The joy of dressing up in a costume is as old as time. This timeline traces a history of cosplay.
Cosplay is more than just a costume. The various accessories that bring a character to life play a major role too: from weaponry to wands, from wigs to make-up, and from jewellery to shoes.
You’ll see all kinds of craft on show here: cosplayers work with traditional fashion fabrics, but also with new and innovative materials. EVA foam has been a staple of the cosplayer’s toolkit for years. This foam material, usually sold in sheets, gets transformed into every shape imaginable. Thermoplastic modelling materials like Worbla are used to make shields and armour that are light but sturdy. For the past few years, a home 3D printer has made it possible to create plastic objects that would once have been unthinkable. Wigs in the most extravagant shapes are made from simple hairpieces and glue. Reuse is especially common when it comes to accessories: a red wig might form the basis of a Poison Ivy costume at one convention, then get used for Ariel or Jessica Rabbit the following week.
Community plays an important role here too: cosplayers team up with wig-makers, make-up artists and prop builders to bring their vision to life. Photographers and videographers capture the end result so it can be shared online.
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In cosplay, you can take on any role you like. And that’s exactly what cosplayers do: a shy person plays a fearless superhero, a slight person gives themselves an impressive set of muscles, a boy shows up as a glorious woman. In cosplay, the body is malleable — cosplayers are often...