Lianne of Slincwear Costumes based out of Calgary Canada needed to create a latex blowup suit for a Willy Wonka theater production where the character Violet would expand to phenomenal proportions after eating forbidden grape candy.
She reached out to us to try and figure out how to design the garment so the actor could get in and out of the outfit, and also how to ensure that air didn’t escape.
While her final design wasn’t the most elegant, we applaud Lianne for coming up a working solution on a short timeline. Her design incorporated a rubber coated zipper for access in and out of the outfit, along with lots of duct tape to keep the air inside the pants.
Another option would have been to create a double walled pant to keep the air in – but hey – duct tape seems to have gotten the job done, and it was probably much faster!
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VIolet from the original Willy Wonka movie.
Showing the duct tape portions of the costume.
Getting ready for the show
Sealing air in latex while still allowing quick costume changes sounds like a nightmare. The combination of a coated zipper and taped seams feels like a very practical theater hack.
I appreciate that you acknowledged the design wasn’t elegant but still effective. That’s often the reality in costume work when deadlines and budgets are tight.
It’s refreshing to see a behind-the-scenes look at problem solving like this. The Violet blowup effect is iconic, and making it work physically with latex must have been tricky.
The biggest challenge here really seems like balancing access with airtight construction. That rubber coated zipper detail is a clever compromise I wouldn’t have thought of right away.
The rubber coated zipper detail stood out to me since zippers are usually weak points in airtight builds. That seems like a key takeaway for anyone attempting something similar.
Using duct tape to hold air in sounds crude, but in theater quick fixes often win. I’m curious how well it held up under repeated inflation and movement during the show.
The idea of a double-walled pant is interesting, but I get why Lianne skipped it given the timeline. Sometimes getting something that works reliably for a performance matters more than elegance.
I like how the rubber coated zipper solved the entry problem without completely compromising the seal. For a stage piece on a tight schedule, the duct tape approach makes practical sense even if it’s not pretty.
It would be interesting to know what kind of inflation system they used alongside the suit. Keeping air from escaping is one thing, but controlling the expansion is another challenge.
I wonder if the duct tape created any stiffness that affected how the suit expanded visually. Still, if it achieved that exaggerated “phenomenal proportions” look, it did its job.
Honestly, duct tape saving the day doesn’t surprise me at all. For a Willy Wonka production, as long as the visual gag lands and holds air, the audience will never notice the shortcuts.
The mention of a double wall design makes me think about durability for longer runs. For a short production though, Lianne’s faster solution was probably the smartest call.