My name is Tabby, I’m an archaeology curator and collections conservator for a museum. I love anime and videogames, and I’ve been making my own costumes, and cosplaying at conventions since 2006! As someone who grew up doing papier mâché, painting, ceramics, and sewing as after school activities, cosplay was the natural hobby progression for me. Cosplay is a great hobby because it allows you to express yourself in ways which other expressive art forms (like fashion for instance) do not allow. Cosplay for me is not just about the costume, it is about how you wear the outfit, how you carry the props, how pieces of your costume move as you walk, etc. It’s a multi-faceted and dynamic experience which brings together a love of fashion, theatre, and crafting all in one!

 

As a cosplayer, I aim to make all of my costumes from scratch. While I love to sew, my real passion is in armour making and prop building. My goal when making costumes is to focus on incorporating novel materials (such as using aspects of metalworking in costumes), and also to use as much recycled materials as possible. I like to look at the shapes of costumes, and find historic, real-world examples of designs from various ancient civilisations. I have also recently gotten into competing in skit based competitions, which I thoroughly enjoy.

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I think community building is a very important part of cosplay. The sub-culture of cosplaying and attending conventions has blossomed and spread massively in the past decade, and it is important to continue to support new cosplayers coming into the hobby, but also to make sure that cosplay remains a safe space for those who participate in it. To this end, I am very vocal in the community regarding accessibility at events, and approaching conventions regarding stricter anti-bullying and anti-racism policies at events. In 2021, I petitioned every single convention in the UK to include an ‘anti-black-facing’ statement in their cosplay rules.

 

Running panels is one of my favourite convention activities. I like to aim these panels towards new members of the community, and make the hobby more accessible and less intimidating. I also like to run fandom meets, as these are a great opportunity for cosplayers to socialise and also make memories at a convention. By facilitating both panels and meets, I am able to give back to this community!

I am an Astrophysics PhD student based in the north of England, though I often travel around the country for conventions. I love all things space related, and do a lot of outreach work to share that love!

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I've been sewing for over a decade - my mother was a seamstress, so the skill was something I learned very early on. I feel very strongly about sustainability and fast fashion, and love to make my own clothes as well as upcycle old ones whenever  I can. I love making my own costumes, both for this reason and because I think it allows for extra creativity! Choosing fun fabrics, or interesting ways to pattern a garment, can be a really exciting part of any project. It also allows me to make modest fashion considerations wherever necessary - as a Muslim woman, store-bought costumes often don't cater to my needs,

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I've recently gotten into competing and have  been enjoying every aspect of it! The stage performance side was not something I'd given much though to before, but as someone with both theatre and television experience I've found bringing that to my cosplay has been really rewarding.

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For competition, I've also been looking at making armour and props. Though sewing is my speciality, it's been wonderful having the chance to go back to 3d work - I grew up making characters out of jam jars and funnily shaped sticks with copious amounts of paper machie, glue and paint. Learning to work with foam, thermoplastics and 3D prints has been the high-budget version of these projects that I know my younger self would approve of!

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I love going to conventions all around the world with my friends, and making new friends while we're there! The furthest I've been is probably Japan's Comiket (Comic Market). I'm fluent in Japanese and happy to bring language workshops to events, as well as space or astronomy ones.

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Diversity is incredibly important to me. Growing up as a huge fan of anime and Japanese video games, I never really considered cosplay as something I could do or 'pull off'. It took a few frank words from Tabby for me to see that I didn't have to be white to enjoy the hobby. I care immensely about spreading that message to other young people!

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