Mask Show: Behind the Masks — Craft, Comfort, and Costume Ingenuity

The Mask Show has been broadcast on NTV since 2020, presenting an international format where movie stars, performers from show business, and athletes take the stage in elaborate costumes. Under the masks, their identities remain concealed and their voices are subtly altered, with the jury tasked to guess who is behind each disguise. The central tension comes from balancing reveal suspense with entertainment, making the guessing game the heart of the program. The show’s participants are not defined by fame alone. Rather, their on-screen personas are shaped by the costumes and the images they project. According to Yulia Sumacheva, the executive producer for White Media, costume development runs in parallel with selecting contestants for each new season. The production draws inspiration from international adaptations, yet increasingly emphasizes original, unique masks tailored to Russia’s audience and sensibilities. The costumes themselves are feats of craftsmanship. Some incorporate ventilation systems—tiny fans that introduce fresh air into the sealed disguise. These mechanisms operate similarly to cooling fans used for laptop processors, ensuring comfort during performances. In specific designs, motion and light play crucial roles: the Dragon suit features a mechanism that drives the tail and wings, Donut includes moving arms, and both Joker and Capricorn wear eyes that glow. Earlier Christmas episodes experimented with on-screen costume elements, but the third season moved away from built-in displays. The design team found that screens were uncomfortable for performers, often causing dizziness and disorientation. The screens had to be positioned at an eye-friendly distance, which wasn’t always feasible given the masks’ size. As a result, cameras and screens were abandoned for the moment, though ventilators remain essential for supplying oxygen and preventing overheating, according to Sumacheva. How does the costume design process begin? A costume designer drafts sketches guided by feedback from creative producers and then presents them to the contestants. Typically, participants arrive with no knowledge of which characters they will portray and choose among proposed options. There are exceptions, however, as some third-season contestants pre-communicated their preferences. Creating a costume takes roughly three to five months, from initial concept to final touches. The effort involves more than a hundred people, including artists, prop specialists, metal-frame experts, and electricians who illuminate outfits and fabricate custom screens for the masks. A wide range of materials appears in the wardrobe: leather, brocade, velvet, latex, and rubber. The search extends to construction shops and antique stores to source components that give each costume its distinctive character. Natural decor often appears in the ensembles. The Peacock, for example, showcases real peacock feathers and other bird plumage, a choice made to capture the true beauty and charm of the bird. The octopus features an arrangement of pearls, hundreds of seashells, and starfish, underscoring the emphasis on authentic textures. In total, designing the third-season costumes required more than 10 kilometers of fabrics, around 30 kilograms of plastic and 30 kilograms of stones and rhinestones, 40 liters of liquid silicone, and more than 25 kilograms of metal for the internal frame. Each season pushes toward lighter costumes and improved production techniques. When weight reduction isn’t possible, a special corset system is used to distribute mass evenly, reducing strain on the back and neck. Average costume weight sits between 7 and 15 kilograms, with the Tumbler noted as one of the heavier outfits in memory. The cost of a single costume typically hovers around one million rubles, though some ensembles command higher prices due to materials, embellishments, and labor. All tools undergo trial runs before use. Performers rehearse wearing the outfits to ensure breathing and movement are feasible. There have been moments when a mask impaired visibility, prompting urgent adjustments. In the first season, one mask revealed the wearer’s eyes, necessitating a quick alteration to conceal the face more effectively. Such on-the-spot fixes illustrate the meticulous attention given to performance safety and comfort. Over time, some costumes become permanent as the show evolves. If a contestant loses weight, the outfits may require ongoing tailoring. The Vintage singer Anna Pletneva, for instance, wore a Parrot costume that required continuous refreshment of the feathered elements as she moved on stage. Rather than discarding the creations, the production stores them for future appearances and seasonal performances. There are even discussions about a dedicated exhibition or museum showcasing the full archive of Mask Show costumes, a plan that has circulated among White Media producers for some time. Overall, the program highlights a marriage of artistry and engineering, where costume design blends aesthetics with performance science. Each season builds on the prior work, preserving the magic while refining comfort, mobility, and safety for participants and audiences alike. The show remains committed to delivering memorable, visually stunning transformations that celebrate creativity and the spectacle of disguise.