Cosplay, i.e. “costume and role play”, is a multilayered practice that allows the cosplayer to become their favourite fictional characters. Seasoned cosplayers are often involved in every step of the costume and prop-making process, and while some embody a theatrical element to not only look like the character they are portraying, but behave like one, cosplayers are not bound to the stage.
The history of cosplay is said to have originated from the 1st World Science Fiction Convention held in New York City in 1939, but it wasn’t until around the 1990s cosplay as a hobby became a significant aspect of popular culture in Japan, alongside the increasing proliferation of anime aided by television and the internet.
