Eliza Cassan from Deus Ex: Human Revolution was a perfect nerdlesque muse

As the name suggests, Nerdlesque – a portmanteau of “nerd” and “burlesque” – combines fandom with the art of striptease. I liken it to fanfiction because we do more than just pull off a cosplay. A nerdlesque plot tells a story that, as in some fanfics, may simply be a character getting ready for sexy times. I enjoy restating the main narrative or putting a character in a different light, such as giving Naked Snake the same sexual treatment that many female characters received in the Metal Gear Solid games.

Because burlesque is a predominantly female industry, many of us nerdlesquers have found ourselves being quizzed about our fandom devotion and knowledge. That’s why we shy away from using an unknown character’s costume as inspiration. Nobody likes being accused of being a “fake fan”. Still, I decided to take that risk by creating my Eliza Cassan act.

I had already implemented a fashion-first approach to Nerdlesque by my solo debut. As a starting point, I used the style of taking off the glasses to redesign the geeky girl and created a tribute to comic book fangirls. This time I would be portraying a character rather than a fantasy version of myself, but if I could build a complete burlesque routine out of removing my glasses (and then revealing that I couldn’t see) then I could definitely learn enough about a character to accurately represent them without having to play the video game.

Another hesitation arose when creating an act that fit a very specific theme. So much time and money goes into an act that reusability is important. Most people avoid obscure characters for this reason, in addition to the fact that producers of non-nerdlesque series tend to book nerd performances with great appeal. However, Tuesday Tease was a weekly queer variety show that I co-produced and made frequent appearances on, so the themes were creative and encouraged the performers to experiment. One of my co-producers suggested “Robo Renaissance” and we agreed to put it on the calendar. My determination to accurately portray the subject as a fan of steampunk and related genres led me to embrace the inevitable specificity of my routine. I searched for different terms for ideas: “Robo Renaissance”, “Clock Punk”, “Cyber ​​Renaissance”. The last sentence led me to it Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Image: Eidos-Montreal

I came across a for the first time Community contribution Eidos-Montréal around Zhao Yunrus character design, which explicitly mentioned Renaissance fashion and transhumanism – the jackpot! However, the Elizabethan ruff, corset and tight skirt seemed too constricting to dance in, and I just didn’t like the cream color palette. The next post I found on Eliza Cassan’s design got a different reaction.

Eliza’s collar had larger folds than a traditional ruff, making him more of a drag queen than an Elizabethan aristocrat. The sci-fi elements were more apparent due to the triangular shape of her coat and laps. Underneath she wore a slip dress with cut-outs and stockings, which followed the fashion trend for lingerie as outerwear. She also had fetish-inspired, thigh-high, strappy boots. All of these associations also served as inspiration for burlesque performers: the exaggerated silhouettes of drag, the softness of vintage lingerie, and the taboo sensuality of the fetish. I could use that to my advantage when performing in front of an audience that has never heard of a Deus Ex games.

Photo: Allan Hayslip

Photo: Allan Hayslip

I had a look and someone to make the coat (co-star Jessica Dahl), but I needed a story to tell. As I began to research Eliza’s character and the themes Deus Ex: Human Revolution, I hit the real jackpot. Her celebrity persona was artificial in the truest sense of the word: she wasn’t a real person, but an AI created to control the media. I found a delicious irony in me – a shy, non-binary nerd – revealing a character’s true nature while maintaining the fantasy of a sexy, female-presenting stage star.

The hybrid styles in Eliza’s outfit reflect the harshness of an artificial construct and the gentle projection of humanity. Her silhouette is severe and intimidating with the highly constructed coat and fetish boots emblematic of unattainable celebrity status. As she interacts more with Adam Jensen, her personality emerges and we get to know the real Eliza. Taking off the coat and boots gives a delicate lace slip with floral fishnet stockings that I have converted into hold-ups to take off. The highlight is that among the trendy items of clothing it is just a series of ones and zeros. My revelation would reflect the same as I undressed and removed a pair of plain black panties with binary numbers painted on them. The final element was the pies, which were inspired by Eliza’s character designer’s comments about the pink in her collar. The color did not exist in the world Deus Ex: Human Revolution, so the shot in Eliza’s outfit anticipated her artificial nature. I bought pink rhinestone pasties with LED “nipples” from Gothfox Designs, an additional nod to the technology. And even if viewers missed the narration, they could still be entertained with surprisingly glowing breasts.

In the world of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Eliza Cassan was widely hailed as a fashion celebrity figure and eventually had similar star power in the real world of burlesque. Eliza’s beauty and high status allowed her true nature to remain hidden while also manipulating public opinion through the stories she reported. By recreating her extravagant outfit, I was able to engage viewers who weren’t gamers or sci-fi fans with my retelling of her story. Perhaps some even aroused interest in it Deus Ex: Human Revolutionjust like I did when I first saw Eliza Cassan.