This post features a distinctive outfit inspired by the Venetian Carnival of the 18th century and the Italian theatre tradition of Commedia dell’arte. Its creator combines the mysterious appeal of historical carnival costumes with elements of Harlequin, a familiar character from Italian popular theatre. The black-and-white costume consists of several carefully chosen and adapted pieces, including a tricorne, a cloak and a mask he modified himself. In his story, the creator shares the inspiration behind the outfit, the challenges of putting it together and his plans to develop the costume further.
The creator’s own story:
My first outfit that I have worked on for fantasy festival is my Venetian Carnival outfit, aiming for a look that closely resembles the Venetian Carnival in the 18th century. I wanted to style myself after classical images of those who went to Venetian Carnival in that period but also input elements of Commedia dell’arte, specifically the character of the Harlequin (similar in role in these comedic theatre shows to Jan-Klaassen in Dutch puppetry.
The character would always end up in trouble and would fall in love, usually in vain. I love the idea of the character and it seem reasonable that perhaps a stylish noblemen would doth a outfit such as that for carnival. Commedia dell’arte was also quite popular in this era. Perhaps my favorite part of this outfit is the feeling of strangeness it evokes, it gives an air of mystery. Perhaps some would interpret it as though my outfit is perfect for an elite cult but I believe it evokes an almost modern fairy tale asthetic.
I wear a black and white Harlequin/jester suit to which I added extra bells, a nice cloak to keep my warm and sell the look, a Bristol style tricorne and a mask that I cut myself into a Phantom of the Opera half face mask.
It took a while to make the mask right but eventually I succeeded. I did make one mistake, I did not shave off the corner well enough at my mouth. When I came back from a festival, I noticed I had accidentally cut myself on the mask. For shoes I wore my combat boots, as they are quite subdued and comfortable. Perhaps a classic show with heels would work better but I imagine I would have trouble walking in those, especially when outside and for long days. Also, not a great suit for indoors or summer as it gets quite hot. Something that might add to the character would be a rapier that I could buy from CelticWebMerchant. Although I like the idea of this character relying more on his silver tongue and perhaps fists of iron, a sword always makes a look like this work the best. The belts also need some work, I need something more period accurate and perhaps more ornate.
Now what I actually would wish to do is create my own harlequin suit from linnen but that would be quite the project. Still I would love to get this outfit to the next level, even with my limited budget. But I would also like to save money for my next project; a early 13th century knight.
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