Kasumi // DOA

Completed: June 2012
Worn to: AniMegaCon 2012, Pacific Media Expo 2012

Inspiration

Kasumi is undoubtedly a costume I have wanted to do for a LONG time. When Dead Or Alive hit XBox back when I was in high school, I was instantly hooked on the franchise. It was a great fighting game, but the character design and graphics were what really won me over – I thought the game looked gorgeous. I have a soft spot in my heart for almost all of the DOA ladies, but Kasumi has always been my favorite. This is also a nice costume to wear because it doesn’t have heels (or pants), so it’s hella comfortable.

Construction

This is probably one of the more structured/tailored costumes I have made. The fabric has zero stretch – if I remember correctly isn’t made out of a heavy gabardine-type fabric and the top is actually fully lined with satin. The lack of stretch makes the costume a bit tight around my chest and I typically have to safety pin it closed to make sure everything remains decently covered! I was lucky enough to get to use a friend’s embroidery machine for the design on the back – there are some pretty amazing sewing machines out there where you can upload a design into the machine’s computer and it will automatically embroider it for you. Damn, I wish I owned one of those sewing machines! The white crane design on the bottom of the costume was hand painted with acrylic fabric paint. The arm and leg gauntlets are reinforced with foam interfacing to give them a more sturdy, substantial look.

Photos

These pictures were taken at PMX 2012 by the wonderful BlizzardTerrak. This was the first time we ever met or shot together (though we have many times since!) and he was a really great, accomodating photographer with tons of fun suggestions for poses.

Photos by BlizzardTerrak Photography – Los Angeles, CA