Yuuko - XXXholic
This was supposed to be a fairly easy costume - lots of fabric but not all that difficult. I'm not sure what I was smoking.
The kimono is 3 layers of taffeta (white outer layer lined with ice blue for opacity, then a red visible lining) and has about 30 yards of fabric in total. It is massively heavy.
I painted the feather patterns and then hand-couched silver cord around each feather, copying a style used in Kabuki theatre for Sagi-musume. The obi also is painted and then the triangles are outlined with couched silver cord.
Since Yuuko is basically dressed like a fantasy version of an oiran, I went with that and got giant oiran-style platform geta, as well as styling the back of her wig to match common oiran styles.
For the wig I was inspired by a performance by Kabuki legend Tamasaburo in which he had a wig down to his ankles, which moved unlike normal wig hair. I guessed that it was chainette fringe, and bought several string curtains on eBay. I glued them in rows like wefts onto a mesh dome cap; the curtains aren't as dense as normal wefts so it took a few curtains (and is thus kind of heavy), but the bonus is an ankle-length black wig that never tangles. The bangs are separate clip-ons.
The headdress, necklace and bodice front are all Worbla covered in Flexbond, painted to look like coral, then coated in Triple Thick glaze. I specifically chose Flexbond as I figured the branches would get bumped and knocked and wanted something that would stay flexible. The whole headdress is also insanely heavy and I can only wear it for about 20 minutes at a time. Unfortunately foam clay was not a thing when I made this; that would have been a lot lighter. The headdress has an elastic that snaps behind my neck, and the back loops snap on separately. They are made of Worbla covered in craft felt, then the 'hair' glued down and painted.
This was definitely a costume only for stage or photoshoots; it takes up an entire large suitcase on its own and I need help to walk around.
Awards won: Best in Class (Master) Workmanship, Best Staging - Anime North 2016
The kimono is 3 layers of taffeta (white outer layer lined with ice blue for opacity, then a red visible lining) and has about 30 yards of fabric in total. It is massively heavy.
I painted the feather patterns and then hand-couched silver cord around each feather, copying a style used in Kabuki theatre for Sagi-musume. The obi also is painted and then the triangles are outlined with couched silver cord.
Since Yuuko is basically dressed like a fantasy version of an oiran, I went with that and got giant oiran-style platform geta, as well as styling the back of her wig to match common oiran styles.
For the wig I was inspired by a performance by Kabuki legend Tamasaburo in which he had a wig down to his ankles, which moved unlike normal wig hair. I guessed that it was chainette fringe, and bought several string curtains on eBay. I glued them in rows like wefts onto a mesh dome cap; the curtains aren't as dense as normal wefts so it took a few curtains (and is thus kind of heavy), but the bonus is an ankle-length black wig that never tangles. The bangs are separate clip-ons.
The headdress, necklace and bodice front are all Worbla covered in Flexbond, painted to look like coral, then coated in Triple Thick glaze. I specifically chose Flexbond as I figured the branches would get bumped and knocked and wanted something that would stay flexible. The whole headdress is also insanely heavy and I can only wear it for about 20 minutes at a time. Unfortunately foam clay was not a thing when I made this; that would have been a lot lighter. The headdress has an elastic that snaps behind my neck, and the back loops snap on separately. They are made of Worbla covered in craft felt, then the 'hair' glued down and painted.
This was definitely a costume only for stage or photoshoots; it takes up an entire large suitcase on its own and I need help to walk around.
Awards won: Best in Class (Master) Workmanship, Best Staging - Anime North 2016
