Shopping Guide
It’s fascinating to see cosplayers take the stage in their beautiful costumes, isn’t it? At large cosplay events, a great number of cosplayers perform as characters they each desire, captivating the crowd. What cosplayers aim for is to become the original character. For those who follow this goal, there is one conclusion that arises. That being that they make the costumes for their own use, or in other words, they produce the costumes themselves.
From May 6-19 at Block House in Harajuku, Tokyo, the event “Akiba Optics Research Institute Harajuku Cosplay Photography Exhibit” was held. For this event, TOM Special Creator and cosplayer Shin’, whom we have previously introduced in an interview series, was in charge of producing the outfits and helping model them. Shin’ is also someone who began making costumes due to her liking of cosplay. While she has built up a career for herself as a cosplayer, she has also produced many original costumes. Joining that lineup were even more new costumes. One being a completed costume of Fatima from the manga Five Star Story that she created from scratch.
Of course, when making her own costumes, there is no pattern paper to use; she doesn’t even know the material of the outfit. To answer questions like, “What is it made out of?” and, “How is it made?” she gathers information from the original manga. When making the costume into an actual product, she thinks about everything, including where to leave a design and where to cut. If the outfit doesn’t come out to her liking, it’s hard for her not to quit. After all, it is difficult and time consuming work. However, what was surprising was that in just two weeks, Shin’ created four costumes, including the two used in the exhibit.
When we saw the level of quality of the finished costumes and Shin’s figure while wearing them, we were very impressed. Due to the outfits being original and specially made, it was possible to beautifully show off the body lines of the models. The enamel outfit emitted a unique light and gloss, and there were no wrinkles on the outfit due to it perfectly fitting the model’s body. These outfits were completed by making maximum use of their characteristic materials. Furthermore, one of the outfits was even improved upon over its counterpart that was photographed and displayed at the exhibit. In a short comment, Shin’ conveyed her love of cosplay by explaining her work on the outfit by saying, “I was obsessed with making it look more beautiful,” which speaks to the pride she has as a cosplayer.
Shin’ pushes herself in making costumes in order to constantly improve the quality of them, and she has grown from a cosplayer into a top creator. Be sure not to miss out on her future activities. Those who are interested in Shin’s work, past or present, should definitely check out her portfolio page.
Shin's Portfolio Page on TOM:
http://otakumode.com/Shin
This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.
