijona Photographer/ Samantha Chijona Designer /Richard III/ The Armor /Model: Maria Gabriela Sanchez, 2018