Ever wonder why people are often seen walking around in costumes when it’s nowhere near Halloween season? Believe it or not, this is a normal occurrence for cosplayers.
Cosplay, an abbreviation of the word costume and play, is when participants wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character from a variety of sources. Regardless of what may be deemed as limitations, some prefer to put a spin on an existing design either by creating their own or adding fusion of different genres. Age, gender, physical appearance and ethnicity doesn’t define what makes a cosplayer but rather the way they project themselves as their specific character.
Although the term "cosplay" was coined in Japan in 1984, its history dates back even before the 20th century with the birth of masquerade balls and costume parties. The first people to wear costumes to attend a convention were science fiction fans, Forrest J Ackerman and Myrtle R. Douglas, who assumed that everyone was supposed to wear a costume at the 1st World Science Fiction Convention (Nycon or 1st Worldcon) in the Caravan Hall, New York, USA in 1939.
It may seem like cosplay is an expensive hobby that requires a lot of saving just for one project, but that’s not always the case. Cosplayers find alternatives in order to minimize the initial cost. Thrift shops is a saving grace when trying to find items that only needs slight alterations as well as materials needed to craft things like props and armor pieces. These resources are very useful to those who are commissioned by others to sew and craft. Selling and renting completed costumes are a necessary evil some may have to do when on a budget.
As the popularity of cosplay has grown, many conventions soon began to develop competitions where, depending on the format, competitors would either perform a skit, strut in various poses, or answer detailed questions about their character, the quality, and the process of honing their craft. Cosplayers may compete solo or in a group. Awards are then given to the winners of different categories and win best cosplayer award, a best group award, and runner-up prizes.
In Cebu, the community started out by doing small gatherings in 2009 at D’ Family Park in Talamban, Cebu. Event organizers slowly took interest and moved the gathering inside malls, and even some are held outdoors.
One of the major events here in Cebu is Cosplay Craze: A nation-wide competition held by every SM Malls all over the country. The champion of each venue gets a chance to showcase their skills and talents on the main event in Manila called Cosplay Mania. Whoever wins would be crowned as the grand champion in the Philippines. They will get a chance to compete in AFA (Anime Festival Asia), an international competition.
Cosplay isn’t just about spending, commissioning costumes or props, or going to gatherings. Others makes a career out of it by doing photo shoots, being a guest in conventions, advertise merchandise, and many more. Famous cosplayers such as Alodia Gosengfiao who has been in the Philippine cosplay scene for 16 years. She has done many photo shoots, merchandise, product appearances, and guest appearance in conventions both local and international. Most of her costumes are sponsored by different companies like media and gaming companies. Alodia recently was sponsored by the famous mobile game in the Philippines called “Mobile Legends” where she cosplayed one of the main characters of the game.
A career in cosplay may be difficult with all the budgets, materials, and time constraints, but what makes everything worth it is the joy brought both to those who make them feel like they are the characters themselves. It’s a hobby all about the people.