At West campus, students express their artistic sides through cosplaying characters from comic books, TV shows and movies. Promoting the expression of identifying with various fandoms, The Arizona Republic voted Cos Club as one of the “Best, Most Active Organizations for ASU Students.”
Starting in 2010, Cosplay, or costume play, made its debut on the West Campus. Interdisciplinary studies junior and club secretary Hoagie Hoag defined the hobby as “being interested in a character and identifying with them to the point that you want to embody them in public and a way of expressing what that character means to you.”
Prior to joining Cos Club, Hoag said cosplay offers participants an opportunity to discover themselves through artistic expression.
“My experience with cosplay has a lot to do with discovering my gender identity because I never actually had the opportunity to cross dress in real life,” Hoag said. “Halloween was my favorite holiday because I could dress up as a male character. Then I found out that there are conventions where you can do that, and not just on Halloween.”
While some cosplayers produce elaborate costumes through extensive time and money, those who are looking to casually cosplay can do so without judgement.
“I’m a fan of interpreting a character and developing not so accurate costumes,” Hoag said. “I like cosplaying characters in casual clothes where they are still identifiable. I don’t have the resources to start from scratch, so it’s closet cosplay, where you go through your closet and decide what you can use. I spend a lot of time going to goodwill for items I can modify.”
Whether costumes are made from scratch or unique props scored from the local thrift store, Hoag said the time invested pays off when members debut their costumes.
“I think people recognizing you is such a good validation,” Hoag said. “I did it well enough for people to recognize me, and you get such burst of pride. People want to take pictures with you and they’re going to be keeping those pictures forever.”
Walking around with horns, green contacts and knee-high boots, political science senior and club vice president Lizette Gallardo told of her interactions while personifying Lady Loki.
“A lot of people react and they’re very afraid of you because you’re Lady Loki,” Gallardo said. “And then once I’m out of character and I actually talk to them, they’re shocked and like ‘you’re so nice!’ I’m not mean, I’m just in character.'”
While Gallardo said the reactions make it all worth it, she encourages potential cosplayers to take their personal budget and schedule into consideration.
“If you’re going to do a major costume, take time to plan,” Gallardo said. “You can’t do a costume in two days. If you want to do something super extravagant, I recommend giving it five to six months. Know how much you’re willing to spend and take advantage of sales.”
Welcoming students of all fandoms to the group, elementary education senior and President Vanessa Rios shares the real intention of Cos Club.
“There was a TV show on Syfy that portrayed cosplayers in the wrong light as being high-maintenance people, when really they’re not,” Rios said. “All the people that I’ve cosplayed with are very helpful and always want to make sure you look best in your costume.”
In order to achieve this service, the club strives to share tips collectively through workshops such as costuming, makeup and prop making.
“A lot of the people that started out in Cos Club have never done a costume before,” Rios said. “Through the little workshops that we’ve done, they were able to accomplish their first costumes. I’ve seen a few people go through that process and it’s pretty amazing.”
In addition to workshops held at their weekly Friday meetings at the Devil’s Lair, Cos Club hosts DevCon, which resembles a miniature version of Comic-Con. Rios works out the details for the free family-friendly event, which will take place in the spring.
“It’s anything Sci-Fi related, authors hold panels, we have a lot of craftsmen selling fandom related items, people promoting their books and panels,” Rios said. “There’s a student art show that showcases fandom related art and we’re actually teaming up with a few local school districts in order to make an art show specifically for DevCon.”
For more information on upcoming events and meetings, visit ASU Cos Club on Facebook.
Related Links:
Club focuses on fandom, costumes
Jennifer Capodiferro: I create, I sew, I cosplay
Reach the reporter at ncorr@asu.edu or follow @natalieorr19
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
