Zaido designers talk about their costume concept

Zaido's costume designer is Bill Gustilo and he thinks dressing up the stars of the show was kid stuff.

“I thought of toys,” Gustilo told Inquirer Entertainment. “I saw the boys as action figures and the girls as dolls.”

He and fellow designer Noel Flores had a simple design philisophy: “Think kids.”

He explained: “I asked myself: If I were a child, what toys would I like to play with?”

“We wanted a coherent look: futuristic, science fiction,” Gustilo said.

Flores' Galactic Force Academy costumes is heavily influenced by Star Trek.

Redynn Alba, “Zaido” program manager, said that, although GMA 7 acquired the rights for the 1980s series “Shaider” from Japanese company Toei, the local network was allowed to tweak not only the story, but the costumes and the overall look as well.

For example, Kris Bernal’s ingénue Amy wears a nautical outfit like the one worn by “Shaider” heroine Annie, but, “We did away with the long sleeves and made it more youthful,” said Gustilo.

Baddie Jay Manalo’s Drigo looks like a modernized Kagemusha in black and red. Cross-dressing cohort Paolo Ballesteros’ Ida is a vision in violet straight from “Voltes V.”

The female villains, dubbed Amazonas, are color-coded: black, orange, pink and white. “I wanted the girls to look like barbarians, but in candy colors,” Gustilo explained. He also made use of snakeskin, spandex, rubber and fake leather, “for costumes that jump out of the screen.”
See more of their costumes here.

Bayani San Diego Jr.
Inquirer