Cosplay refers to the practice and trend of dressing up as a character from an anime, book, film, video game, or any other medium that is rooted in popular culture and entertainment. Cosplayers generally purchase or create their own costumes to creatively express their attachment to a particular character.
Any cosplay is the representation of a person as the embodiment of the character that they are trying to portray. The accuracy of the cosplay and the creativity of the artist, therefore, is also dependent on the way they present themselves.
History and Emergence
Masquerade balls, costume parties, and fancy dress parties have been held since the time of the renaissance in the 15th century. Although the fundamental nature of these costume parties is similar to that of the ‘cosplay’, its origin as the form in which we know it today can be traced back to 1939 Japan when people first decided to attend a science convention dressed in a futuristic costume.
This trend of ‘costuming’ or ‘fan costuming’ gradually started gaining traction in the 1970s as people started to dress up to visit various kinds of conventions. The characters that they embodied ranged from science fiction characters in comic strips to popular characters from various movies and television shows.
When the founder of Studio Hard, Takahashi, attended the 42nd Worldcon in 1984, he coined the term ‘cosplay’ to refer to such costume parties. Since then, especially, after the 1990s, with the huge boost in mediums and channels of entertainment, the popularity of manga and anime started to skyrocket all over the world. This resulted in the increase of their fandoms and the number of cosplayers who wanted to represent their favorite characters as well.
Cosplay Fashion, Anime, and Fashion Industry
Cosplay fashion gradually began to be accepted in various parts of the world along with the increase in fandoms and popularity of specific characters. This popularity, in turn, influenced the fashion world in a plethora of ways. Anime-inspired designs and clothes printed with anime characters evoked an appreciation for this style of fashion and non-western cultures and art forms in both anime communities and fashion circles.
Cosplay fashion played a huge role in the integration of anime and fashion circles. On one hand, it encouraged anime enthusiasts to create their own fashionable garments creatively, an attitude that was favored by the fashion industry. On the other hand, it led to the development of new trends in fashion that were inspired by anime such as the retro or kawaii fashion aesthetic.
The mutual force that binds these two distinct communities is the passionate and growing community of cosplayers that has developed a unique style of fashion that is not confined to a particular set of clothes or styles and is instead based on one’s creativity and expression of their self.
