Book review: Fabulous Cosplay Footwear

 

Fabulous Cosplay Footwear by Regan Cerato and Kelly Kullman is a fantastic reference for creating many unusual footwear styles for popular cosplay purposes. 

There is definite overlap between cosplay creations and theatrical costume, and I love that FanPowered Press is putting out great reference volumes on how cosplayers create things for their purposes, because theater costumers can learn from and modify their techniques so that the products apply to a stage context.

This is a short publication—40 pages—impressively produced with full-color photography on all interior pages and excellent diagrams and process shots. It includes pattern drafts, and a QR code to a printable version, and discusses how many of the techniques described can be adapted according to the needs of a specific design.

I appreciate particularly how the authors discuss choosing ready-made footwear as a starting point based on the shape because the structural nature of the shoe is more important than any other aspect and something like the color can be so much more easily changed. This acknowledges a place for adaptability, in a context where a performer might have special needs like a wide toebox or a low heel.

I especially appreciate that they highlight how the concept of leggings or tights can be used to solve the problem of thigh-high boots that fall down, thigh-high stockings that slide down, etc. That’s an old theater trick and I love seeing it demystified here

The one aspect of the boot cover project in this publication that, as a theater costume, I would definitely change for durability in the run of a production, is the use of adhesive nonslip pads on the soles of boot covers. When I cover this in class, we talk about rubberizing shoe soles for theaters with Equity union agreements, and how to use that shoe rubber in place of how these authors are using the stick-on pads, for a more durable solution.

I always tell my students that when they read references like this written aimed at a cosplay readership, to translate it into the context of the theatrical production. Our pieces often need to be much more durable and withstand choreography and other movement demands, beyond what might be fine for attending a convention or photo shoot. 

And because cosplayers are often not producing things at the quantity and regularity that theater artisans may, they don’t sometimes consider PPE for something that minimal exposure is not harmful (acetone), but that we might choose to protect ourselves from because we use it more frequently. That said, I applaud them for highlighting in the section on custom dyeing, the practice of using a dedicated dye pot instead of kitchen equipment you eat from.

My main criticism is that some of the sidebar text is difficult to read, dark blue text on a light blue background or fuchsia text on a pink background, which can be a challenge for those with visual disabilities. 

Ultimately, I highly recommend this title, especially for costumers who work for theaters with champagne shoe taste, and beer bust budgets.