Themewear is one of my favourite rounds in a fitness show. Think Victoria Secrets, Miss World National costume and full on samba regalia at carnival and you are in the ballpark! If ultra glamour and dress up are comfy places for you to strut your stuff you will love doing the themewear costume round!
The themewear round was first conceived by the WBFF, but most pageant shows have their own incarnation. Pure Elite has the underwear round in their International Model category, UFE has their glamour round, FMC has a themewear round in their Bikini Model category and Glifting Girls also has a themewear round. In most of these categories your costume will involve a bikini and a variety of costume pieces and props. You can wear anything from carnival wings to elaborate head-dresses to flowing chiffon skirts....it's all about showing off and getting creative. The exception to this is the Pure Elite's underwear round...in this particular show you can still wear all the costume pieces and props but instead of wearing a bikini you will be wearing underwear.
Not only will you be wearing a fabulous costume, but you must also be able walk the walk in it and ooze personality whilst on stage.
In this category you are expected to pull off the ultimate costume round and display your unique style and personality, and I would advise you to go full out to get noticed....this is not a round for shrinking violets! The judges will be looking for a unique eye catching costume as well as your stage presence and poise.
There are a variety of ways in which you can nail this round, it just requires some planning and investment.
First you want to get your concept together....what exactly do you want to express on stage? Do you want to become a warrior on stage, a goddess, a super-hero, or villain or perhaps a pin-up or creatuer of fantasy.
Take inspiration from other shows, but don't direct copy another competitors costume... unless of course you have bought your themewear second hand from another competitor. In which case try to find a way to add or mix it up to truly make it your own. If you are stumped about where to start looking for idea's I have a pinterest board for you, but please feel free to browse all my boards ...there are quite a few!
You also need to think about colour. Do you already have a killer bikini or underwear set to use as your base garment? If not you will need to get one in the right colour scheme to fit your idea's....or maybe you already have something fabulous that could be used to springboard your concept from?
Whatever you have already to work with ...work it baby!
Scale is important too. Remember that you have to share stage space with, on average, ten to twenty other ladies. It is always better to wow the judges with the quality of your costume not the square footage that it occupies. You wear the costume darling...not the other way around!
And finally consider your budget. This is usually the most expensive round to take part in because the materials and expertise needed to make the props are very specialist and usually expensive themselves. Feathers are particularly expensive to buy and import with the current economic downturn so factor these things in when planning your competition season.
Here are some of the costume pieces I have created over the years, and I had lots of fun creating them all. Some of them even have their own blog posts if you would like to read up on individual costumes.
And finally...have fun with it. Absolutely let yourself put on the character of the costume you have chosen and go for it on stage...you have about five minutes to make your impression on the judges, so own it!
RECAP
Shows that have themewear rounds:
WBFF
Pure Elite
UFE
FMC
Glifting Girls