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CULTURE
THE TOPICAL
ONES
Every year brings with it a new slew of
comic book films to the big screen and
video games to consoles, giving cosplayers
renewed interested in a particular series.
This year is ripe for the picking — Elysium,
After Earth, Oblivion and Pacific Rim all
hit theaters in 2013. As for this year’s
Superman reboot, cosplayers can’t just pull
out old costumes to truly inhabit the Man
of Steel. According to Victoria Cosplay, the
differences include no yellow belt, red briefs
or yellow “S” on the back of the cape; add
in bracers on the wrists and a Kryptonian
design in the center of the suit and along the
leg. “The hair is different too,” she added.
“He no longer has the curl in the front.”
FROM TOP: NICOLE CIARAMELLA/ COURTESY OF SONI BALESTIER; COURTESY OF VICTORIA COSPLAY
COSPLAY 101
Most diehard cosplayers — many of whom dress for upwards of 10
conventions a year — make their own costumes, or pay a skilled fellow
cosplayer to do it. Here are a few words from the wise on how it’s done...
“In the past I made my costumes
a lot slower because materials
weren’t so available. Back sixplus years ago, there were very
little wig selections. People would
hand dye wigs with markers!”
— Soni Balestier, cosplayer and
model (pictured above)
“Many of the more intricate
armor type builds can take
upwards of 100-150 hours of
work. The cost depends largely
on the materials used. Costumes
that made mostly from foam
sheets can be as little as $100
and more complex, fiberglass
costumes can reach into the
thousands.” — Bill Doran,
propmaker and cosplayer
“We love crafting and making our
own costumes and accessories.
If there’s something we can’t
create or if we’re not the best
at sewing, there are plenty
of talented people within the
community who you can hire
to make something for you. My
Black Canary was easy to put
together because the pieces were
easy to find and it was affordable;
a little over $100. Something
like Wonder Woman or Huntress
is more complicated and takes
weeks to create, as well as a
larger budget. My Slave Leia and
Wonder Woman are worth over
$300 each.” — model Victoria
Cosplay (pictured to the right)
“For my next book, I’ve been
following cosplayers behind the
scenes in 12 cities around the
country and I’ve noticed more
than a few, when they go fabric
shopping, they would use their
phone to take a picture with and
without a flash. This way they
can determine how the fabric
reacts to the camera and chose
the fabric accordingly.” — cosplay
photographer Ejen Chuang,
author of Cosplay in America
HUFFINGTON
07.21.13
COSTUMES TO
WATCH FOR:
Superman
(Man of Steel
edition),
Elysium,
After Earth,
Oblivion, BBC
America’s
Orphan Black,
Pacific Rim,
Guardians of
the Galaxy
(2014 film),
Elizabeth
from
BioShock
Infinite