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

Like the name implies, nerdlesque — a portmanteau of “nerd” and “burlesque” — combines fandom with the art of striptease. The reason I liken it to fanfiction is that we’re doing more than simply stripping from a cosplay. As in fanfiction, a nerdlesque performance tells a tale, such as a character preparing for some sexy moments. It’s fun to reframe the story or cast a character differently, such as giving Naked Snake the same treatment many of the female characters from the Metal Gear Solid series received.

Burlesque has a largely female audience, so many nerdlesquers are often asked about their fandom knowledge. Therefore, we tend to shy away from using an unfamiliar character’s costume as inspiration. No one likes being accused of being a “fake fan.” Nevertheless, I decided to take that gamble in creating my Eliza Cassan act.

With my solo debut, I already had a first-class fashion approach to nerdlesque. As a base, I took off the glasses to transform the geeky girl and made an homage comic book fans. It was a different character than me that I’d be playing this time. If I can build an entire burlesque from the simple act of taking off my glasses and then revealing I cannot see, then I will have enough information to accurately portray the character without even having to play the game.

A second hesitation was the creation of an act that would fit a specific theme. It is essential that an act can be reused after spending so much time and effort on it. For this reason most people will avoid characters that they don’t know. Producers of other shows also tend to book more popular acts. Tuesday Tease is a queer weekly variety show that I both co-produced, and in which I often appeared. As a result, the themes are creative and encourage performers to experiment. One of my co-producers proposed “robo Renaissance,” and we agreed to put it on the calendar. I was determined to represent steampunk in the best possible way as a lover of the genre. This led me to adopt the specificity that my routine required. I searched different terms for ideas: “robo Renaissance,” “clock punk,” “cyber Renaissance.” The last phrase led me to Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Image: Eidos-Montréal

I first came across a Eidos-Montréal community post about Zhao Yun Ru’s character design that specifically mentioned Renaissance fashion and transhumanism — jackpot! However, the Elizabethan ruff, corset, and tight skirt seemed too restrictive to dance in, and I just wasn’t feeling the cream color palette. The next post I found, about Eliza Cassan’s design, elicited a different response.

Eliza’s collar had larger pleats than a traditional ruff, which made it more drag queen than Elizabethan aristocrat. Triangular tails and her coat’s triangular form made the sci-fi element more apparent. The slip dress had cutouts on the front and was paired with stockings. This followed fashion trends that used lingerie for outerwear. Also, she wore strappy boots with an fetish theme. All these associations were inspirations for burlesque performers as well: drag’s exaggerated silhouettes, vintage lingerie’s softness, and fetish’s taboo sensuality. This would be a great advantage for me when I perform to a group who have never heard of Deus Ex. games.

Photo: Allan Hayslip

Photo: Allan Hayslip

The coat was made by Jessica Dahl, a fellow performer. But I still needed to have a narrative. When I began researching Eliza’s character and the themes of Deus Ex: Human RevolutionI actually hit the jackpot. The celebrity she portrayed was a fake: It was an artificial intelligence created for the purpose of controlling media. I found a delicious irony in me — a shy, nonbinary nerd — revealing a character’s true nature while still maintaining the fantasy of a sexy female-presenting star of the stage.

The hybrid styles in Eliza’s outfit reflect the hardness of an artificial construct and the soft projection of humanity. With her high-fashion coat and boots that are fetish, Eliza’s silhouette appears severe and intimidating. Eliza’s personality emerges as she spends time with Adam Jensen. Take away the coat and boots, and there’s a delicate slip dress with lace and floral fishnet stockings, which I altered into thigh-highs to be able to peel them off. She is a bunch of ones and zeros underneath the stylish garments. The same was true for my reveal, which consisted of me stripping down to black pants with binary numbers painted onto them. The final element was the pasties, which were inspired by Eliza’s character designer’s comments about the pink in her collar. The color didn’t exist in the world of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, so its inclusion in Eliza’s outfit foreshadowed her artificial nature. I bought pink rhinestone pasties from Gothfox Designs with LED “nipples,” an additional nod to technology. Even if the audience missed the narration, there was still a way to entertain them with surprise light up boobs.

The world of Deus Ex: Human RevolutionEliza Cassan became a celebrity in fashion and burlesque. Eliza’s beauty and high status allowed her true nature to remain hidden while manipulating public opinion in the stories she reported. My retelling her story was a success because I incorporated her lavish outfit into the tale. This attracted audience members that were not sci-fi or gamers. The story of her life may even have sparked the interest of some. Deus Ex: Human RevolutionJust as when I first saw Eliza Cassan.