Plugsuit Asuka

This is an entirely handmade costume, completed over the course of about 1 month and debuted at Anime Matsuri 2014. At the time, it was the most ambitious project I’d ever finished.

Source: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Debuted: April 2014
Awards: First Place Intermediate, Anime Matsuri 2014
Collaborators: Rei Ayanami cosplayed by Aurum Cosplay

Making of

Rose of Aurum Cosplay joined me as Rei Ayanami. We gave each other moral support as we independently crafted in different cities, talking through design decisions together.

I patterned the bodysuit myself and constructed it from 4-way stretch vinyl. I did all the piping by hand as well, using elastic cording and matte black stretch vinyl. Some fabric panels had padded foam inserts to add dimension. The armor pieces were originally sculpted from clay and then cast in resin. The plugs were cold-cast separately and mounted on. The backpack, straps and wrist cuffs were assembled from foam, then sealed and painted to match the look of the rest of the suit. The biggest challenge of this costume was taking a bunch of different materials and trying to make them look like one cohesive unit.

Instead of a wig, I used my real hair with extensions for extra realism.