- The costume – This was my second cosplay I ever worked on and completed. I certainly didn’t make it easy on myself. I didn’t have very many skills as far as costume crafting goes, but I was passionate and determine to do this costume. I am a redheaded, spunky German girl, and so is Asuka. I love Evangelion and revere it as one of the best animes ever created. I could have done Asuka’s school uniform, or her yellow dress from her episode debut, but I got crazy and just HAD to do the plugsuit. This is the original plugsuit version from the original 26 episodes.
- The parts – This costume just had one part – the plugsuit itself. It was all one piece of costume, if that makes sense. Everything revolved around a zentai suit that I altered to have all the detail and all the features of the plugsuit.
- The research – I watched EVA several times to watch for range of motion and try to understand these crazy plugsuits. I looked at other cosplayers online to try and understand how they worked with certain materials or how they had featured some of the details. As my second cosplay, I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into! My knowledge of some materials was so limited and that point I was really just running on positive energy. I wanted to create a cosplay for a character that I was passionate about.
- The construction process – I started with the zentai suit, and with the help of my mother (my primary cosplay support eight years ago), we gradually added pieces to the costume with a variety of adhesives and sewing methods. Many parts of the fabric were mounted on foam to create dimension, so that some of the details really stood out against the red background. I had to have assistance because at the time, I didn’t have a dress form, so in order to get some of the details to be placed correctly, I would have to be wearing the whole body suit and my hands would be covered! My mom didn’t really understand what kind of hobby I was getting into, but she helped me out all the same. In the days before learning about using materials efficiently, moms really are the best help!
- The finished product – For my second costume, I’m really proud of what I was able to accomplish. Not only did I find it successful, many people at the conventions I attended approved too! I was inundated with photo opportunities throughout my convention and even earned a chance of a photoshoot with Eurobeat King. His photos are featured below! I feel I learned a lot through this costuming process. Now that I know how to work with materials like spandex, if I were to redo this cosplay, I would be able to make the entire thing from scratch and sew the details in as I go. I do hope to redo this cosplay in the future because I’ve learned so much and I think I can accomplish more the second time around. In the mean time, I love what I produced for a character that I adore so much!
Red Leaf Cosplay 