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 characterization. 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

It's Pink

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 as she is less naive about Phoebus and his exploits.

The Fabric

It's Smooth

It's a little tricky to tell exactly what kind of fabric is used for Fleur de Lys's costume. Judging from the way the fabric moves and hangs it could be a silk charmeuse.

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

The Silhouette

A-line

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.

An A-line silhouette also has the added advantage of being flattering on most body types.

The Shoulder Straps and Necklines

Bodice Elements

Much like the Silhouette, Fleur de Lys’ Shoulder Straps and Necklines are fairly consistent throughout the different iterations of the production design.

Her costume has a scoop neck like with wide shoulder straps. At least one of the French Cast had a thin straps.

Also Fleur de Lys's costume is sleeveless. To date no version that uses this general costume design has added sleeves or a sleeve-like detail. Again this puts her costume in contrast to Esmeralda's costume which has sleeves of differing length.

The Hemline

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The Bottom of the Dress

The Hems is Fleur de Lys' most divergent detail through the different versions.

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 edgy. It suggested some beyond her innocence demeanor.

In other London casts, this asymmetry was reversed so that the back was longer and shorter in the front. This made the costume look softer and romantic. This suggest her noble status, like in the novel.

While other casts opt for straight hemline across the dress.

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

The Extra Details

Dye or Shine

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

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 as well as visual interest.

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.

These details are not mutually exclusive. Some versions have both.

The Hairstyle

Mainly Blonde

With the exception of the Korean cast and one French actress; Fleur de Lys is always blonde and most of the actresses wear wigs. The style is worn in a half up half down style. Again this contrast Esmeralda whose hair dark or reddish and styles it down and loose.

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

Heels

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 is that they are are always pink.

French Revival Design

The French Language Revival Tour beginning in 2016 saw an update to the costumes of Notre Dame de Paris. Some of the costumes went through minor revisions while other were fundamentally changed. The new designs were done by Caroline van Assche

Fleur de Lys's costume saw some additions to her overlook but it's mostly the same. It's still a pink sleeveless A-line design with dye pattern details. Her hairstyle and pink heels are still present.

What is different are the use of layers. Layers were also used in Esmeralda redesign to add interest and to add more movement to the costume. Movement was missing from Esmeralda's costume and while Fleur de Lys does not need it as much it still good to see it employed.

The most notable difference is in the bodice. There is an overlay which is pulled back to reveal layer of thin sheer lighter pink fabric. It looks like a flower. The outer layer of the bodice has darker pink dye detail and hints of yellow at the waistline.

This sheer over-layer on the bodice extend down over the skirt in panels. This gives the skirt some movement and adds fullness. The skirt is also floor length in this version making the longest.

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