As cosplay becomes more mainstream, it’s a way for those who don costumes to feel “really powerful.”
Though the best cosplayers may look like they’ve effortlessly stepped into the skin of the characters they’re impersonating, it takes a lot of effort to dress, style, and talk like your favorite fictional characters. This video from The Stylish, the premium Youtube channel of Project Runway and Top Chef producer Magical Elves, shows how “geek fashion and geekwear have been exploding in recent years” with a look at some of the cosplay from the recent Comikaze Expo in Los Angeles.
“We have major brands producing things” for cosplayers as the subculture becomes more mainstream, according to veteran cosplayer and host of the Expo’s Cosplay Costume Contest Kit Quinn. Of course, as she notes, “us nerds, on our level, we’ve always been producing nerdwear.” Quinn co-hosted the cosplay competition with Tallest Silver, and they presented this year’s line-up of cosplayers wearing Wonder Woman and Power Girl costumes, respectively.
Other participants were also enthusiastic about cosplay, calling it “really another sort of art form” that makes them feel “really powerful… really badass.” Though there were some impressive outfits on display at the Expo, first place at the Cosplay Costume Contest went to a Halo Spartan, who used EVA foam to construct his get-up.
As a longtime nerd, it’s great to see cosplay becoming more mainstream and accepted. “We aren’t stigmatized anymore for being nerds,” Quinn stated. “We’re the cool kids… the cool kids who will eat lunch with you.”
Source: The Stylish
