There is no doubt that the FIFA World Cup fever engulfs its fans and inspires them to dress up in support of their nation’s team. The efforts they put in to making their costumes to support their countries at football’s biggest carnival is simply amazing!
But my gob was smacked when I was treated to this outfit:
When I first saw this, I thought it was fake – some CGI (Computer-Generated Image) or VFX (Visual Effects) character with augmented reality that was promoting the World Cup by honoring Brazil’s incomparable Pelé (who is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time having led team Brazil to World Cup Championships in 1958, 1962 and 1970).
I had the definite impression that I wasn’t really seeing an actual human being, but rather an animation enhanced by special effects. It truly seemed more like a digital rendition of a football player – like someone had just walked out of a video game.
But it’s a real person in the most imaginative costume I’ve ever seen!
This Brazil fan went all out 😳🇧🇷🪞 pic.twitter.com/Yjif15XtrS
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 9, 2022
@maskbusters #qatar2022 #fifa #fifaworldcup #qatarliving #thisisqatar #football #soccer #pele #worldcup #fortnite #trophy #ball #eventideas #evententertainment #specialevents #eventperformer #corporateentertainment #eventpros #eventservices #corporateevents #eventshow #liveentertainment #luxuryevents #show #eventplanner #mirror #costume #mascot #brazil #brasil
In fact there are three people decked out in these fabulous, mirrored costumes that have virally taken the World Cup fans – and Netizens of the world – by storm. Beside Pelé there’s one sporting a red jersey that portrays Cristiano Ronaldo, star of the Portugal national team. And finally, a third character all decked out in the quirky mirror outfit of a referee.
@onefootball Replying to @Luis Aguilar 👽 They are 🤩 @maskbusters #worldcup
@espnfc This #Brazil fan came ready at the #WorldCup 🇧🇷👏 #qatar #soccer #neymar (via cahemota/Twitter)
Turns out that these costumes were not crafted by a Brazilian or Portuguese fan – but are the creations of a company called MaskBusters. It’s located in Slovakia, and like you, I had lots of questions about their creations.
Sadly, I couldn’t find out as much as I wanted about the costumes or MaskBusters itself – but here’s what I did learn. They’re made of triangular pieces of colored reflective material forming a mosaic-like geometric outfit in a broken-glass pattern that’s sewn onto a layer of fabric. (You can make out the zipper on the back in a few of the frames.) The consensus of Netizens’ comments is that it’s most likely a thin plastic or possibly mylar – so it’s probably fairly lightweight.
I was unable to find out how hot they are, but probably not as hot as a lot of college and professional team mascot costumes are.
You can hire MaskBusters to design a costume for your event, but they don’t sell them. Apparently they have a crew of models who perform while using the mirroring costumes the client requested. I have no idea what the cost might be – either with a Google search or at the MaskBusters website.
Here’s a sampling from their portfolio of what they’ve created in the past:
Finally, sadly for the man dressed as Pelé, after reflecting on his team’s loss I’m sure he was “shattered” into a Brazilian pieces.
(I forgot – how many zeroes are there in a Brazilian?)
