Katniss and Cinna's stylist-tribute relationship
Katniss Everdeen's relationship with her stylist, Cinna, begins in the Remake Center and evolves into a bond of profound trust, mutual respect, and strategic alliance that becomes essential to her survival in the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games. Cinna is the first person from the Capitol who treats Katniss as a human being rather than a piece of meat, and his designs—from the fiery costume that makes her unforgettable to the simple yellow dress that projects innocence—are calculated acts of rebellion that give her a fighting chance both in the arena and in the political aftermath.
First Meeting and Immediate Trust
When Katniss first meets Cinna in the Remake Center, she is immediately taken aback by how normal he looks. Unlike the grotesquely dyed, stenciled, and surgically altered stylists she has seen on television, Cinna has close-cropped brown hair, wears a simple black shirt and pants, and his only concession to self-alteration is a metallic gold eyeliner applied with a light hand that brings out the flecks of gold in his green eyes. Despite her disgust with the Capitol and its hideous fashions, Katniss cannot help thinking how attractive it looks. He speaks in a quiet voice somewhat lacking in the Capitol's affectations, and when he walks around her naked body, taking in every inch with his eyes, she resists the impulse to cross her arms over her chest. He compliments her mother's braiding work, calling it beautiful and classic, and in almost perfect balance with her profile. Katniss had expected someone flamboyant, someone older trying desperately to look young, someone who viewed her as a piece of meat to be prepared for a platter, but Cinna has met none of these expectations. When she learns he is new to the Games and that he asked for District 12—the least desirable district, usually given to newcomers—she is puzzled. He offers no further explanation.
The "Girl on Fire" Strategy
Cinna's first major act is to design the opening ceremonies costume that will define Katniss for the entire Games. Rather than the usual coal miner's getup that makes District 12 tributes look ridiculous or indecent, Cinna focuses on the coal itself and what is done with it: burning. He dresses Katniss in a simple black unitard and shiny leather boots, but the centerpiece is a fluttering cape made of streams of orange, yellow, and red, with a matching headpiece, which he plans to light on fire just before the chariot rolls into the streets. He assures her it is not real flame, just synthetic fire he and Portia came up with, and that she will be perfectly safe. Katniss is not convinced she will not be perfectly barbecued, and it crosses her mind that Cinna's calm and normal demeanor masks a complete madman. But when the moment comes and Cinna lights the capes and headdresses with a torch, there is only a faint tickling sensation. He lets out a sign of relief and says, "It works." Then he gently tucks a hand under her chin and tells her to remember heads high, smiles, and that they are going to love her. The effect is spectacular: in the deepening twilight, the firelight illuminates their faces, and they seem to be leaving a trail of fire off the flowing capes. The crowd goes wild, and Katniss feels a flicker of hope rising up in her. Cinna has given her a great advantage—no one will forget her look or her name. Katniss, the girl who was on fire.
Coaching and Emotional Support
Cinna's role extends far beyond costume design. When Katniss's interview coaching with Haymitch goes disastrously—Haymitch calls her a dead slug, and she cannot find any angle that works—Cinna steps in with a simple but profound suggestion. He tells her to just be herself. When she protests that Haymitch says she is sullen and hostile, Cinna points out that she is not that way around him, that the prep team adores her, that she even won over the Gamemakers, and that the citizens of the Capitol cannot stop talking about her. He tells her that no one can help but admire her spirit. He takes her icy hands in his warm ones and suggests that when she answers questions, she imagine she is addressing a friend back home. When she says her best friend is Gale but that it does not make sense because he already knows everything about her, Cinna offers himself as a substitute. He tells her he will be sitting on the main platform with the other stylists, that she will be able to look right at him, and that when she is asked a question, she should find him and answer it as honestly as possible. Even if what she thinks is horrible, especially if it is horrible. Katniss nods, and this plan—or at least a straw to grasp at—carries her through the interview.
The Launch and Final Goodbye
On the morning of the Games, Cinna is the last person to be with Katniss before she is launched into the arena. In the Launch Room, he does her hair in her simple trademark braid down her back, helps her dress in the standard tribute clothes, and fastens the gold mockingjay pin on her shirt, telling her it barely cleared the review board because some thought it could be used as a weapon. When she is too nervous to eat, he sits with her on a couch, and when she holds out her hand, he encloses it in both of his. This is how they sit until a pleasant female voice announces it is time to prepare for launch. Still clenching one of Cinna's hands, Katniss walks over and stands on the circular metal plate. Cinna reminds her of Haymitch's instructions—run, find water, the rest will follow—and then tells her that he is not allowed to bet, but if he could, his money would be on her. When she whispers "Truly?" he says "Truly," leans down, and kisses her on the forehead. "Good luck, girl on fire." Then a glass cylinder lowers around her, breaking their handhold, cutting him off from her. He taps his fingers under his chin, signaling her to keep her head high, and she lifts her chin and stands as straight as she can as the cylinder begins to rise.
Post-Games Reunion and Strategic Warning
After the Games, when Katniss wakes in the Capitol hospital, she is desperate to see Cinna. When she finally finds him waiting with Effie and Haymitch in a big chamber at the end of the hall, she runs for them and launches into Haymitch's arms first, but then Cinna just hugs her tight and does not say anything. Later, when the prep team has finished with her, Cinna brings her a yellow dress that appears unassuming at first. When she asks if he has given up the whole "girl on fire" thing, he slips it over her head, and she immediately notices the padding over her breasts, adding curves that hunger has stolen from her body. He explains that the Gamemakers wanted to alter her surgically, that Haymitch had a huge fight with them over it, and that this was the compromise. The dress gives the illusion of wearing candlelight, and Katniss thinks it is the best yet. But when she looks in the mirror, she sees a girl, a young one, fourteen at the most, innocent and harmless. She realizes this is a very calculated look, and she bites her lip trying to figure out his motivation. When she says she thought it would be something more sophisticated-looking, Cinna answers carefully that he thought Peeta would like this better. Katniss understands that it is not about Peeta—it is about the Capitol and the Gamemakers and the audience. Beneath his benign reply, she senses a warning of something he cannot even mention in front of his own team. Cinna's final design is a piece of armor, a disguise of innocence meant to protect her from the Capitol's wrath after her act of defiance with the berries.
