Fleur de Lys; Costumes of Notre Dame de Paris

Fleur de Lys's Costume Analysis

As Phoebus' Fiancé, Fleur de Lys is Esmeralda's foil and her costume reflects that aspect of her character. Where Esmeralda's costume is a textured dress, Fleur de Lys wears a sleeveless, a-line dress that is more or less solid pink in color.

The costume reflects a young women who appears sweet but under her sweet exterior there is a young noble lady who is cold, bitter and calculating.

Throughout the different casts there is a ton of variation on this seemingly simple costume. This page looks are the different aspects of this costume to see how they differ from each other.

The costume was designed by Fred Sathal.

The Color

There is a practice when it comes to choosing a color for Fleur de Lys, it has to be either a very bright vibrate pink or a soft almost white pink.

Many of the cast opts for the vibrate pink color which help with being on stage but the other casts mainly the Italian casts go for the soft color. The soft pink is a great foil to Fleur de Lys in the second act of the play.

The Fabric

It's a little tricky to tell what kind of fabric it is but by judging from the way the fabric moves and hangs my guess would be silk charmeuse.

However some of Fleur de Lys' costume could be made out of satin. The trick to picking a fabric is to make sure it's pink and has graceful drape.

The Silhouette

Fleur de Lys' basic Silhouette is very standard from cast to cast. It's a simple a-line dress. Both Esmeralda and Fleur de Lys have simple silhouettes as per the minimal late 90s look of the costume. Fluer de lys though sports an unusual hemline which we look more in a bit.

The Shoulder Straps and Necklines

Much like the Silhouette, Fleur de Lys’ Shoulder Straps and Necklines are fairly constant. Her costume has a scoop neck like with wide Shoulder straps. At least one of the French Cast had a thin straps.

The Hemline

The Hems is Fleur de Lys' most divergent detail.

In the original French and London cast the hemline was asymmetrical as the front was longer than the back. This gave the costume a slight edge, it masked her cold dark heart.

In other London casts, this as asymmetry was reversed so that the back was longer and shorter in the front. This made the costume look more soft and romantic.

While other casts opt for a strand even hemline al around the dress.

Typically the hemline hits at about the ankles but in the 2012 Asian Tour, the hem hits mid cafe.

The Extra Details

There are two principle details in a Fleur de Lys costume; random patches of a dark pink dye and light reflecting detail.

The dye marks are random in placement on the bodice and on the skirt. The dye also adds a bit of edge to the costume.

The light reflecting detail are either a decorative thread or crystals/sequins. This detail tends to follow the neckline, arm holes and around the waist. The light reflecting detail look great on stage.

The Hairstyle

With the exception of the Korean cast and one French actress; Fleur de Lys is always blond and most of the actresses wear wigs. She wears her hair pulled back in a half up half done style.

However the execution is different throughout the versions. Some Fleur de Lys have straight hair while others have it curled. Some have bangs. Some are pulled back by intricate braid while other simple pulled back. Some Fleur de Lys have hair accessories like flowers or crystals.

The Shoes

Unlike Esmeralda, Fleur de Lys wears shoes. She wears pink pumps. The style changes, sometimes it's a simple pump while other have fancy straps.

Rule of the thumb i,s they're are always pink.

Fleur de Lys Costume Poll

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