Comiccon: in the world of a cosplayer<

A text by Laurence Niosi

Wigs, aerosol bombs, varnishes, costumes litter the shelves of his living room transformed into a sewing workshop, in his apartment in Verdun.Eugénelle begins the final stretch before the opening of Comiccon, an appointment which will have required hundreds of hours of preparations.

"Eugénelle Cosplay" (his real name Eugénelle Desrosiers) manufactures all her costumes in hand, be it armor, accessories or dresses.During the three days of Comiccon, she will wear three different costumes, including that of the Torbjörn character (of the Overwatch game), for which she put the final touch during our meeting.

At 25, and only three years being a cosplayer, Eugénelle has more than 11,000 "likes" on her Facebook page and more than 3,000 subscribers on Instagram.In the United States, cosplayers can have millions of subscribers on social networks and sell derivative products on Patreon, the crowdfunding platform for artists and content creators.

Eugénelle is not there yet.She sells photos and mouse carpets, but her favorite hobby costs her for the moment - in manufacturing costumes, in participation in a dozen conventions per year - that her income reports to her.However, she hopes to one day do a livelihood after taking lessons in sewing.For the moment, she earns her life as a saleswoman.

The cosplay (the contraction of "costume" and "play"), is a movement that has become popular in North America and Japan since the 1980s and which is relatively little known outside the circles of initiates.We asked Eugénelle a few questions to understand this universe a little more.

How did you start doing cosplay?

It is by seeing photos of [the famous American-Chinese Cosplayer] Yaya Han six years ago.I came across one of her photos in Felicia, a kind of human cat.She wore a kitty top and a embossed wig and I went to her site.I didn't know what.And I saw that she was doing her costumes, I was like "wow".I was already reading manga at the time.My grandmother made me my first costume, Satsuki, a character of Totoro.I started with anime costumes [Japanese cartoons that are inspired by manga], then with those of the DC Comics universe, then video games and television shows.But I am more an otaku at the base [Fan of anime and manga].

How do you choose your characters?

It varies.I listen to a lot [the programs] Adventure Time and Game of Thrones.Each season, I look at the costumes, and I want to do everything.I like older characters, like [those of the manga series] Yu-Gi-Oh!or Sailor Moon.And I like the characters with attitude, or bad guys, women with great power.

How long does it take, to make your costume?

It depends, if it is a costume that has sewing to do only, a week.If there are swords, a mass, it is longer, because it takes time to dry the paintings.It is then necessary to plan at least one or two weeks.Torbjörn, I did it in a month, but I really hurried.I did 8 hours a day on it, in addition to my work.It cost me $ 700 in equipment.

Are there different kinds of cosplay?

Yes, there is for example the genderbend [to personify a character who is not of the same sex].Sometimes you only like boys, or you are attracted to them.In cosplay, there is no sex, or the same type of body, you can dress in whom you want as much as it does not offend anyone...what often happens in recent times.

What can offend for example?

If any of you are dancers, help!How do I Learn Ballet/ General Dance Terms and How To Do them?Becaus I Didnt Tak… https: // t.CO/LNMLJZ06

— grace Thu Jul 29 06:14:38 +0000 2021

I would say the skin colors due to the controversy over the blackface.The least that a white girl rushes her skin, it creates drama on the internet.This week, [the Italian cosplayer, invited to the Montreal Comiccon this year] Leon Chiro cosplayed an Egyptian, he rushed his skin, and that did not happen.Also, now it has become difficult to make darker characters like Pocahontas or Moana.I find it a shame, because we cosplay to honor these characters.

How do you have so many subscribers on social networks?

By sharing.We are a very passionate community, involved.The big cosplay pages will share our pages.Cosplayers with millions of subscribers, such as [the New Zealand] Jessica Nigri, share the pages of less known cosplayers, and encourage us.

Are there a lot of cosplayers who live from their passion in Quebec?

Nope.I imagine that [the model, cosplayer and costume designer] Marie-Claude Bourbonnais, from Quebec, lives on that.But she also sells a lot of sexy glamorous photos on Patreon.There is a inexpensive for that.There are cosplayers who come out of craft books, which you can print at home, without publishing house."Kamui Cosplay", for example, has only 200,000 subscribers on Facebook, and she lives on that.She is invited to conventions, and people buy her books on the shovel.Other cosplayers make dubbing for anime, monetize their videos on their YouTube channel, etc..Others are partners [of the game exchange site] Twitch, who pay them travel to conventions.

What do your parents think or people around you?

I don't have a good relationship with my mother, we don't talk to each other anymore.She criticized me in relation to my cosplay, saying: "You are not going to go out like that, people will look at you".

In general, people look at us strangely, they think we are looking for attention, because there are a lot of sexy cosplay.

Why so many sexy cosplayers precisely?

I think it gives confidence to do cosplay, to feel better about themselves.But cosplay is not only for thin girls.There are a lot of cosplayers that are more size, are very proud of their body and show it.

It is sure that as much as men that women often feel that they have to make sexy costumes to pogne.There is a lot of hypersexualization.But personally, when I put sexy photos, I lose "I love".I win when I put costumes.My audience expects that.In everyday life, I am very discreet.But in conventions, I am a character.I like to be anything or who for a day, no matter what others think.

Are there men who try to accosses you?

Yes, and there are a lot of creeps, especially as long as you play a character who is very popular with guys, they see the real character.Many men write to me on the internet and ask to meet me when I go to an agreement somewhere in the United States, for example.I must tell them no.I cosplay for me.I assume that someone can come and talk to me for that, but I don't want to be acquired.