Art History Thursday, it’s all about the Art! Today we take a look at the origins of Cosplay. I have been a professional seamstress since 1988 and amateur Cosplayer since 1987. My husband got me interested in Cosplay when he took me to my first gaming convention, GenCon when it was still in Milwaukee, WI. There the Cosplay I built for my sister, Taarna from Heavy Metal, won 2ndin their costume contest.
So what is Cosplay? The term Cosplay is a combination of Costume and Play and the term can be traced back to a 1984 Japanese article written by Nobuyuki Takahashi of Studio Hard after attending WorldCon in Los Angeles. There he observed the the Masquerade of costumes in the halls and during the contest but Masquerade translates to “an aristocratic costume” in Japanese. This didn’t match his experience so he combined the terms 'costume': kosuand 'play': becomes pure combined they make kosupure in Japanese or Cosplay in English. People who Cosplay wear costumes and many times take on attributes of a specific character as a form of public performance art at conventions and events worldwide.
Cosplay itself existed LONG before the term Cosplay entered our lexicon. The first heavily documented people to ‘cosplay’ were Forrest J Ackerman and Myrtle R. Douglas. They attended the 1939 1st World Science Fiction Convention dressed in "futuristicostumes", based on the artwork of Frank R. Paul and the 1936 film Things to Come. The costumes were designed and created by Douglas. Afterwards Ackerman stated he thought everyone was supposed to wear a costume to science fiction events….only he had Douglas did, which is why it stood out to so many. Cosplay grew in the United States from that point becoming a staple at conventions and creating it’s own conventions dedicated to the art of Cosplay.
Cosplayers encompass everyone from amateur to paid professional and everything in-between. Some just enjoy the dress up factor and have their costumes created by commissioned artists, others dive head deep into creating their own costumes right down to the tiny details of a character like tinted contact lenses to recreate eye color. Cosplayers who build their own costumes sometimes spend hundreds to thousands of hours researching, building, sewing, and learning new art techniques in order to bring a character to life. I liken it to being a one person (or small team of people) costume department for a large fantasy show…you need shoes..looks like today you learn to make shoes! You need a wig…time to research how to recreate your characters hairline on a wig.
Today Cosplay has gone mainstream thanks in part to professional cosplayers like J Heart Design and Ichigo Black working in conjunction with large pattern companies to make costume construction easier for beginners and pros alike. Other cosplayers like Kaumi Cosplay have published books on prop and armor design and paired with companies to promote the products needed to create the works outlined in their books. Cosplay continues to expand and large groups worldwide like the 501st ,a group of Star Wars cosplayers who recreate the costumes of the Empire, have taken cosplay out of the convention scene and utilize their skills for charity events, children’s hospital visits, and even acting as extras on Disney Channels series The Mandalorian.
Cosplay has come far from it’s early roots. Today it’s enjoyed by numerous people all over the world. What was once seen as strange and nerdy is now mainstream and continues to grow with new technology making it easier for the actor to become the character! Give it a try!!
Photos; Dragon Dronet and Chad Volpe at Westercon Utah taken by me.
Craig Griswold and myself taken by Tofusnow Photography
-Amy Griswold
Here is our Facebook post & discussion!