the-mirror-melts as Ragyo Kiryuin from Kill la Kill

Costume made and worn by the-mirror-melts. I love that the photographer gave me a little rainbow flare. Taken at Anime North 2014 in Toronto.

Description:

Wig: My most ambitious wig yet and it will be hard to top this crazy feat. I bought a long silver wig from Epic Cosplay as a base, in addition to 2 sets of long wefts. Left over white fibres from other wigs were custom dyed for all the rainbow colours using various techniques. From the top of the wig rainbow:

1. FW ink in canary yellow - Mixed with alchohol and sprayed onto wefts. It almost looks neon, very crisp and bright colour

2. Hand-dyed orange Sharpie - This took a long time and the colour rubs off a bit even after rinsing it

3. Idye poly dye in red - left in boiling water for 3mins with half a packet of dye and it matches the packaging

4. Yellow-gold Dylon dye - Left in boiling water for about 9-10min with the full tin to make sure the colour stayed.

5. Two shades of green Tintex dye in boiling water for 7 mins

6. Royal blue Tintex - left in boiling water for about 8 min.

7. Hand dyed light blue Sharpie

8. FW ink Cyan blue

The base of the wig is made of wonderflex then covered in felt for extra grip for attaching the wefts. I made the base curved because I wanted the wig to be easily photographed from multiple angles - not just head on. So there is a bump close to the ears that smooths out to the tips.

Applying the wefts: The base layer was glued down with clear silicone caulk. All subsequent layers were added using clear Elmers glue. I used about 2 bottles of caulk and 2 bottles of glue - which added some weight. The same technique was used in the back with the silver wefts.

The base with all the coloured wefts was attached to an understructure 'helmet' made of Kroblacast. I made a bare bones helmet - a 1 inch strip around the hairline and another from the centre of the forehead to the back. I added felt to cushion my ears as some weight pushed down on them. It supports most of the weight but it needs to be heavily pinned to keep in in place.

I removed most of the wefts from the back of the base wig and trimmed all excess off the sides by the ears. The long silver pieces that connect to the 'rainbow' were heavily covered in Got2Be freezing spray then covered in clear Elmers at the ends to glue them in place.

For more info on wig dyeing, check out my blog.

Dress: I used a matte white satin for the dress. I wanted something luxurious but not too shiny. I modified a fishtail/mermaid skirt pattern for the skirt and improvised the top. I added ruffled tulle at the bottom of the skirt to prop up the feathered trim which is removable by Velcro. The dress is entirely lined with white polyester.

Coat: I made a base out of twill and stiffened it with heavy interfacing. I linned it with white polyester lining then added several layers of ruffled tulle to add some body to the shoulders and bottom layer. I then sewed down an insane amount of Velcro pieces to attach the feathered trim. I wanted it to be removable for easy transit since feathers are fragile. There is about 16 metres of goose feather trim on the coat.

Since her coat is wide, I made removable extensions to her coat - also with velcro - so that I can have it ready for a photoshoot but removable when manoeuvring through crowds.

Necklace: It is made of one layer of craft foam and one layer of styrene. The line detail is the result of cutting out a small piece of the styrene to expose the foam that was dark washed with black acrylic paint. It is attached in the back with Velcro.

Belt: The inner layer is craftfoam, the outer is one layer of Worbla. The recessed lines were created by pressing in the worbla with a wooden knife. I added several layers of wood glue then finished it with silver spraypaint. I defined with lines by hand painting them black with acrylic. It attaches to the dress with Velcro. She has these weird floating beads on her outfit. I made mine out of Worbla and attached it to the belt with chains and lobster clasps.

Cosplayer: the-mirror-melts

December 10, 2014