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Carnival life in 3D
DFZ collaboration puts high-tech costumes on parade
INSPIRATION CAN strike around any corner—especially if that corner’s at Ryerson. That’s where Dwayne Dixon first spotted the 3D printer that changed the course of SugaCayne Designs, the company he and his wife, Candice, cofounded nine years ago to design carnival costumes for festivals around the world.
“Dwayne happened to be taking a tour of the DMZ in 2016,” recalls Candice. “He was shown a 3D printer and started asking about the technology and when he came home, he said, ‘Maybe we could change the game and we could introduce digital technology into our costume design’.”
The couple met with several Ryerson zones before connecting with the Design Fabrication Zone (DFZ) long distance while they were in Trinidad in 2017 working with Douglas John, a world-renowned carnival costume designer who is a mentor of Candice’s.
“The first few conversations we had with the DFZ were over Skype in Trinidad in a feather room,” says Candice, laughing. “It was really cool for them to see us in the element, and for us to be discussing how to take this art form to the next level.”
And that they did, creating two seasons of spectacular costumes that have been featured on Breakfast Television, CP24, the Design Exchange and the Royal Ontario Museum, as well as the Toronto Caribbean Carnival’s Grand Parade (scheduled for August 3, this year).
Now, in their third season of collaboration with the DFZ, SugaCayne is taking carnival costuming to even greater heights, using 3D printing, laser cutting, and “Worbla,” a thermoplastic modelling material used in cosplay, to create costumes for the 21st century.
“This year is going to be their most ambitious yet,” says Andrew Jepson, technical coordinator at the DFZ. “We are tackling more themes and building more costumes, many of which are going to require new materials and processes that haven’t been used to make costumes before. Not only do these pieces have to look spectacular, they also need to be lightweight, durable and breathable so that performers can be comfortable wearing them for hours on end in the hot summer sun.”
10 Ryerson University Magazine / Summer 2019
