Avatar: Fire & Ash - Mangkwan Clan

Returning to Pandora once again with 'Avatar: Fire and Ash', we were delighted to be able to work with James Cameron and the late Jon Landau to help bring to life another new Na'vi clan. The warmongering Mangkwan, also called 'the Ash,' have rejected Eywa and have chosen a very different path from other Na'vi clans. They live in a landscape ravaged by volcanic activity, and their lifestyle celebrates the endurance of these harsh conditions. Led by the enigmatic and sadistic Tsahik Varang, the Mangkwan are deadly warriors who become even more formidable when they get access to RDA weaponry.
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Working with Costume Designer Deborah L Scott and our own amazing textiles department, we explored materials and techniques that could represent a culture for whom pain and battle is a way of life. Stark and bold bands of body paint paired well with previously unseen styles of adornments like bone piercings, scavenged metal remnants, scarification and brutally tight bindings. All the elements needed to feel uncomfortable and hard-edged. And in a significant contrast with the Metkayina or Tlalim, the Mangkwan had only very limited soft clothing items, and things were more likely to be repurposed rather than custom-made.
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As the Tsahik, Varang's costume elements were more considered and intricate, and needed to have a real impact. Her silhouettes were dramatic and bold, and were designed to show off the unbroken painted strip of red down her torso, as well as to accommodate her witchdoctor-like accessories. Statement jewellery, in many cases mangled and twisted shell casings or other salvaged metal, was another of her hallmarks.
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Costume Designer: Deborah L. Scott
Wētā Workshop Art Directors: Stephen Crowe, Rebekah Tisch
Concept Artists: Adam Anderson, Adam Middleton, Gus Hunter, Iona Brinch, Jeremy Hanna, Ken Samonte, Rebekah Tish, Thomas Oates, Tahiwi Trenor-Hunt, Vaughan Flanagan
Wētā Workshop Na’vi Costume Art Director: Flo Foxworthy
Costume Artisans: Jasmin van Lith, Kate Venables, Frances Hawker, Lisa Doherty, Flo Foxworthy, Claire Prebble, Callum Lingard, Antje McConnon, Cathy “Tree” Harris