Tag: star trek

Cosplay Couture Khan

From the archives December 2013:

Cosplay Couture interpretation of Khan Noonien Singh/John Harrison from Star Trek: Into Darkness

Costume (Shirt, jacket and coat) and styling by Courtney Coulson

Photography by Luke Milton

Location Claremont Quarter carpark

I love Star Trek, Benedict Cumberbatch, Khan and the costume designer Michael Kaplan and this year they all came together in one to create a seriously cool villain.

The moment I saw Khan I was in love with his fashion-forward look, Benedict always rocks the long coats and high collars. And that hair, I had to get it cut like that whether I did this shoot or not, it’s so damn cool!

My auburn hair has kind of become a signature part of my look throughout these shoots, but every once in awhile I find it’s not approriate for a certain character, Khan being one of them. I used a temporary rinse, the auburn still kind of shows through, but it’s darker at least.

I spent a long time really considering the designs and styling, I redesigned the silver coat a few times. The black jacket is a reference to the shirt he wears once he has been taken aboard the Enterprise with subtle nods to the other variations of the Starfleet uniform. For these designs I was looking at asymmetry and complex lines, triangular shapes being my main inspiration. There’s something about triangles that are aggressive and masculine to me.

Khan wears five coats in total, two silver, one black and one brown, the fifth being the alternate brown coat he wears in some promotional photos which has a similar but distinctly different look to the one used in the film. My silver coat is a mash-up of all of them. I chose silver because nothing sells the idea of futuristic like silver. The upper half is lined with a silk/cotton which was originally peach, when I dyed it grey it still retained a lot of that pinky quality on the other side. Unfortunately it doesn’t really read on camera but it does have an odd shimmery quality, grey with flecks of pinks and purple. The collar and right lapel is quilted, which was the most time consuming part. The lower half of the coat was left deliberately unlined to keep it as light as possible, it creates quite a dramatic look when walking or it’s windy.

And it was pretty windy when we shot, great for the coat, but not so much for the hair. I had to use so much product and continually comb it to keep it up. Thankfully Khan has it down just as often as he has it slicked back so I had options to play with.

The last time I “played” Benedict, in my Sherlock shoot, I kept the make-up fairly subtle and androgynous, it was all about trying to emulate the shape of his face. This time around I did pretty much the same thing with the exception of the eyes. I went with a really heavy all black smokey eye, because nothing says fashionably badass quite like it!

Finally the biggest challenge turned out to be body language/mannerisms. I have spent quite a while studying the way Khan moves, it’s this distinct, rigid economy of movement. He’s got the posture of a supersoldier as you would expect. Although he gets to move around a lot in combat, his general state of being is standing or sitting perfectly straight with only the slightest robotic tilts of his head. Usually I try to mix a bit of fashion modelling in there, but it felt wrong for Khan, in fact a lot of things did. So Khan ended up being more subtle in a way, I focused on channelling that imposing unnatural posture, the intense facials expressions.

-Courtney Coulson

Courtney is by far a bigger fan than I am of this particular character, and to be honest it wasn’t something I was overly excited about when we first started discussing this one. However, seeing the amazing designs for the jacket quickly changed my mind. I love the sleekness and audaciousness of futuristic clothing – it’s hard thing to get right, but I think Courtney managed to find that balance. I knew straight away that the silver jacket was going to be the star of the shoot and she ended up making the very impressive black under jacket as well.

Location wise this was all about finding sleek, white, metal environments. The car park is a little grungier than I intended but I still think it works. Khan is often seen operating within the futuristic city in the film, so it’s not a bad fit, even when nondescript signage and things appear in the background. I really wanted these to almost look black and white, with the main bursts of colour being the lips and eyes. The goal was to make things as slick as absolutely possible.

Luke Milton

by Categories: cosplay coutureTags: , , , , Leave a comment

The Body Electric

Set nearly a decade after the conclusion of Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Body Electric is a fanfiction that explores an alternate reality in which Data adopted Timothy, the boy left orphaned after the tragic accident on the S.S.Vico. Timothy has long since moved beyond the traumas of his past and has just graduated from Starfleet Academy, but his first away mission ends in a devastating encounter with the Borg. However everything is not as it seems and what Data uncovers will change life on the Enterprise forever.

Read the story here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24398101/chapters/58853530

by Categories: fictionTags: , , , Leave a comment

Kira Nerys Deep Space Nine Cosplay

Photographer: Simon Haynes

Makeup: Kat Winslade

It’s been a long time, but I have returned to cosplay with a character and costume I never expected to like as much as I do. I guess because I was detransitioning while watching DS9, I gravitated towards Kira as she is such a great female character who shows just how nuanced and multi-faceted a woman can be. Also, man, I loved making those sleeves, so much fun to figure out! The costume was made for less than $100, it’s ribbed stretch fabric and a couch cover, with vinyl for the belt. I found the most perfect boots at an op shop. It came together pretty quickly, I’m finding it easier to sew lately as I seem to be getting over CFS. Hopefully that continues and I can do more cosplay, I feel inspired now.

Probably one of the most challenging shoots, not only was it at night, but we were at a shopping centre and we were unfortunate to be harassed by a security guard who made us delete the photos. Thankfully Simon was able to recover them! I think we got some great shots despite all of that.

by Categories: CostumesTags: , , , Leave a comment

Star Trek TNG: Lore Redesign

Scans 001scans 002

I’ve been playing with this one for awhile, to go with my Data redesign. Lore lacks an iconic outfit, I think his Borg costume was the closest he got but it fell short of what it could have been. It was felt Batman abs. This should be Lore coming into his own, becoming a cult leader, he’s powerful and charismatic. That is all inspiring for a costume designer. With this design I wanted to show that he dresses to look like his followers but the jacket has an air of authority while also being a bit punk. They are a renegade faction of Borg after all. In my TNG universe Data was incomplete, he looks less human than Lore.

by Categories: Art, CostumesTags: , , , , Leave a comment

Star Trek TOS Uniform Redesign

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Throwback to 2016

I’ve always had a thing for redesigning Star Trek costumes, I think because the real ones are quite camp but have a lot of iconic elements. So it’s a lot of fun to play with as a designer. The intention with this redesign was to incorporate contemporary streetwear aesthetics. Something practical, versatile but that still feels like a uniform. It was also fun working with a replica of the velour used in the original series. It’s a textile so deeply stuck in the 60’s, it was a wonderful challenge to try to bring it into the 21st or even 23rd century.

I wish I still fit into that jacket, my chest and shoulders are broader now. Although it’s hard to tell because the jacket was designed to create a square silhouette. I can see where I made mistakes, where my tailoring could have been better. But one would hope to have that kind of perspective nearly four years later. I got a lot of compliments at the convention, including from Troy Baker! People genuinely wanted to wear a jacket like this, which is the best compliment of all as a designer, that it works outside the context of a costume. That’s the beauty of “Cosplay Couture” rather than cosplay, one is about accuracy and attention to detail, this other is about creativity and originality. Both can be equally impressive in their own right. But as a costumer, each allows me to express and explore different facets of my skills.

by Categories: CostumesTags: , , , , Leave a comment

Star Trek:TNG Data Redesign

25551905_1606678646052304_7721637567488278526_nA redesign of the uniforms for Star Trek: The Next Generation

I looked at the Abrams films and Discovery and even Alien, as well as modern uniforms and fashion for inspiration. While I like the TNG costumes, they don’t look like official uniforms that would be worn in any context, they look more like superheroes, especially in season 1. I wanted to achieve something that would have the presence and authority of a military uniform while being practical, like a uniform someone could wear every day, all without departing too much from the TNG look, so of course it still had to be a jumpsuit.

I gave Data a bit of an upgrade or perhaps downgrade, I gave him a more modern haircut and emphasised his robotic qualities. I like the idea that he is incomplete, it reflects his character, plus it’s more readily achievable with modern make-up and effects. Ideally he should appear to be a soft gold colour, which didn’t always translate in the TV series. I have a lot of ideas as to how this costume and make-up could be executed, so I may make this costume at some point.

by Categories: Art, CostumesTags: , , , , , 2 Comments