Cosplay : Between love and misunderstanding

As a geek, or even a little bit nerdy around the edges, cosplay is a hobby that I particularly enjoy. Although I do not practice putting on a costume in order to play, for a moment, a character from an imaginary work, I remain a fervent admirer of these people who fully assume this artistic passion. Because yes, cosplay is above all creative and directly related to the world of photography. What could be more wonderful than to see these heroes and heroines incarnated in the flesh and in the bones, at conventions or for a very special event.

What a pleasure to admire the work done, the role the cosplayer takes on and above all the passion that drives him. Originally, this hobby was a way for fans to pay tribute to those series, films, novels or animated films or series that have deeply marked their minds to the point of sharpening their artistic senses. Today this field has become specialized and sometimes professionalized. For a short moment, I suggest you to learn a little bit about this curious but so attractive universe.

Appropriation of pop-culture !

Contraction of costume-player, copslay is not a practice that has appeared very recently. On the contrary, it gradually developed during the 1960s and 1970s, thanks to the emergence of series such as Star Trek and the Star Wars film trilogy in the United States. This idea of reproducing the costumes of fictional characters has gradually spread to all kinds of universes. Very soon after this first wave, many fans decided to play characters from comic books or famous warriors straight from the Heroic-Fantasy collection.

At that time, we were in the middle of a boom of board role-playing games. Dungeons And Dragons fuelled the collective imagination of many young players. It was not uncommon for them to develop an affection for the characters they had created and to materialize them in reality. Of course, this practice will arouse irrational fear in parents who had great difficulty understanding their offspring, as well as demonization by the media against this purely playful and creative hobby.

Anyway, a movement had just been born and a whole myriad of artists, stylists, garment makers were gradually coming to life around this new playground. Against all odds, cosplay will experience an unexpected and phenomenal development, with the appearance of a new kind of fans who swear only by the animated. Japan will experience a golden age in animated series production in the early 1980s.

These hardcore fans, who are pejoratively called Otakus, will take over this universe initiated then by series such as Gundam, Macross, Hokuto No Ken and many others. This joyful world will come together to form solid structures, well anchored in Japanese pop culture. This is how clubs, recurrent events and even amateur societies will emerge, proposing to enrich the world of cosplay and refine its philosophy. For some, it will even be a lifestyle that will lead to the creation of independent studios allowing an expansion of their activities (Gainax, Clamp etc....). This incessant flow of creativity, boosted also by the growing consumption of video games, will be a source of inspiration in the West and more particularly in France but also in the United States. This wave will eventually engulf all of Europe in its path.

A craft work that disappears in favour of consumerism

A titanic work for budding amateurs, cosplay was above all a devouring passion, encouraging exchanges between its members. A brilliant blend of seams and design, this one has gradually become industrialized with the creation of specialized companies. Working hand in hand with the studios to offer ready-made costumes, it is more than easy to obtain a more than credible result without straining yourself. Little by little, the spirit of yesteryear is disappearing in favour of industries that see a financial windfall. The same applies to the actors who take shape in each of their characters.

From now on, some big names are recognized and offer their services to entertainment and leisure companies. You have probably heard of Jessica Nigri (whose breasts swell with each of her appearances, eurk...), Yaya Han or Linda Le aka Vampy. Far be it from me to denigrate their work, because it turns out that it is sometimes of high quality. Nevertheless, this popularity has led to abuses being produced.

The case of sexy cosplay

Yes, there is sometimes a sensual side to female cosplay. As a male person (yes, I am a binary person), I experience some attraction in various costume designs. I could compare this to a kind of soft sensual clichés, like the pin-ups of the past. I hear from feminists who will not hesitate to point out my materialistic conception of women. But what do you want, I'm just a man who loves curves, style, delicacy and grace of the body of the weaker sex. The posture, the quality of the textile, the composition of the photo allows to give a sexy and typically feminine artistic dimension, if it is fully assumed.

However, be careful not to fall into the vulgar or even pornographic. Above all, the goal is to represent a character, his features, his personality, not to distort its meaning, nor to sexualize him more. Sex sells and generates better attention. However, the drifts of stripping, putting certain characters in positions more than suggestive or in full action, overplaying the card of eroticism to trigger impulses (Hum...Hum...Hum...Jessica Nigri), completely distorts the very philosophy of cosplay.

Moreover, this can potentially damage the cosplayer and damage its image. We are more in the artistic field but in the solicitation... In short, it was the few words of a men who admires the charms of a true cosplay that does not cross the barrier of tendentiousness.

Despite everything, there are still talented cosplayers who still develop their creations from A to Z and who don't care about any notoriety. These imaginary craftsmen, who have a small stylistic side, still manage to impress us with their accomplished feat. I would strongly recommend that you take a look at the beginnings of the Spiral Cats, Calsarra and so many other famous struggling newcomers who are struggling to keep their passions alive. Because in addition to the performance, it is also a gift offered to fans. So keep us dreaming more !

All the images come from my archives contained in my PC. I am a great fan of quality cosplay. So I was able to collect the equivalent of more than 600mo of images collected over many years. From the top, we can appreciate the work of the models here present that are: Necoco, Spiral Cats Cosplay, Kipy.