Cosplay is all the rAGE!

Cosplay, the act of dressing up as a character from a film, book, or video game, has drawn dedicated fan bases in countries across the world, and South Africa is no different.

Thanks to the tireless work of a few key people, South Africans can get involved in ‘costume play’.

Jade Bayes, head of cosplay at GES for the last five years (aka the lead cosplay organiser in the country), has done a magnificent job of growing the hobby, expanding the events, and even digitising the competitions to make cosplay more accessible to all.

“Cosplay is for everyone!” is Bayes’ favourite quote. People often worry that maybe their costumes are not good enough, or expensive or elaborate enough, but the community is not like that. Whether you dress up in simple items from your home or go all the way with a handcrafted costume, the cosplay community wants you to be involved,” she says.

How do you get involved?

rAge, the Really Awesome Gaming Expo, is the best place to start, according to Bayes. It hosted the first official cosplay competition in South Africa almost two decades ago, in 2006.

Since then, the competition has developed to hold an international pedigree in the cosplay community.

South Africa boasts some of the most dedicated and tight-knit cosplayers in the world and has the highest ratio of cosplayers to non-cosplayers within its gaming, tech, and geek culture industry.

GES also hosts cosplay events throughout the year, depending on what is happening within the industry. For example, cosplay events often coincide with new game or movie releases from titles such as Fallout (a video game franchise) or Disney.

Cosplaying at rAge

This year’s rAge Expo will be from December 8 to 10 at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand. There is plenty to expect from the mega event for video gaming, technology, esports, geek culture, and digital entertainment.

For cosplayers or cosplay newbies, here is what you can expect from the competition.

Competitive cosplay

“Start your cosplay journey by deciding on your budget and the level of accuracy you want,” says Bayes. There are effectively five levels of effort involved in cosplaying or five different ways to approach it.

Level 1: Check your cupboard for bits and pieces that combine into a decent outfit.

Level 2: Try ‘thrift’ cosplaying. Head to second-hand or thrift stores and purchase your outfit piece by piece.

Level 3: Purchase your costume online from popular cosplaying stores. Be warned, these are overseas markets and charge in dollars. Popular cosplay stores include Doki Doki Cosplay, Miccostumes, and EZ Cosplay.

Level 4: Have your outfit commissioned by an expert. This is for experienced cosplayers who want unique costumes and are happy to pay for expert tailoring or craftsmanship.

Level 5: This is the pinnacle of cosplaying, where you make your outfit yourself at a very high level. South Africa has plenty of incredible cosplayers who follow this tradition.

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Cosplay categories

For the actual event, cosplayers can enter multiple categories. There is a baseline online competition where cosplayers send in a photo. There is a ‘friendly’ masquerade, where everyone dresses up and strikes a pose on stage for everyone else.

The real excitement comes in for the Craftsmanship Competition, where the true cosplayers get to flaunt their efforts. The Craftsmanship Competition has four main entry divisions:

• Needlework cosplay: Costumes 70% sewn or cloth.

• Armour cosplay: Costumes 70% armour (such as board, foam, cardboard or plastics)

• Festive cosplay: This is for costumes festive in design and includes both armour and needlework.

• Skit division: This is a variation where solo or group cosplayers do a small skit or performance with their costumes.

They divided all cosplaying between masters (the best of the best), intermediate, novice, and youth (under 16).

Tips for getting into cosplay

“I think the biggest tip I can give is to have fun,” Bayes says.

“Cosplay is for everyone. The community is wonderful and has people from all walks of life. We are an open, caring group of people who use our enthusiasm for geek culture to build each other up.

“The next best tip I can give is not to worry about contact lenses. They don’t matter nearly as much as people think, and often the judges cannot see them. “My final tip is a wig almost always looks better than styled hair.”

What comes after rAge?

Winning at rAge is not where it ends. They sent the winners from various competitions to represent Africa at the Crown Championships of Cosplay – pitting them against the best cosplayers in the world.

South Africa has sent three champions to the Crown and all three had podium places.

Kinpatsu came second in 2019 with her Sister of Battle, Jinxie Cosplay came first in 2020 with her Priestess Bathory and Ludus Cosplay came second with his Aratak in 2022.

If you are a first-timer or new to geek culture, the rAge Expo is where you want to be this year! Check out the event online to find out more about how you can enter your first cosplay competition.

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