Last September 30, a young high schooler entered the halls of the SMX Convention Center in a near-unrecognizable appearance from her usual getup. Ditching her glasses entirely and open hair for a mint green wig, she wore flowy and veiled cerulean vestments of an exotic design, in a venue where everyone also had fantastical attires.
Dressing up in the clothes of the alchemist Sucrose, an Anemo Catalyst character from the role-playing game Genshin Impact, Kelsey Colasito went on to portray her persona in Cosplay Mania 2023. She strolled throughout the halls in character, posed for pictorials, mimicked Sucrose’s gestures, and met fans of the same fandom who took pictures with her.
Kelsey's stint as Sucrose became her sixth time to take part in a convention in cosplay. Since she began doing so in eighth grade, she has come to portray Mitsuha Miyamizu from the anime film Your Name, Venti from Genshin Impact twice, Columbina from the same, and Nilou from it too. Outside the convention scene, Kelsey also portrayed female versions of Toge Inumaki and Izana Kurokawa from their respective anime series Jujutsu Kaisen and Tokyo Revengers.
Cosplay, a portmanteau of costume play, is the activity of bringing fictional characters to life. It involves crafting and wearing outfits that match the appearance of a chosen persona, particularly from Japanese anime, manga, video games, and other media. Multimedia fandom conventions become the outlet for cosplayers to display their craftsmanship and for non-cosplayers to view their favorite characters more tangibly.
Currently a twelfth-grade STEM student and one of the few public cosplayers in the batch, Kelsey talked about the appeal and mystique of being one while out at conventions. “It feels like you're a different person — even if you don't notice it, you'll suddenly act like the character you are cosplaying and everyone around you will see you as that person,” she said. “There's this joy that you feel when people recognize you, ask to take pictures with you, [and] open up a conversation that is related to what you are cosplaying,” she added. The young cosplayer found excitement in the activity which has become a yearly anticipation. Cosplaying alongside her friends and surrounded by other amiable fans, Kelsey found that conventions provided her with an overwhelming yet enjoyable experience of expansive social interactions. Her penchant for cosplay arose from wonder; being a fan of Japanese media, she was frequently exposed to the otaku subculture of cosplay. Though she eventually found admiration in cosplay-creators like Hakken and F.ukurō, Kelsey’s desire to cosplay is her own doing. "I wouldn't say someone inspired me — it's more of a curiosity: wanting to see how it feels, exploring a new hobby, and also [having] fun dressing up," she explained.
More than just being a hobby, however, Kelsey regards cosplay as an art form and cosplaying as a mastery of her skills in the arts. "It's my desire to explore my talent in arts and crafts, I want to see how far I can go and how much I can still learn," she said, explaining why she chooses to cosplay. She regards the whole experience as an enjoyable process, from costume planning to actual event attendance.
Kelsey’s cosplays have always been a product of her own endeavors. She purchases costume bases through her own means and proceeds to produce her accessories by hand. Combining all elements together alongside the actual onsite interactions, the cosplayer learned a variety of technical skills that ranged from “choosing what clothes would fit the character's personality, the styling of the wig, [doing the] make-up, how to act like the character, and socializing.”
“Cosplaying really does require a lot of thinking and creativity. You also have the freedom to customize it however you want,” she added. The artistry of cosplay stems from the creation of authentic costumes, which requires the assembly of various outsourced materials to create an aesthetically appealing set. The actual presentation is crucial too; if one does not actually act like their character, then the whole immersion of the portrayal would come apart.
Beyond cosplay, Kelsey is no stranger to crafting her own masterpieces. Taking in commissions, she is also well-versed in illustrating both traditional paintings and digital artworks — her brush and stylus as her main tools of content creation. The former is done whenever she feels strongly emotional, while the latter primarily features characters from popular culture. Kelsey has also recently illustrated the cover art for The Mover Volume 3 Issue 2.
More than anything, Kelsey takes art as an explicit manner of self-expression. In lieu of words, she uses her artworks, no matter the medium, to convey herself and her thoughts better. Cosplay in particular has helped her ease the pains of social anxiety and grew her skills of extroversion, especially when she was approached for pictures and live interviews. She underscored, “Art is my way of communication.”
While ultimately settling on a career in the science world, the arts continue to have a special place in her heart, and most especially cosplay. “You really don't have to worry about what others think. If you want to cosplay then go! It doesn't matter . . . how inexperienced you are in certain areas [because] the more you do it, the more you'll learn,” she concluded.
Kelsey Colasito is from 12-Grit (STEM) and is an artist for The Mover. You can view more of her artworks at @saikelsey, and you can see her cosplays at @dostosaikels.
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