A bit behind on the Comic Con recapping but the second panel that I went to for Comic-Con was one near and dear to my heart. Impact24PR brought some amazing below the line talent to speak about Cosplaying Film and TV Characters: Behind The Scenes with Industry Designers panel
Moderated by actor/content creator Chris Villain and costume designer/cosplayer Chad Hatter, the panel featured costume designers Meghan Kasperlik (Moon Knight, Watchmen) and Bernadette Croft (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds), hair department head Barry Lee Moe (Pam & Tommy, Pose), and makeup designer and makeup department head Carleigh Herbert (Minx, Teen Wolf: The Movie + Series).
I had chosen to attend the panel off name alone and was pleasantly surprised to see that I had a connection to every show/series that was being talked about, having either watched it or being in an intense fandom for it. The panel offered some really fascinating insights into the industry. Meghan, coming off of two excellently costumed superhero shows really broke down her Moon Knight process in an interesting way. It was wild to hear just how many suits had to be made for the show (47 suis for Mr. Knight and 803 pieces for Moon Knight alone!) Also, it was a lot of fun to be in the room with some Moon Knight cosplayers as she spoke.
I was fascinated by Bernadette because she perhaps has had the toughest job of all in that she has to adhere to a very strict canon but also update Strange New Worlds for what audiences are used to seeing now. She spoke a lot about fabric manipulation techniques enabling the costumes to have a level of detail they maybe couldn’t have in the 60s.
With makeup and hairstylists Carleigh and Barry we got a really cool look at the level of research and detail have to go into period pieces. They looked at everything from pop culture to pieces of media, to be able to craft authentic looks.
The panel also highlighted the Cosplay Universe documentary, directed by Jonathan McHugh and Jordan Rennert and starring Yaya Han and Kamui Cosplay, which explores the diverse and unique world of cosplay, shining a light on the often misunderstood artform. Check that out on their socials (IG & TikTok).