The costume for Fire was the first illustration done for the project way before envisioning the style of the rest of the production. The design was originally more tribal looking, with more literal leaf shapes and feathers. The discovery of the Jember Fashion Carnival, was ultimately what helped move the show towards the more eastern inspired looks for the costumes and puppets. 

In contrast to Fire, Earth’s personality and costume are more calm and welcoming. Her design did not want her to become a stereotypical “mother earth” type character. There is a balance between power and mother-like worry about everything. She is wise, but doesn’t speak up much. She secretly enjoys having the other elements by her side and prefers to battle in a team setting.

Alchemy of Earth was originally set to be a story about Fire and Ice. The character of Water’s first costume was more of an icy variation. The headdress and costume both feature large shards of ice wrapping around the performer. The color palette provided an extreme contrast to the Fire costume, which reflected their opposite personalities. However, this original idea for the story was scrapped in favor of a more team-based adventure. So the character of Ice quickly melted into what we know now as Water.

The Void is the villain of this universe, and the costume was designed to have a sharp contrast as opposed to the Elements. The Void’s costume is more sharp and pointed, as well as having more tattered and torn edges. The Elements’ costumes are more soft and curved in their shape language. The speckled sparkly fabric, creates a motif of stars in the endless galaxies of space. The most obvious comparison is that the Void’s costume has silver fabric throughout, whereas the Elements’ have gold fabric in their costumes.