Forged in foam
REGULAR
osplay, the word we know to be
defined as dressing up in a costume
to portray a character from a comic,
video game, anime, manga, book,
TV show, or movie, is still a
relatively new term used in the
broader scope of time when relating to just how
long people have been costuming as their
favourite literary and film characters. In a short
history, the first time the term ‘cosplay’ was used
was in 1984 when the Japanese reporter, Nobuyuki
Takahashi, frankenworded ‘costume’ and ‘play’ to
explain his experience while attending Worldcon in
Los Angeles. Takahashi thought that translating
‘masquerade’, the traditionally oft-used word to
describe costuming, felt too old-fashioned to translate
to his modern Japanese audience, and thus,
‘cosplaying’ was born.
Although the term ‘cosplay’ didn’t make its debut
until the 1980s, cosplay has existed since the early
1900s. The first documented instance was in 1908,
when Mr and Mrs William Fell of Cincinnati, Ohio,
attended a masquerade ball dressed as Mr Skygack
and Miss Pickles, Martians from a newspaper comicthat first ran in the Chicago Day Book. Forrest J.
Ackerman, a sci-fi writer and fan, became one of the
first sci-fi cosplayers when he was the first person to
attend a sci-fi convention, New York’s first World
Science Fiction Convention, Worldcon, wearing what
was dubbed a ‘futuristicostume’ (another fun
frankenword!) complete with a cape and tights, in- The outfit, designed by his girlfriend Myrtle R.
Douglas (better known as Morojo), sparked interest in
fan costuming, or cosplay as it is now known, and
sci-fi conventions began to look like masquerade balls,
complete with costume contests for ‘best costume’.
Ackerman continued to support and cosplay his
beloved sci-fi, and eventually became a key figure in
establishing sci-fi fandom. In the years since, many
more sci-fi conventions have developed worldwide,
with legions of fans attending dressed in cosplays
made from a variety of materials to showcase fandom
of their favourite characters from popular modern and
classic sci-fi such as Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Star
Wars. Bruce Holt is one of them.PLAYING WITH COSTUMES
A cosplayer, master craftsman, and teacher
specialising in intricate EVA foam cosplay creations,
Holt remembers the first time he heard the term
‘cosplay’. It was in the 2000s, and he was in Tulsa at
Hard Rock Casino for a costume contest. Wearing a
Star Trek Borg costume that he’d made out of plastic
and leather, another attendee approached him to ask
if he’d made his cosplay out of foam. Holt had not
only never heard the term ‘cosplay’ yet, (even though
he’d already been hired to guest host panels on
costumes and makeup at this point in his costuming
career), he’d never even considered using foamC
Forged in foam
How a Halloween costume started a career
Krista Peryer
@missladygeek_Krista is a cosplayer
and craftswoman
with a list of ongoing
projects longer than
Daenerys’ titles on
Game of Thrones.He and his father worked together to create
the costume, effectively igniting an enthusiastic
passion for cosplaying”
”
Above
Joining the collective