Our colleagues at RTL accompanied Sarah, a cosplay artist from Germany, through LuxCon this weekend. As Sarah gets ready with her costume for the LuxCon, she explains how much fun cosplay can be, as it allows her to bring all her favourite characters to life.
Cosplay is a Japanese word that blends the English terms “costume” and “play”. Sarah has been cosplaying for 10 years now, bringing home lots of awards for her self-made costumes.
For those wondering about the difference is between cosplaying and dressing up for carnival, cosplay costumes are thematically related to fantasy, sci-fi, horror, TV, or video game characters. Cosplay costumes also tend to exhibit much more detail than typical carnival costumes. The cosplayer aims to become the character.
Cosplay is a huge effort which requires weeks of planning and execution to get the costume just right. Sarah, for example, takes two hours to put on make-up for each character she cosplays. The main materials she uses for her costumes are EVA (ethylene-vynil acetate) foam and thermoplastics. However, she emphasises that anything goes in cosplay. In fact, many people make use of recycled materials to craft their costumes and looks.
Cosplaying has become a way of life, as many cosplay artists travel all around the globe to participate in enormous conventions. In fact, one of Sarah’s favourite feelings is when convention attendees express their appreciation when they see their favourite characters through her costumes. Through this community, Sarah states that she is able to share her passion for video games with others.
LuxCon organiser Gérard Kraus explains that LuxCon is not as big nor as commercially-oriented as other conventions. He emphasises that LuxCon aims to bring people together, nurturing their different interests in sci-fi, fantasy, and horror themes.
The planning and organisation for such an event takes six months, especially to get all the necessary stands together. For all those interested in cosplay, fantasy, horror, or sci-fi, LuxCon 2025 is the place to be. Its doors are open until Sunday 6pm. You may even get a glimpse of Sarah, who has given her own stamp to a Mario Kart character!
