Cosplay
What do you think of when you hear the word “cosplay”?
Is it bright colorful wigs? Cringy anime fans? Cosplaying teens bouncing and posing rhythmically to songs on TikTok?
While some truth exists in all of these questions, cosplay has been an important creative outlet for the past 6 years. But, before we get into the details, let’s go into a brief history of cosplay! In 1984, Nobuyuki Takahashi coined the term “kosupure (コスプレ) ” while reporting on the costuming at Worldcon in LA for an article in My Anime magazine. “Kosupure” is a portmanteau of the words “costume play”, something that in English has become the term “Cosplay”. Before 1984, fan costuming was already a vibrant subculture in the geek, comic, science-fiction, and general fantasy convention scenes. Since then, cosplay has become a widespread phenomenon, something exacerbated by the internet age, allowing cosplayers to not only directly gather materials through the online marketplace, but also connect with other cosplayers around the world.
With a diet history of cosplay out of the way, let's get into what the craft personally means to me! I have been sewing since I was in the third grade when I was gifted my first sewing machine, and I first started sewing cosplays when I was in the 6th grade. Cosplay has always been an outlet for me to keep up my sewing skills and explore fun and interesting ways to sew new garments. However, in the past 4 months, my cosplay skills have grown wildly. During quarantine, I’ve branched out into wig styling and prop-making as a way to kill time. In the photos below, you can see the portal gun that I sculpted out of EVA foam and PVC pipe.
Outside of refining my sewing skills, cosplay has opened many more doors for me. Within the cosplay community, I have developed a strong group of friends who all share the same hobby. I met my friend Olivia off of TikTok about a month ago—she's a relatively famous content creator with 138.5K on the app, and I reached out to her after I found out she was from Memphis. I have done a couple of commission pieces for her, such as making her a few pairs of pink arm socks and having a photoshoot with her and her 2015 Racing Miku cosplay (pictured). We have cosplayed together a few times, and I have learned so much from her. Alongside Olivia, I have made several friends and mutuals from going to Cons (shoutout to Brendan, Ari, Katie, and all of my Tiktok mutuals!) I was going to be on a Cosplay panel at Anime Blues Con, but because of Corona, that has been canceled. Overall, I am thankful for the people that I have met and made friends with!
Now for the “fashion” side of my cosplays!
Photo 1 shows me and Olivia in Vocaloid cosplay, specifically Kamui Gakupo (left) and Hatsune Miku (right). Vocaloids are synthesized voicebanks that have been designed with a virtual “Idol” in mind. They are popularly used in Japanese Pop and Rock music. Hatsune Miku was supposed to be a performing artist at Coachella 2020. As for the design of the cosplays, Olivia is wearing her new 2015 Racing Miku cosplay from EZ Cosplay. I did a quick alteration on the dress and chest piece to make it fit her better. On top of this, Olivia is wearing a wig that she painstakingly styled (lots of hairspray, pins, and even auto-grade silicone). I am wearing a Gakupo cosplay that is loosely based off of his Duke of Venomania outfit and “Sandplay of the Singing Dragon”. The wig is styled by Olivia, and she also did my makeup. I sewed the waistcoat in 2018, but added a pre-made blazer over top with military button closings to achieve the look I was trying to go for. The blouse is thrifted and the breeches were made by modifying an old pair of pants. My favorite part about cosplaying Gakupo is that it was the first time I tried using colored contacts for cosplay (pictured in Photo 2). Olivia was very kind in helping me and letting me record with her!
Photo 3 shows my Chell cosplay from the videogame series Portal. Chell is my favorite character to cosplay, mainly because I’ve spent the most time on her outfit. For Chell, I not only her tops but also sculpted her long fall boots and her Portal Gun out of foam. It took weeks spent in the garage dremeling, sanding, and heat forming to create both pieces (Photos 3,4,5).
Finally, the last cosplay I am showing off is one of Leone Abbacchio from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. I have cosplayed several characters from Jojo’s (Kira and Rohan), but Abbacchio is my favorite to cosplay. In Photo 6 you can see the full leather bodysuit that I sewed to make Abba’s costume. I did not use a pattern, and it was a difficult sort of fun to make something that is precisely tight and clinging. My arms are covering it for the most part, but the piece features a significant semi-exposed chest (covering everything that needs to be) that I riveted with eyelets and then strung with criss-crossed silk cord. I made the belt piece out of foam and styled the wig as well. I entered it into a few cosplay competitions. In Photo 7, you can see my friend Ari. She is cosplaying another Jojo's character, Narancia Ghirga. I sewed her Narancia top and semi-skirt in less than 24 hours before we left for the con. (This is what is known as a “con-crunch” in the community.)
Overall, it is really fun! I would recommend it as a creative outlet for anyone. Cosplay not only looks cool, but it is a very interesting insertion of expression of self and appreciation of media.
the photos:
