FOR the first time in my life, I went blonde. Platinum blonde.
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| TA-DAA: Reporter Audrey Tan Ruiping turns into Freya, a character in Japanese anime Chobits, after 1 1/2 hours of dressing up. --TNP PICTURES: GAVIN FOO |
Fortunately, I just donned a blonde wig. (No way was I going to dye my hair blonde - I just don't look good in that colour.)
Two weeks ago, I experienced for the first time what it was like to be a cosplayer - one who dresses up as a Japanese anime or manga character.
Cosplay is short for costume roleplay.
My experience was a tip of the iceberg of what hardcore cosplayers can look forward to at Cosfest VIII: A Very Happy Event, a cosplay competition which started yesterday at the D'Marquee @Downtown East. It will end today .
To let me get a better idea of what it's like to be a cosplayer, the event's co-organiser, the Singapore Cosplay Club, offered to give me a complete cosplay make-over.
When I first got the assignment, I was apprehensive. After all, I've always gawked and sneered at those lolitas with their gothic make-up. Now, the tables were turned. When photojournalist Gavin Foo and I arrived at the Singapore Cosplay Club in Bukit Merah, I was so nervous that I was literally shaking in my shoes.
Club president Stephanie Loh's friendly demeanour put me at ease a little, but I was still uneasy.
The room that we were shown into screamed 'cosplay' - posters of anime characters decorated the wall, elaborate costumes hung on mannequins, and manga comics lined the shelves.
Miss Loh, 25, pointed out two costumes on the mannequins. She had picked them out for me based on the body measurements I had given her over the phone a few days earlier.
Transformation begins
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The two outfits are worn by twin sisters Freya and Chi, characters in the Japanese series Chobits, which is about humans and their relationships with persocoms (electronic devices shaped like humans).
One was a pink, bareback dress with layers of lace petticoats.
The other was a navy-blue dress, which looked only slightly more modest because of the high hemline in front. It had a huge pink bow at the front.
I picked the latter outfit, which is worn by Freya, as it was more conservative.The dress was not much trouble to put on. I did it without help.
I also had to put on black stockings that ended at mythigh. I felt like a little girl then - all my childhood fantasies coming true as I stood dolled up in gorgeous satin andlace.
When it came to the hair, it was much trickier. 'Your hair is too heavy!' Miss Loh told me with a laugh.
So she put a net over my head to hold my hair in place. Then she placed the wig on. It reached my waist.
Then came the combing and untangling of the wig. It was a long and tedious process.
I was not allowed to sit as the wig would touch thefloor.
Every tiny movement would cause the nylon strands to be tangled.
Even simple movements like bending down to adjust the straps of my black shoes caused the strands to end up in knots.
It took a full 45 minutes to get my 'hair' in decent shape. My neck and legs were stiff from not being allowed to move or sit.
The experience gave me new-found respect for cosplayers. They had to be gentle, and every action they made had to be precise or their get-up would be ruined.
Miss Loh then put a hairband with two 'ears' made of styrofoam attached to a thin black ribbon.
Ears as USB ports
Apparently, my character was a robot, and the 'ears' acted as USB ports through which she could be recharged.
And that was it, I had been transformed into Freya.
I felt a little self-conscious in the whole get-up, which took 11/2 hours to put together. There was also no mirror so I could not see how I looked.
Thank goodness the Cosplay Club was situated in an industrial park, or I might have to parade on the streets and be gawked at.
Miss Loh then coached me on my poses.
As my character Freya is her creator's version of a 'perfect girlfriend', I was told to pose 'demurely' and 'sweetly'.
It's not as easy as it sounds.
So cosplayers must also be good models and actresses.
That day, with the flashing lightbulbs of my colleague's camera and the attention lavished on me by the members of the Singapore Cosplay Club, I felt like a star.
No wonder that cosplay is gaining popularity here.
Mr Takahan Tan, the producer of Cosfest VIII and also a member of the Singapore Cosplay Club, said: 'People now are more receptive to cosplay compared to previously..
'For example, when we go out in costumes to do roadshows, people would come up to us and ask us whether they could do cosplay too.'
If you love the limelight, cosplay may be your cup of tea.
As for me, I prefer to stay under the radar.
But the next time I see a cosplayer on the street, I won't be gawking and sneering at him or her.
- Audrey Tan Ruiping, newsroom intern
More men taking part in cosplay
IF YOU'RE a cosplayer looking for the perfect stage to strut your stuff, head to the D'Marquee@Downtown East today .
The Cosfest VIII: A Very Happy Event, which started yesterday , is organised by the Singapore Cosplay Club and NTUC Club.
There is no age limit.
The organisers said that last year's participants were aged between 12 and 32.
While most of the participants are females, the Singapore Cosplay Club president Stephanie Loh said that more men are now keen to take part in cosplay.
'This year, we're expecting about 30 per cent of the 600 or 700 participants to be guys. Last year, only 20 per cent were guys,' she said.
Expecting 20,000
This is the eighth year that the cosplay event is held, and is the largest yet.
The organisers are expecting over 20,000 participants and spectators this year.
There are booths at the event where manga will becreated and produced by aspiring artists. Their artworks will be sold for $4 to $15.
The competition includes individual and group categories.
The festival also includes the World Cosplay Summit Singapore Competition, where two winners will be picked to travel to Nagoya, Japan to take part in the World Cosplay Summit, to be held on 2 Aug .
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