Analysis / THE iDOLM@STER: Shiny Colors

Clothes Make the Idol (info provided by Imasloid/Koberto)

Many people tend to overlook clothes in the Idolm@ster franchise as just purely accessory to the character and nothing else. However, the clothing of the cast of Shiny Colors not only communicates their characterizations but also their Character Development. Depending on the unit they're in, they also communicate the styles and motifs of said groups they're in.

illumination STARS

As the basic idol group of the series, illumination STARS is composed of freshly-new idols, with the three members being a classic red-blue-yellow trio that's seen in other branches of the franchise. As the name suggests, they are new stars waiting to shine bright on the stage. Their theme is "Individuality in Unity", as their unit costumes are uniform but also have subtle changes in detail to show their distinct personalities. Their costumes are relatively simple (with classic idol elements) and are rooted in space/sky symbology.

Sparkle Illumination

• The unit's main costume. It easily showcases the aesthetics of their unit and what the unit stands for. Its name is an echo to the unit's name as well as the name of the subfranchise Shiny Colors.
• As it is the main costume of the vanilla unit, Sparkle Illumination shares many design elements with the branch-wide costume Beyond the Blue Sky, such as the headwear (both in desing and placement), marching band design details, feathers on the cuffs and skirt, feather details around the waist, and an identical fabric for the skirt tail.
• Individuality in Unity is showcased through the following
  • Mano has puffed sleeves and wears a skirt.
  • Hiori has detached and sheer sleeves and wears spats under her skirt.
  • Meguru is sleeveless and wears shorts.
• The classic idol elements include the following
  • The idols' respective image colors acting as the distinct color from the otherwise uniform color scheme of the outfit.
  • The incorporation of polka dots, sequins and stripes, plus checks.
  • Headpieces, bows/ribbons on their headpieces, ruffles on their sleeves, and marching band-style bodices.
• The main color palette of white, dark blue and black. Dark blue represents their naivetie to the idol biz, as they are a wholly-new idol unit. The black represents that they are in the dark that they have yet to illuminate.
• The stars represent them as an individual unit, and their desire to illuminate in the idol world.
• The feathers/wings represent that they are the "main" unit of 283 Production^note 283 is a goroawase reading for Tsubasa, which means "wing". Wings are a common motif in the subfranchise, as they represent attaining one's dreams and flying past the limits to new highs than ever.

Siriusly Crown

• The unit's second costume. The first half of the name is a pun on Sirius (the brightest star in the night sky) and seriously (an indicator that they are beginning to take themselves more seriously compared to their debut).
• Siriusly Crown departs from the classic idol elements present in Sparkle Illumination to develop an identity of its own, focusing on the "space/sky" symbolism.
• The design detail differences are much more overt compared to Sparkle Illumination.
• The costumes have a heavy star motif, such as a starry galaxy pattern on their button wear and stars on their chains, bows and armbands.
• The jewels are placed in different positions, which reflect the Freudian Trio: Mano’s pendant is placed in the center, reflecting her as The Kirk and the leader of the group. Hiori’s and Meguru’s are placed at opposite ends from each other (left and right respectively) reflecting their statuses as The Spock and The McCoy respectively.
• As Siriusly Crown has a wholly-uniform color scheme, compared to Sparkle Illumination, Individuality in Unity is showcased through the following
  • Mano
    • Bloomer shorts
    • Lace headband
    • Uniform ribbon + brooch
    • Plumeria hairpin
    • Ruffled collar
    • Pastel color palette such as cream, light purple and purple
    • Star garter on her left leg
    • Tails on both sides of her, reflecting her role as The Leader and The Kirk in the Freudian Trio.
    • Her jewel is placed in the center, reflecting her role as The Leader and The Kirk in the Freudian Trio.
  • Hiori
    • Skirt
    • Star garter on her right leg
    • Fur lining
    • Leather beret
    • Asymmetrical stockings
    • Blue rose hairpin
    • Regular collar
    • Cool color palette such as light purple, blue and indigo
    • Her tail and jewel are on her left side, reflecting her as The Kirk in the Freudian Trio.
    • Thigh-high socks instead of star garters
  • Meguru
    • Shorter skirt compared to Hiori. Also wears shorts underneath
    • Crop top that leaves her midriff exposed and adds a slight cleavage window
    • Detached collar
    • Sunflower hairpin
    • Warm color palette such as orange, red and brown
    • Her tail and jewel are on her right side, reflecting her as The McCoy in the Freudian Trio.
    • Thigh-high socks instead of star garters
  • The crowns are of different designs despite being made from the same material.
  • Mano’s star is the largest of the trio and has purple sheer lining on her sleeves, again reflecting her role as The Leader and The Kirk of the Freudian Trio. Also, Meguru and Hiori have star arm cuffs on their right and left arms respectively, but Mano does not have any.

Twinkly Cheerful

• The unit's third costume. The first half of the name is an obvious reference to “twinkle twinkle little star” and unsurprisingly the costume features a heavy star motif. The second half of the name is derived from the theme of “Joy in unity”, as the girls hold their hands together in the illustrations to transform their costumes Magical Girl-style.
• As discussed above, the costume has a Magical Girl design.
• The costume can be thought of as a combination of Sparkle Illumination and Siriusly Crown, incorporating the classic idol costume feel of the former and the heavy space/sky symbolism of the latter.
• “Joy in unity” is show with how much more uniform the costumes are in design when compared to Siriusly Crown, right down to all three having a high ponytail.
• The costume incorporates a western pop star aesthetic, with in-ear mics, cropped tops, starwing insignias, furs, polka dot sheer fabrics, and dual-color headbands. Combine that with the Magical Girl-esque transformation in their animations then it symbolizes that they’ve transformed into the idols of their dreams.
• As Siriusly Crown has a wholly-uniform color scheme, compared to Sparkle Illumination, Individuality in Unity is showcased through the following
  • Mano
    • Fur collar
    • Frilled arm cuffs on both arms
    • Short right glove and long left glove
    • No “vest”
    • Bare shoulders
  • Hiori
    • Bare right shoulder but has the polka dot sheer fabric cover her left shoulder
    • Fur on the right shoulder
    • “Vest”
    • Short left glove and long right glove
    • Frilled arm cuff on her left arms
  • Meguru
    • “Vest”
    • Fur covers the “vest’s” collar and the arm cuffs
    • Bare shoulders
    • Has arm cuffs on both arms but are not uniform like Mano’s, with the left arm cuff having yellow details and the right arm cuff being simpler

Planetes Series

• The unit’s fourth costume. This would mark a third primary style of the group: celestial beings. The “celestial beings” motifs can be thought of as a Logical Extreme of the space/sky motif, where the girls are now higher powers or cosmic forces.
• This costume series is the only one to have a separate name for each variation: Planetes Stella for Mano, Planetes Luna for Hiori and Planetes Sol for Meguru. Also this reflects their respective categories as shown in the COLORFUL FE@THERS albums (Stella for Mano, Luna for Hiori; Sol for Meguru); said categories are comparable to the Cute/Cool/Passion categories seen in ‘’Cinderella Girls’’, the Princess/Fairy/Angel categories seen in ‘’Million Live!’’ and the Physical/Intelligent/Mental categories seen in ‘’Side-M’’.
• Individuality in Unity does not exist in this costume series, as the costumes are far too distinct to be uniform. Instead they have shared core elements and explicit naming to unify an otherwise completely distinct set of costumes.
• The costumes represent a celestial body (the shooting star for Mano, the full moon for Hiori and the rising sun for Meguru) and the diurnal cycle (Mano is the dawn/dusk, Hiori is the night, and Meguru is the day). The Freudian Trio is also embodied in this dynamic, similar to Siriusly Crown: Mano’s embodiment of the dawn/dusk (the transition from the day to the night, from the night to the day) and the shooting stars (for they can only be seen during the transition between day and night) reflect her as The Kirk and also The Leader; Hiori’s embodiment of the night and the associated moon (as they are both “cool”) reflect her as The Spock; Meguru’s embodiment of the day and the associated sun (as they are both “warm”) reflect her as The McCoy.
• Showing that the “celestial beings” motif is an offshoot of the space/sky motifs, the idols have angelic wings that are summoned but also fade away after praying to their respective form of illumination, showing that, in spite of their developments as idols, they are still a long ways to go from becoming top idols. In spite of this, they can still illuminate the idol world, no matter what.