Category: cosplay couture

Cosplay Couture The Bandit

From the archives, November 2013:

Cosplay Couture interpretation of the Bandit from The Fall

Costume (mask, cape, butterflies) and styling by Courtney Coulson

Photography by Luke Milton

Location Karrakatta Cemetery

Courtney and I recently watched The Fall together and we’ve both fallen crazily in love with this film. The Bandit has a relatively simple costume but I was determined to find a setting that did the character (and film) justice – not an easy task considering the exotic locales that feature prominently in a film where every single shot is a work of art. 

We actually had two attempts at this over the course of two days. Our first idea was to use the “blood” soaked sheet as backdrop but the wind proved to make this a near impossible task. Losing light we ended up shelter in the carport where I was surprised to capture some unexpectedly quirky and colourful shots. It was the second day that we went out on location and ended up shunning perfectly manicured gardens to hunt out pieces of exotic architecture. All of these were small details and corners of buildings that were otherwise completely unsuitable but the bleached surfaces carry the illusion well. If these images intrigue you and you haven’t seen Tarsem’s The Fall then I urge you to do so!

And I got to keep the mask.

– Luke Milton

I’ve long been fascinated by Tarsem’s work since I saw the Cell years ago, he has an incredible visual style that defies comparison, he often worked with the late great Eiko Ishioka, whom I consider to be one of the greatest costume designers of all time. She worked on all of Tarsem’s films, including the Fall where her costumes were integral in establishing sympathetic characters who have very little dialogue and creating a fantasy world that was truly fantastic.

I just so happened to have many pieces in my wardrobe that resembled the Bandit, but masks are always such a challenge, because if you’re just a millimetre off in any way it changes the entire look. I made three before I got it right. I used corduroy to imitate the texture and I put boning in the “nose” piece to give it shape.

What I love about all the costumes in this film is that each of the characters have such a distinct and dramatic silhouette. The Bandit is very fitted and narrow on the torso, but from the waistdown he has samurai pants and then on his head he has a mask and a wide brim hat. More than any of my other costumes I felt this one could change so much depending on the combination of accessories and what stance I assumed.

-Courtney Coulson

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Cosplay Couture Kazuhira Miller

Photography by Vespa Photography

Despite Miller’s limited wardrobe and static body language, I find him endlessly inspiring. The challenge of portraying him through cosplay, and reenvisioning him through fashion is all about subtlety and the little details. I kept the silhouette functionally the same, but draping the trenchcoat like a cape to entirely obscure his missing arm added a touch of theatre. Essentially I built everything around the velvet double breasted blazer, it read to me as the formal fashion equivalent of his military uniform.

Most of this costume was assembled, the most work I did was cut the wig myself. I’m surprised what I could get out of a $15 eBay wig, it’s a half-wig too, it needed to be thin enough to fit under the beret. The downside is I could only cut it so short, but I think this length works for what I’m going for.

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Cosplay Couture Henry V

From the archives, October 2013:

Cosplay Couture interpretation of Prince Hal from the Hollow Crown

Costume and styling by Courtney Coulson (jacket, t-shirt and cape)
Photography by Luke Milton Photography
Sword by Jack Barbour

Shot in King’s Park

I absolutley love Tom Hiddleston’s performance as Prince Hal/Henry V, I thought his costume was cool too, but completely inaccurate for something supposed to be set in the medieval ages. That said, the clothing of that era is not very appealing so I can understand why they didn’t want to go that direction. Then I remembered that these plays were originally performed in “modern” clothing, so I looked at 16th century costume and decided it made more sense for Hal and I wouldn’t have to deviate too much from the costume in the series.

Just as with all Cosplay Couture, this was about representing not just Hal in terms of appearance but also examining his character, personality and history.
It took me a while of researching before I decide on a punk/glam rock approach.
As a prince he was a scapegrace, reckless and rebellious but as a king he was said to be the epitome of a leader, a particularly defining quote is this one: “Depending on his mood, his eyes flashed from the mildness of a dove’s to the brilliance of a lion’s”

I had a lot to work with, the plays cover a great deal of his life plus he was based on a real person. This was definitely an interesting and complex man and I wanted to represent that duality of who he was as a prince and who he became as a king.

The t-shirt, which I made, then painted and burned has the Lancaster house symbol as well as a bit of bloodspatter representing the Battle of Agincourt. The glove in the belt is a nod to the one he swapped with a soldier in the camp whilst he was in disguise. The jacket came together in a really short time, I worked on it for about two days non-stop. It was based on a doublet but I added modern features like the buttons and the zippers and the printed lining to update it.
The scalemail scarf and the bracers I had in my collection for ages but I like how they walk that line between armour and fashion.

I didn’t have to do much with my hair as I did deliberatley cut it to look like his and my hair is red anyway. The make-up was fun, taken right from the 80’s with the bright clashing colours, to get the lipstick to match the jacket I mixed a red with a black.
In terms of physicality, I again had a contrast of playing regal and a rockstar so I had freedom to get serious or playful.

-Courtney Coulson

I have not yet sat through the source material, but was very much sold by the rock slant of Courtney’s re-design and the possibilities of that incredible jacket.

I am rapidly discovering that, location-wise, the most important thing seems to be finding somewhere with a palette that compliments the character. Even in a place as large and lush as (the aptly named) King’s Park we quickly discovered that not all trees and bushes were created equal, and we really had to hunt for those special spots with particular colours and textures, and shelter from the sun. But my favourite place was probably the sculptural metal wall – not something that immediately springs to mind for Hal, but strangely appropriate when paired with the clothes.

And, no! She’s not Joffrey!

– Luke Milton

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Cosplay Couture Lone Ranger and Tonto

From the archives, October 2013, the following descriptions were taken from the three individual posts respectively, but are now collected as one. I still love these photos a lot, this was our most controversial shoot, but that was the point, exploring commodification and appropriation within the worlds of Hollywood and fashion, it should make you feel something. I guess these photos only gathered more controversy given the current state of Armie Hammer and Johnny Depps’ lives in the decade since this film was made:

A Cosplay Couture interpretation of the Lone Ranger

Costume (mask) and styling by Courtney Coulson

Photography by Luke Milton in collaboration with Sabatomic Photography

A life-long love of Westerns meant I was excited to see the Lone Ranger return to the big screen, was it a good movie? Not really, at least not in the conventional sense, but I had fun and it got me excited to explore this new John Reid and Tonto in a fashion context.

Westerns also influence the way I dress, so everything, apart from the hat and the holster, came from my own wardrobe. My hair isn’t too disimilar in terms of cut to John’s, so that was easy, make-up is a heavy smokey eye with everything else minimal, lots of bronzes and gold as they seem to work best in this environment.

-Courtney Coulson

I haven’t seen the film, but I couldn’t resist the chance to shoot a cowboy in a desert and I think Courtney sells the masculinity very well with her body language. (Although I love the contrast of her eyes which are still quite feminine through the mask. Love the makeup on those!). These were shot early afternoon and have a far brighter, overexposed feel than the Tonto shots which are more ethereal. This was more about a desert that was hot and bleak, although I do like how some of them have that fake campiness of an old western film.

– Luke Milton

LONE RANGER AND TONTO

I am certainly no model, and definitely do not have the heroic, manly shape of Armie Hammer. But, just as this Adventure Weekend, cemented our team and the commitment to our work together, it felt very important to me to somehow be a part of it and have that indelible image to remind me of this time. It was a real thrill to be photographed alongside someone that I have photographed so much before. There’s nothing couture about what I’m doing, but try to think of me as the stunning Tonto’s awkward accessory.

I love what Sabatomic has done with these, and the use of the flash gives such a surreal, fake feel to the images, like we’re standing on a set, or against a matte painting. Huge thanks to Sab for her generosity with her time, knowledge and talent, and to Courtney for being patient and helping me pose.


– Luke Milton

A Cosplay Couture interpretation of the Tonto from the Lone Ranger

Costume (pants, wrap belt,beaded choker and crow) and styling by Courtney Coulson

Photography by Luke Milton in collaboration with Sabatomic Photography

Shot at the Pinnacles in Cervantes

A life-long love of Westerns meant I was excited to see the Lone Ranger return to the big screen, was it a good movie? Not really, at least not in the conventional sense, but I had fun and it got me excited to explore this new John Reid and Tonto in a fashion context.

Despite the controversy surrounding the film’s costume, I think it is a really impressive design and I had the most fun reinterpreting it into fashion and wearing it.

The crow head dress was inspired by the millinery of Philip Treacy, it was made from a pair of costume angel wings and a real magpie skull. The pants are brown panama with black vinyl fringing. The necklace was the most challenging part, it took four attempts to get it right, it’s made of suade leather, plastic retic tubes, glass and wooden beads. The wrap belt was also made of suade, I had fun creating that pleated shape. Everything else came from my wardrobe.

Make-up is pretty much the same as Tonto’s although I was less literal with the cracks as you can see all the drawn on “cracks” around the neck and temples. I also added lipstick to give a more feminine touch.

Tonto was the usual cookey Johnny Depp character, but at the same time he could have a seriousness or intensity about him, I decided I would personify that side of him the most.

-Courtney Coulson

I think that cosplay, by nature, is appropriation. And the internet is a wonderful hive mind that excels in getting offended for everybody else. I haven’t seen the film and I have no interest in the off-the-rack Halloween costumes that have everybody riled up. I think context and intent are incredibly important, and our intent was to make something beautiful and surreal in an environment that matched that challenge.

I love Courtney’s stunning interpretation of this much maligned character and I’m incredibly proud of what we shot.

– Luke Milton

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Cosplay Couture Tintin

From the archives, October 2013

A Cosplay Couture interpretation of Tintin

Costume (pants) by Courtney Coulson
Photography by Luke Milton in collaboration with Sabatomic Photography

Shot in Atlantis, the abandoned theme park


Tintin has such a simple yet iconic look with a very distinct colour palette, which made him a perfect candidate for a couture treatment. The sweater was a lucky find on ebay, everything else came from my wardrobe already, including the breeches which were originally from my Road to El Dorado Miguel costume.
Hair was tricky to get to stay in place as it was a windy day, fortunatley it’s behaving in these shots.
Make-up is light and all pinks to give a more young, cute kind of look, just like Tintin!

-Courtney Coulson

The most hostile environment, where we battled overgrown paths and giant spiders, but what is Tintin without adventure? I was drawn to the odd statues although they are more comical than old-worldly and it was tricky to take out the clues that many of them are near visible shops and car parks. The real treasure was the rocky landscape that we found in the heart of the theme park which looked far more exotic than the rest of it. I think that much of what we shot would look beautiful in black and white but when you lose the iconic colours of Tintin’s costume you risk losing the sense of the character.


-Luke Milton

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Cosplay Couture Nathan Drake

From the archives, October 2013

A Cosplay Couture interpretation of Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series of games.

Costume and styling by Courtney Coulson
Holster by Jack Barbour
Photography by Luke Milton in collaboration with Sabatomic Photography
Shot in the sand dunes of Lancelin and a rest stop along Indian Ocean Drive

The Uncharted series is my favourite series of games of all time and Drake’s had an influence over my wardrobe ever since. I was wearing daily cosplay couture before it was even a thing.
Drake’s look breaks down to a few essentials, a half tucked henley shirt into some cargo pants, the Sic Parvis Magna ring and the horseshoe belt buckle. Beyond that I had a fair amount of freedom.
I love his shemag (scarf) that he wore in the third game, so that was a must, the aviator shades were more of a neccessity as it gets damn bright out there on that white sand in the middle of the day, I don’t know how Drake does it, oh that’s right, the badass squint! I gave it a go, think he does it better.

Hair was challenging as Nate wears it very short and neat and overall I wanted the styling in this shoot to look casual, not overly done up or intentional. I went for slicked down at the sides and left the top messy, the wind took care of the messy part! Make-up is lots of bronze and gold.

In terms of physicality I had a lot of freedom there too, Drake can be serious or he can be cocky and playful. He’s got a pretty relaxed posture, but very shoulder oriented.
-Courtney Coulson

Two main challenges shooting in the dunes. First is keeping that sense of space and expanse while maintaining a focus on the model – it needs to be about Drake, not the environment, although they have to compliment each other. And secondly the mass of sand and insects that were twirling into the camera. This created a fleet of black spots on all of the images leading to an extensive “Attack of the Clonestamp” scenario. Very happy with the exposure here though, and the lighting owes a lot to Sabatomic’s deft placement of the handheld flash.

The second location was a discovery while stopping to shoot the Eleventh Doctor. It led to a quick change and a stint under a bridge (while trucks roared overhead). Terrifying.

– Luke Milton

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Cosplay Couture Sherlock Holmes

From the archives: October 2013

A cosplay couture interpretation of Sherlock Holmes

Costume (skirt, jacket, hat and capelet) and styling by Courtney Coulson

Photography by Luke Milton

Shot at UWA


A tribute to one of my all time favourite characters, I made this costume over a year ago out of scraps from a WAAPA production, only got around to finishing it recently. It’s not perfect because I had learned so much in the mean time, but hopefully it’s not noticable in these photos.

It’s actually based on real hunting attire from the late Victorian/early Edwardian era, I think many of these pieces could still be work in a modern context and this was an exploration into that idea of reinventing a classic Victorian character with a very costumey look into something more fashionable.

The most challenging part was the pleating in the caplet, it was a last minute idea to make it more interesting. It ended up involving seven metres of pleating! Took me forever, but I’m happy with how it turned out.

As I was portraying the classic Holmes I really focused on the mannerisms described in the book. He’s highly intelligent, but he also lives for the cases and he has fun solving them, so I tried to convey that intense mind through mostly my eyes but the overall sense is less brooding than the BBC Sherlock.

-Courtney Coulson
Shot with no other equipment than the camera, this shoot quickly became about finding and managing light. I loved the railing but it was too dark to shoot with Courtney standing behind it so her sitting on it was the only way to access the light and it resulted in my favourite shot of the shoot. I also like the idea of her tiny form leaning rebelliously in the shadow of a giant Socrates. The light was harsh here, but it’s always fun to take something very contrasty and turn it to black and white. I think black and white works very well at giving a more classic look to the other shots, like they are from some old, forgotten serial or something. I also dig how it brings up the textures on the cloak.

-Luke Milton

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Cosplay Couture 11th Doctor

From the archives, October 2013:

A cosplay couture interpretation of the 11th Doctor                

Costume (shorts) and styling by Courtney Coulson

Photography by Luke Milton with Sabatomic Photography     

Shot somewhere along Indian Ocean Drive


To me 11’s love for Westerns was something I related to the most and also something that was unique to that regeneration. I think 11 is easily the most schoolboyish, his open enthusiasm paired with his awkward body language definitely makes him “adorkable”. It was fun translating that into this shoot, throwing my posture all about the place! The costume plays up on that boyish theme with the high waisted shorts, the skull bowtie and oversized Stetson. My hair is pretty close to Matt Smith’s so no real challenge there. Like Benedict Cumberbatch, Matt Smith has a great character face, so I had a lot of inspiration when it came to the make-up. There’s very little on the eyes but a bright red lipstick to draw the focus to the lower half of my face as Matt is all chin but he has hardly any eyebrows or eyelashes.

-Courtney Coulson
Initially this wasn’t my ideal location and I had planned to steer clear of the red dirt and the road, cautious that it might feel too Australian. However, seeing Courtney in context led me to shift plans and incorporate all of it, and I’m really glad we did. I feel like the road lends the image more purpose and helps create a sense of vastness while still keeping our focus firmly on the character and the clothes.


– Luke Milton

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Cosplay Couture Herbie the Lovebug

Photography by @itzu.me
Car belongs to @inatski

Costume and makeup by me


I think I drew the design for this costume about a year ago, then just this past weekend I finally got to bring it to life with a beautifully restored Beetle at my side. I can’t thank my collaborators enough for helping me with this project, it couldn’t have happened without you.

The design process was simple, I envisioned Herbie as a youthful and cheeky tomboy, I took elements from 1960’s fashion as well as race car driver uniforms and accessories. I looked at the likes of Twiggy and Audrey Hepburn for inspiration. I knew I needed a round hat to really evoke the shapes of the Volkswagen, and the dress is a simple A-line silhouette, it was best to keep things clean and minimal and let the stripes do all the talking.

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Cosplay Couture Tenth Doctor

From the archives October 2013:

A Cosplay Couture interpretation of the Tenth Doctor

Costume (tailored pre-existing suit) and styling by Courtney Coulson   

Photography by Luke Milton

Shot around a graveyard in Nedlands

This was our first exploration into Cosplay Couture, therefore the costume is accurate as I had worn it for a while as a normal cosplay. The reinterpretation all came down to presentation and style. Wedge heels, make-up and hair, oh yes the hair. To me that’s 10’s signature, it had such a presence and we really wanted to play around with it.

The earrings are symbolic, the roses, well they’re a reference to a certain companion obviously and the chain of rings are reminiscent of Gallifreyian font. as well as the general look of 10’s TARDIS.

Also 3D glasses make great accessories!

-Courtney Coulson

Our first location shoot ever and filled with happy accidents. The very English-looking doorway featured prominently here was actually discovered while sheltering from the rain but it provides a wonderful backdrop for bringing out the Doctor’s colours. My favourite thing is by far the hair though, which quickly became a character of its own.

-Luke Milton

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