Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2018 - 41

cosplays." Chukhina agrees and adds
that her "patterning, draping, and couture sewing methods" are the basis of
all her cosplay work. Professionals have
dress forms, not duct tape forms, and
industrial machines, not home sewing
machines. This divide in skill level does
not create a divide within the cosplay
community, though. Hofmann remarks
that the cosplay novices and professionals continue to share their experiences
online and at conventions, encouraging
each other to experiment and think outside the box, while sharing the basics of
patterning and construction on a perproject basis.
As traditional patterning and construction skills from theatre cross over
into cosplay, new materials and techniques from cosplay are being used in
theatrical costuming through artists
like Hofmann, Fehlner, and Chukhina.
"If I discover a good technique or material while working on cosplay, I definitely keep it in mind for a future theatre
project," says Fehlner. There are many
traditional materials used in theatrical
costuming, such as Varaform, Fosshape,
and Sculpt or Coat, that have found a
place in cosplay costume construction.
Fehlner credits her time in summer
stock theatre for introducing her to those
materials that are essential in theatrical
costume crafts. "I worked in the costume
crafts department at Colorado Shakespeare Festival for four seasons, and the
training I received there gave me an invaluable set of skills that I use in my cosplays," observes Fehlner.
As cosplay becomes more mainstream and the theatre community becomes more accepting of cosplay as a
related outlet, there is potential for exciting crossover and collaboration. Theatre
technicians, such as Fehlner, are sharing their knowledge of materials in both
the costume shop and on the convention
floor. Another important platform for
sharing information is on the Internet,
since it can connect cosplayers and theatre technicians who have never met in
person with various skill levels and experiences from all over the world.

ies of magazine clippings, textbooks, and
manuals before the Internet, waiting for
the perfect show to come along to use
them. Now, searching the library for research and inspiration is supplemented
with sources from the Internet.
The cosplay community uses the Internet as the primary source of research
for their work since the original source
material is from film, television, comic
books, and anime. In the words of Hofmann, "The Internet is amazing. Pinterest has really changed the game. Lots

of people will take incredible close-up
pictures at museums displaying movie
costumes and share them with the community." Characters and costumes from
pop culture sources are documented
online through interviews with the creators, side-by-side images comparing the
original drawings of a character to the
costume on screen, and detailed descriptions of the costume construction process from the technicians.
There is no need to search the library when the perfect image from the

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