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Saori
Kido/Athena
Saint
Seiya
time completed: End of January
2007
hours spent: 20
worn at: TNT GT (Mexico City), Cartoomics 2007 (Milan, Italy), Anime Expo 2007
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Why I chose to make this costume:
I have been wanting to cosplay
from Saint Seiya since I understood the term COSPLAY. T_T
It was the first anime series I watched on TV, back in China when
I was about 8 years old. And it is also the first manga series
I ever read, and I own every single volume of it.
Talk about obsessed lol.
Saori is by no means my favorite character in the series, but
I was told in the past that I would pull her off, and it was the
easiest costume I could think of for the short time frame I had.
How I made this costume:
I used a semi-shiney crinkled/pleated white fabric in order to achieve the classic Greek pleated dress look for Athena.
For practical reasons, I decided to make the dress into a full skirt and top. The top
closes with loops and ribbons in the back becauseI thought it would
look more natural than a zipper.
The skirt has a second layer of bridal satin, and I wear it with
a hoopskirt underneath.
The waist cincher was so fun to make - I created my own cincher
pattern following the character design, used a super reflective
gold stretch pvc/lycra for the outer layer, lined the whole thing
and sewed boning into it. Then I drew a pattern for the top trim
as well as a different pattern for the bottom trim. Using gold
Lame for a separate texture, I traced and cut out the patterns,
then appliquéd
them onto the cincher, satin
stitching and finishing all the outlines. I then hand-sewed gold
and red beads to the trim and glued on large crystals following
the design.
I made the necklace with blue and clear glass beads, and created
the armband, choker, and hair piece with remnant Wonderflex pieces
and hotglue. I plan on remaking those pieces in the future in
plastic.
I cut bangs into the wig and styled it accordingly.
For the gold angel wings, I created a new design and
shape, made the wings, and sized them to be folded up and fit into
a specific travel friendly box. I wish I could have made the pair
bigger, but I haven't found a larger box for wing transport so
far! Maybe in the future?
I finished the staff in time for Anime Expo 2007 - the gold bird shaped round staff end was first sculpted entirely out of clay, then I made a mold for it and casted it out of plastic. I then painted it and attached it to the black staff itself which is a butchered curtain rod lol.
Thoughts
on this costume:
I really loved
cosplaying from Saint Seiya! The story was such a part of childhood growing up, and it makes me happy to be able to feel like I'm a part of it in a tiny geeky way. I must admit though, that it was pretty difficult to maneuver in the hoopskirt, wings, and staff all that the same time. I got so exhausted after just a couple of hours. Next time must build stamina up first! lol
Thank you to the photograghers who took photos of this costume. I really appreciate your efforts and enjoy the pictures immensely! |
Photoshoots by Laura Vasillion and Paul Tien, last 4 by Eurobeatking and Mario
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