CAPITOL MALE – sold out. District 8, 10 and 12 backline – sold out. Panem backline and male section – sold out. Mocking Jay individual frontline, backline and male – all sold out. Catching fire backline – sold out.
The Hunger Games have begun for Zulu International as by Wednesday this week, five days after the launch, only a handful of the 1 000 costumes expected to be offered were available.
Ryan Austin told WEEKEND BUZZ he intended to keep the band at 1 000 this year in order to effectively manage the consumer experience.
“I think that . . . it is important to learn to manage numbers. [There may be issues] if you go too far too early, because we still want to cater to everyone and make sure they have a good time,” he said.
Austin was speaking at the launch of the band’s 2015 offering, The Hunger Games, at the Concorde Experience. The Zulu International director added that 1 000 was also last year’s target, which was reached in three days.
This year’s theme was inspired by the dystopian splendour of the popular American movie franchise through its seven sections: District 8, District 10, District 12, Capitol, Catching Fire, Panem and Mockingjay; while Victors featured the individual costumes for each section.
Six of the seven sections have frontline and backline options, with the exception of the VIP section, Capitol. Hundreds of loyal tributes packed the Christ Church venue to party and catch a glimpse of the costumes, which were presented in a 20-minute blitz of large feathered headpieces, dazzling colour combinations and intricate beadwork.
Costume prices were not revealed at the launch party, but instead were posted on Zulu International’s website on Saturday morning.
This year prices ranged from $800 for a female backline costume and went up to $3 500 for the Mockingjay individual costume. Male costumes started at $690.
Austin explained that the costumes were more expensive than last year due to the increased costs of materials and the decision to engage the services of a “more professional mass producer” this year – a company out of Trinidad.
In addition to its road offering, Zulu International will also host a number of events during the Crop Over season, including Neverland and the premium all-inclusive, Enchanted. (Green Bananas Media)
