We are about to go on a Cosplay adventure with…

NERDSociety.com: Thanks for taking the time to interview with us at NERDSociety.com, would you be so kind as to state your name? Stage name? Where are you from?

Victoria: My stage name is Victoria Cosplay. I do not use my legal name for my online persona. I am originally from Philadelphia however I no longer live in the city.

NS: What was it that got you into cosplaying? How did the “light bulb” go off telling you, ‘this is what I want to do?’ Were you introduced into cosplaying by someone? Do you make your own costumes or do you acquire them from other means?

VC: My boyfriend showed me a photo of a woman dressed as Riku from Final Fantasy X-2 at a convention in Japan. She was very beautiful, wore a well made costume and the photography was lovely. It was a combination of art and looked like fun and I wanted to try it for myself. I make my own costumes, build costumes by adding pieces and accessories and also hire commissioners.

NS: What does cosplaying mean to you? Is it something fun that you do for personal enjoyment? OR is it something that you do for other reasons?

VC: I have been a fan of comic books and superheroes all of my life. I grew up watching the Super Friends, the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman series and read my first Batman comic when I was in the 4th grade. As I got older I watched the Tim Burton Batman movies and the Christopher Reeves Superman films and anything to do with comics. I have had a life long love affair with these characters and I cosplay to express my love for them.

NS: Tell us about Catwoman, judging by the photo, it fits you perfectly, as though you were meant to be Selena Kyle? Tell us about making the costume and why you chose the more current look over either the 60’s Batman or even the appearances before the “Hush” series?

VC: The body suit and headpiece are part of an official Catwoman costume that you can purchase. The rest of the costume in the bag was junk so I pieced together the remaining accessories. I purchased a leather belt, a whip, gloves and boots. Put it all together and BAM, you’re Catwoman. The Darwyn Cooke design is my favorite look for Selina.

NS: I’m sure Star Wars fans would love to know how you put together the “Slave” Leia costume; can you tell us why you chose that version of the character and not the classic “Princess” version? What are some of your interests in Star Wars—when did you get into it to where you’d play a character from the series of movies?

VC: I was hired by Gentle Giant studios to be Slave Leia at the San Diego Comic-Con. The person in charge of finding models found my work online and contacted me about the job. The metal bikini was made by http://leiasmetalbikini.com/ After wearing it, I purchased one for myself because it was so beautiful. Growing up, Return of the Jedi was the only Star Wars movie my family owned and we watched it every week. It’s funny that I grew up and became Slave Leia.

NS: The Huntress is a great DC character; she has had an interesting mixture of stories from the comic, to TV; what was your interest in playing The Huntress and what went into making the costume?

VC: I love the Huntress and how she plays by her own rules and doesn’t give a damn what other people think. Her mafia based origin is fascinating and how she trained and sought revenge in the name of her father. She’s a bad-ass and I love her costume. My Huntress costume was made by Tatiana of Rage Custom Creations: https://www.facebook.com/ragecustomcreations

NS: There are a lot of fans of Wonder Woman; straight forward; please tell us everything– from why you played her, to what went into the costume?

VC: My earliest memory of Wonder Woman is watching the Lynda Carter series as a kid. I immediately loved her. I then saw her on the Super Friends. From an early age I started collecting Wonder Woman toys and clothes. She’s the most iconic female Super Hero of all time. I’ve done two versions of Wonder Woman and am finishing up a third. My traditional costume was made by http://www.threemusesclothing.com/ I painted the armor for my Odyssey version and attached it to a corset and used my tiara and bracers from the Three Muses set. Basic black jacket, pants and boots finished the look. My third version is almost done. I sewed a new corset, made a belt and sewed stars onto the pants.

NS: What were (are) some of your own favorite costumes; feel free to tell us your thoughts on them?

VC: Almost every costume I’ve done is a favorite of mine. I only cosplay who I love.

NS: Have you had any thoughts on cosplaying a character from Anime? You play a lot of comic book characters and movie characters; do you have any interest in Anime at all to ever go in that direction?

VC: I am not an Anime fan. I am not interested in Anime. I was at Otakon 2013 to work for a company. I wasn’t there as a con-goer. I was hired to cosplay Hatsune Miku for The Modern Tokyo Times. I’m a fan of the earlier Final Fantasy games such as 7, 8, 10 and 10-2. I watched the entire original Full Metal Alchemist series and loved it. I’ve seen a few films such as Ponyo, Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle and enjoyed them. But I wouldn’t call myself an Anime Fan.

NS: Does it get to you when there are shows that portray “backstabbing and hate” in cosplay instead of focusing on why people do it in the first place? Isn’t it about the creation of the costume and being able to play your favorite characters?

VC: I refuse to watch any cosplay reality shows so I can’t really comment on them. I can say yes, cosplay shouldn’t be about drama, back stabbing, gossip, etc. but it does exist in real life. I choose to stay away from negativity and focus on the positive aspects of cosplay such as doing superhero charity work, friendships I have made and doing something creative by working on a new costume.

NS: What advice would you give for aspiring cosplayers?

VC: Do your research, cosplay who you love and practice makes perfect. You’re going to go through a lot of trial and error before you get your costume right so be patient.

NS: Outside of Cosplaying, what are some interests you have? Music, Movies, Animation, etc…, do you collect anything?

VC: I collect comics, toys and dolls. I’m a huge Disney fan. I also model professionally and have my own birthday party business.

NS: Any final words you would like to give to our readers about cosplay?

VC:  Please check out my work at:

www.facebook.com/VictoriaCosplay
www.twitter.com/VictoriaCosplay
www.victoriacosplay.blogspot.com
www.victoriacosplay.storenvy.com
http://instagram.com/victoriacosplay

We at NERDSociety.com would like to thank Victoria for her time to take part in this interview. What a great selection of costumes; including, Supergirl, The Wicked Witch of the West and so many others; really awesome!

However, as an Anime fan, I would have liked to focus on Hatsune Miku…after all, I am a huge fan! BUT, nonetheless, this isn’t an interview about me. So, Victoria, PLEASE FORGIVE ME…but I just had to…

Now that is an awesome Miku! Such detail!

Thanks again!

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