Cosplay by Studio Kinglux
Cosplay Introduction There are many places to go to escape the reality of existence. Some people find it in faraway beaches, others in shopping and some find solace in a glass of brandy. For many years children and teenagers have dreamed of the kind of adventures they read about in comic books. But short of a bite from a radioactive spider, that is as close as they will come to being able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Except at the New York Anime Convention and International Cosplay Tournament. Cosplay is the term used to describe the phenomena of ‘Costume-Play’. It involves dressing up as a favoured Japanese catoon or book character. It’s not quite like how you used to do it as a child - wearing a bathroom towel and your sisters swimming suit whilst pretending to be Spiderman. Instead, cosplay fantatics (or ‘otaku’, a Japanese word meaning meaning obsessive fan or geek), have become a subculture of detail-obsessed makeup artists, costume designers and hair stylists in an effort to recreate their beloved idols. These are usually taken from Japanese comics but more
obscure costumes may include eastern sweet packaging or pop ephemera. To suggest this is a minor scale movement would be to overlook the numerous Cosplay fashion magazines that exist and to dismiss the seven thousand strong Facebook group. At the convention, the sense of naive excitement was everywhere. Seminars promised lessons in the fine art of ‘Zombie Survival’ and a delegate spoke to a room full of enthusiastic youngsters wearing furry hats on what it takes to break into the anime voice-dubbing industry. One area featured Akihabara-style Maid Cafes where frustrated teenage boys could order sugary drinks served by Twister-playing french maids with green hair. A popular store catered for the brisk trade in hentai (pornographic cartoons often featuring horny alien monsters) and another store sold UV samurai swords and energy drinks for the forthcoming apocalypse. Whilst these things may sound ridiculous, they fitted perfectly with the sense of playfulness that the event inspired. Never have I been to a place where the illusion of escape was so permeating
and all-encompassing. I saw eight year old boys play-swordfighting with early twenty-year olds. There was no cynicism to be found anywhere. Grown adults relived Star Wars light sabre battles on a stage to an applauding crowd. I’m sure there was the same inter-necine politics that accompanies any fashion scene, but I witnessed none. Over the course of the weekend, I photographed several hundred fans obsessed with their favourite characters, and whilst there was debate over the most super-superhero, most were agreed on one thing. The only person with any real ability to change the world according to the American way, was the face that appeared on t-shirts, badges, and posters throughout the convention: one very human superman, Mr. President – Barack Obama.
Words and photographs Tony Hill for Studio Kinglux www.kinglux.co.uk
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Rather we are more inspired by the people-science of changing tastes and thoughts. Idea viruses! That’s how we see them. We study them and grow ever more fascinated by what we find and how they spread. Sometimes they make us happy, sometimes we laugh at them. Sometimes they are just downright bizarre and we pretend we never had to notice them. But there is usually some reason for their existence and they often serve some bigger purpose. We know that. We’re not scientists, we’re creative types. So, we use all our knowledge to help our friends and clients express themselves in someway which we hope will be exciting and relevant. From photoshoots to trend reports, magazine articles to in-house consultancy, Studio Kinglux turns our inspiration into your direction.
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