In 2021 the Monkey Collective held one of their immersive screening events at the wonderful Luna Palace Cinema in Leederville, Perth. It was for one of my favourite films, The Fifth Element, so, of course, I had to make a costume for their costume contest. I knew there were going to be plenty of Leeloos in the crowd, so I decided to pick someone more obscure; Zorg’s secretary. She didn’t receive much screen-time, nor did she ever get a name, but she had a costume that was another memorable Gaultier creation, it always appealed to me. Plus I already had a skirt of a similar colour. My favourite part of that character is the hair, she wears a wig made of feathers. Initially I tried to see if I could replicate it, but finding such fine feathers on such short notice without spending a fortune proved impossible. So I searched for a regular wig of similar colour, no dice. In desperation, I bought a grey “elderly” style Halloween wig, spray painted it teal to match the velvet and feathers I already had. It’s not at all an accurate shade of teal, but it’s the best I could find around here. The spray paint worked surprisingly well and helped to create a strange texture to the wig. Making costumes in Perth is challenging because we have a limited range of costuming and crafting materials. Honestly, even our range of consumer goods is often limited too. I usually have to order things online; out of the question when there’s a short deadline!
With all those challenges in mind, I am happy with the results, and evidently, others agreed. I had a great night, the audience loved me, and when my character came on screen, they applauded. As impressive as the modern cosplay industry has become, the real fun is had at costume events like this where we are just having fun, improvising and sharing our love of our favourite characters and stories.
Travian Designs 