On the first weekend of December, the characters from the most popular series and video games of the moment jump off the screen and sneak into the Barcelona subways, transformed into flesh and blood people. Hundreds of fans of Japanese culture dress up as their idols, imitating clothing and accessories, and show off at the Manga Show, a flagship convention of comics and anime culture, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
But they are not simple costumes. This practice is known as cosplay and it is a growing trend among the younger generations, which becomes especially visible during the three days that this event lasts. The event, in addition to being an opportunity to get hold of the latest news on the market, is also a meeting point for fans and hosts, among many other activities, competitions, talks and performances dedicated to the cosplay.
At the Manga Salon, the hallways are repeatedly blocked by groups of cosplayers to those who ask for photos and who, proud of their work, pose for the camera. “I didn’t have time to finish it and I slept for 4 hours,” explained Sara, 22, wearing her handmade costume of the series’ protagonist. Akatsuki no Yona.
Some have decided to take this art as something professional, as is the case of Ayuru, cosplayer and illustrator. This artist with more than 28,000 followers on social media has been making and wearing costumes for more than a decade. “It is a tribute to the things that you have liked and that have made you who you are,” says the young woman.
Ayuru was, together with her partner Galefic, the Spanish representative of the international Clara Cow’s Cosplay Cup competition in 2018. In addition to competitions, she receives invitations to events that have taken her to places such as Mexico, Sweden or Kazakhstan, and sponsorships with brands that allow her generate income. “I have collaborated with Bernina, which is a sewing machine brand, as well as RIOT, the video game company League of Legends, as well as with stores cosplay and wigs,” he says.
A twist on traditional sewing
This booming hobby, which is often done in a amateur, It can consume many hours of work and materials. So much so that these young people are giving a breath of fresh air to sectors in crisis such as haberdasheries or sewing stores. Dani P., head of the La Pimpinela tailoring shop in Barcelona, knows this well. After almost four decades serving mainly theater productions, their location began to receive the first requests for cosplay ten years ago.
The prices of these orders can range from 50 euros for the simplest pieces to 1,500 or 2,000 for the most complex clothing. “They look for quality, the relationship with the person who makes it, who is as reliable as possible and that their personality is valued,” explains the tailor.
The person in charge of La Pimpinela, who initially trained in opera scenography and costumes, adds that the cosplayers They are usually quite young, between 20 and 30 years old. He explains that they invest their first savings in complex suits and even go so far as to order them piece by piece as they can, in order to complete them. “Customers have opened the doors of a new market for us and we must accept their evolution,” he says.
In their store they have not only received requests for events or conventions such as the Manga Fair: they have also adapted wedding dresses to the couple’s favorite fictional characters. Dani especially remembers the case of a groom who decided to get married wearing a suit inspired by the character Squall Leonhart from the video game Final Fantasy VIII. “They give you a small glimpse into their personality,” he says, “and that relationship is something that we missed a lot in the business.”
A hobby that creates community
While some cosplayers choose to buy or commission their costumes, especially at the beginning, both the community and competitions value handmade costumes more, encouraging many to try sewing for the first time. This is the case of Bea Muñoz, 23 years old, better known on social networks and among her friends as Trixxi.
She started buying her cosplays but, after several competitions and meeting others cosplayerswas encouraged to try her first costume, for which she received help from other members of the community to learn how to customize her wig and accessories. “If you know them, cosplayers They are quite friendly. They are from your world and they understand you,” says Muñoz.
Like her, many cosplayers find a place of refuge in the community, where they can represent a character without judgment. There are practitioners who even decide to dress as the opposite gender simply because they feel challenged by the character they represent. Cosplayers assure that there are no requirements when choosing a character and that all bodies and genders are welcome.
“Cosplay is about adapting the original character to the body of the person who wants to wear it,” says Virgine Verrier, a 53-year-old sculptor and dressmaker who runs the Muchafibra workshop in the center of Barcelona. In his coworking and school he has been receiving students for 8 years. cosplayers who want to acquire skills to make their suits. “They come with a reference of the character and we teach them how to make the pattern to their size, then the prototype and then the final garment. We accompany them throughout the journey,” explains Verrier.
According to the dressmaker, she noticed the beginning of this trend with the arrival of the great Marvel superhero sagas and then, as anime and manga became more popular, characters from Japanese fiction also appeared. But the great boom It came after the pandemic. “There weren’t many clothes to buy, products from outside didn’t arrive and the stores weren’t open, so people started making their own clothes by hand,” says the Muchafibra regent.
Verrier affirms that sewing “engages” and that cosplayers who begin their journey in pattern making and making to represent a character may end up discovering a new passion. That was the case for Prune Colin, 21, a Muchafibra student who spent a year learning how to make cosplay costumes.
After developing anime costumes like One Piece either Kimetsu no Yaiba, For herself as well as for her friends and family, she decided to broaden her horizons. She studied courses in leather goods, textile origami and various patterns and now wants to start a business in the textile world in her homeland, France.
Although there are many men cosplayers, the majority are women. Verrier assures that sewing belongs to the “female lineage” and that many women seek that connection with their grandmothers and mothers in making clothes. “They come to look for that moment of transmission and exchange,” he says.
This relationship also occurs in the cosplaywhere many beginners start by asking their loved ones for help, especially grandmothers. “I got my grandma to make me my first Kagome outfit from Inuyahsa when I was 10 years old,” explains Marina, better known as Azania. “When I was 15, I asked him if he could teach me.”
Now this young woman has been making her own cosplays by hand for more than 18 years. But all this time later and after having gained skills and knowledge, he continues to reuse a Katara costume from the series avatar the last airbenderwhich he did with his grandmother.
30 years of the Manga Fair
For years now, the Manga Fair has been achieving success in ticket sales, with stocks sold out almost every day of the event. The participation of the anime and manga fan community is so great that even the train services of the Generalitat of Catalonia have reinforced this year during the days of the event their service on the Llobregat-Anoia lines, which lead to the Fira Gran Via venue. where it is celebrated.
This increase can also be seen in manga sales, which according to a FNAC report increased by 184% between 2020 and 2021 and which have now joined the arrival of manhwa and manhua (comics of Korean and Chinese origin). . According to data published by the specialist Marc Bernabé, during the year 2023 alone, a total of 1,698 new titles reached the Spanish market, including translations in Spanish, Catalan and Basque.
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