My taste board

Keywords: Religious iconography, fluffy, kitch, feminine, emo- barbie, pop culture, alternative, experimental, classical twist, extravagant, bold, bright.

Why did my taste develop into what it is?

I think as I have grown up my taste has been fuelled by an underlying desire to get all the things I never could in the past. Being the middle child sandwiched between two boys it's impossible to get the chance to be girly when you're wearing your brothers hand-me-downs and your little brother gets yours. 

When I entered my teenage years and went to secondary school being unable to be girly in an all girls school made me an outcast and put me with the 'alternative kids' which was where I got introduced to the emo look. This lead to the 'scene' movement where you were able to relive your childhood, wearing clothes that featured kids cartoons, wearing the little kids backpacks, big plastic jewellery and heart shaped sunglasses. I got inspired by bloggers like Racquel Reed and Audrey Kitching.

Leaving home enabled me to grow up a bit but I got more girly after escaping the male environment and also got more freedom to have coloured hair, piercings and tattoos. 

Jasmine Wickens Taste board

The images Jasmine has chosen have a cool colour scheme lending to the water theme. The darkness also mirrors the depth of the water and the mystery in the images. Sexuality is questioned through elements of bondage and the strange femininity marred by androgynous undertones. Whilst this is all going on the presentation remains neat and clean like the cut of the clothes but still through provoking and exposing.

Interview with a Cosplayer

Lauren Du Plessis is a dedicated cosplayer and Japanese culture enthusiast and music review columnist for Electric Bloom Webzine. We went to school together years ago and now I caught up with her for a quick interview as part of my subculture study:

What does the term cosplay mean to you?

I’d start with the obvious meaning, making outfits! Something that lets you put your all into making it and that is rewarding to wear at the end. It can be individual or teamwork; either way, it’s a lot of fun. I know there’s a negative stigma still hanging around in mainstream western culture; that everyone who cosplays is an otaku who doesn’t have focuses anywhere else, but I think that’s changing, which is good news. There’s nothing like meeting all of your friends at big events after months of work on your outfit- the atmosphere is great, and I’ve never seen more hugging and complimenting strangers anywhere in my life. It’s a great confidence boost!

What characters to you cosplay and why?

Personally I don’t have a lot of time for making complex outfits any more, although I’d love a chance to get back into it- I’m just waiting for the next inspiration. I’ve done group cosplays from anime shows in the past, and more recently some members from Visual Kei bands. Intricate outfits are the best- no matter how red raw your hands are, or how strained your eyes are, it’s so worth it!

Why do you enjoy it?

It makes me feel like I’ve made something that other people appreciate- I’m not normally up for being the centre of attention all the time, but getting compliments from people about the effort I’ve put in, and having my photo taken, is such a great feeling.

Can you describe your look?

Wow, challenge accepted! My style has developed very rapidly over the past two years. I went through a teenage period of grunge and gothic-influenced clothing, but I quickly moved away from that when I started buying more Japanese brands and discovering more of the styles that emerge from the Harajuku district in Tokyo. From dolly kei to mori (forest) kei to visual kei, I’ve loved experimenting. The clothes I wear now are remnants of this exploration, so I suppose I look a bit like a jumble sale at the moment. I like it though!

Who do you look up to and admire?

I guess I go to the people around me first- my family, and close friends. I follow blogs by people whose fashion sense I admire too, although for hair, makeup and clothes my main influences are probably members from Japanese rock bands, Visual Kei or otherwise.

What music do you listen to?

In case you hadn’t guessed yet, almost exclusively Japanese rock! The artists at the top of my list haven’t changed in a while- I tend to follow bands now more closely than a few years ago. The best examples from Visual Kei are An Café, the GazettE, ScReW and Mejibray, while for rock it’s ONE OK ROCK. I’m not so keen on the pop music, although there are some artists I just can’t resist. And in terms of western music, I’ve never been able to give up on Muse and My Chemical Romance, although I like dubstep too.

How often do you dress up and what kind of events do you dress up for?

I dress up whenever I have the excuse too. Whenever I go to a concert, a convention, or any cultural event, I always make sure to wear one of my best outfits and put a lot of work into hair and makeup. That said, I try and wear something interesting as often as possible!

Who makes yous costumes?

I do! Nobody else is allowed to see until I’ve made significant progress, either! I’m quite protective of my cosplays, and I am constantly planning and making notes as I think of new solutions. It’s nice to have something creative to throw myself into occasionally.

How many do you have?

Only a couple at the moment, which is kind of sad now I think about it. I really should make an effort and make something new for this summer!

Would you say that cosplay was it's own social stereotype? How/ why?

I think at one point it was quite stereotyped, and to an extent there are still people who look at it that way. But like I said before, attitudes are changing, and I think it’s a really good thing for people to be enthusiastic about making their own clothes- everyone used to do it, after all!

Which clothing brands do you tend to look at/ buy the most?

Here in the UK I look for independent shops and alternative shops, although I love the lacy dresses you get from brands like Yumi. I’m a big Cyberdog fan too! But my favourite brands are sadly from the other side of the world- Listen Flavor, Grimoire Almadel, and Spank! 

Cosplay Subculture

Cosplay, short for costume play, is a subculture where the participants dress as characters- either well known or obscure- from cartoons, computer games or anime. The movement is widespread but seems to originate from the comic conventions in the US which inspired fans from other parts of the world to dress up. The movement then spread to Asia where it got taken to a whole new level then the new Japanese version came back around to Europe and the US where it remains popular. In her book "Costuming the Imagination: Origins of Anime and Manga Cosplay" Theresa Wing discusses two conflicting ideas:

"One side speculates that cos-play began in North America, during the 1960s, when people dressed as and role-played their favorite science fiction and fantasy characters, such as Spock from Star Trek and Robin from Batman (Bruno 2002a). This type of costumed role-playing (not yet called cosplay) spanned a variety of genres and may have inspired Japanese anime and manga fans to dress as their favorite characters. On the other side of the debate are those who speculate that cosplay was imported from Japan, coming to North America with the formations of anime and manga fan clubs (Bruno 2002a; Ledoux and Ranney 1997)."

However I believe that this only proves my boomerang theory that the Japanese who are known to appreciate western culture and let it inspire their own adopted the subculture from the American comic conventions. Then more recently western cultures have been inspired by modern Japanese culture as the popularity of Japenese game series such as Final Fantasy and anime's such as Bleach rises.

American comic convention goers in fancy dress

Modern Day Japanese cosplayer

However I believe that this only proves my boomerang theory that the Japanese who are known to appreciate western culture and let it inspire their own adopted the subculture from the American comic conventions. Then more recently western cultures have been inspired by modern Japanese culture as the popularity of Japenese game series such as Final Fantasy and anime's such as Bleach rises.

I attended the MCMEXPO in London to meet some Cosplayers and I was surprised by the wide variety of people involved. It was also interesting to see how they build a social life through this attend conventions, enter competitions and even club together with cosplayers from the same series or game to participate in photo shoots which they can then go on to post on forums where cosplayers can interact on an international level.

There are also idols for cosplayers to look up to such as Francesca Dani and Alodia Gosiengfiaowho are almost considered as supermodels of the cosplay world. They achieved fame through winning a series of competitions and gathering a vast online following, they both now make a living through being cosplayers as Dani charges a membership fee to her website to allow fans to access exclusive content and both Dani and Gosiengfiao are paid by games companies to dress up to promote new games and products.

The costume is obviously the most important part of being a cosplayer. The way that different people go about it is vastly different, some people just have one costume which they add to and perfect over time and show a complete devotion to that character and the cartoon or game that they originate from. Another approach is to try a number of different characters and collect costumes, I came across a number of these kind of cosplayers on Tumblr who share their different creations and purchases for different costumes online with fans and friends. The final method seems to be to Cosplay as a team, where several people dress up as characters from just one show or game and stay in character whilst dressed up interacting with each other as the characters would. There are also sub-subcultures within the Cosplay community as those who will only dress as final fantasy characters form one group, another specifically dress as only disney characters and others will dress only as Japanese musicians.

There is definitely a sense of pride amongst Cosplayers which originates from their costumes, the majority of which are either made by the Cosplayers themselves or made specifically for them. Some Cosplayers who Cosplay characters with simpler outfits also make up their costumes from found items. The look of Cosplayers is hard to define but generally they tend to be inspired by Japanese culture, taking much of their influence from anime cartoons. When it comes to hairstyles they tend to be either choppy and short or long and styled similarly to their characters, wigs are also a big part in changing their appearance and achieving the hairstyles of cartoons and video game characters which cannot be constructed in reality with real hair.

Cosplay is a truly unique subculture for not being based entirely on music. It's gatherings are not music concerts or gigs but instead conventions based on art that can take many forms such as graphic novels, cartoons, films or even just the aesthetic of real people.