Syaoran, from the Chapter 125 manga illustration in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles.

Photography by Joanne Duong~

Lemme just gush about this for a sec.

This was a dream project of mine long before I mustered up the courage to start on it. I really wanted to bring out the potential of this design; given that the reference illustration only shows half of Syaoran's outfit, and it is the only image in which he wears it, it was up to me to design the rest of the outfit: namely the torso of the coat, the back of the coat (of which there are no photographs as of yet), and the vest.

Let's start from the bottom: I made the tight black pants out of black stretch sateen. They have two back pockets, which can carry my wallet, keys and phone at a convention.

The blue colors are achieved by two different coordinating fabrics: a top layer of textured medium-weight cotton sateen, and a secondary layer of crepe-back satin. The undershirt and cape are also lined in silver textured sheer organza.

The rips and tears on the cape, sleeves, and bottom hem of the shirt are achieved by burning the raw edges of the fabric with an open flame.

The vest is made of deep black velvet, lined in crinkled black satin, and I hand-embroidered it with white and silver threads. The vest also is embellished with about 50 Swarovski crystals, in the color greige to coordinate with the warm tones of the coat.

The coat is made of black moleskin fabric which is dusted with silver, giving it an overall charcoal grey tone. The gold designs are machine appliqued in gold and white toned satin, and all gold designs are bordered with over 6,000 gold bugle beads which I sewed individually, consuming over 70 hours of my time. Around the bottom of the coat the gold appliques are also embellished with about 720 Swarovski crystals, in the color Light Colorado Topaz. The coat also features six gold colored metal buttons down the front, which hold up the silver colored chains that continue from the front of the coat around the back, and extend across the front. The coat is lined in pewter crepe-back satin.

The armor, gloves, and mask are all made of Wonderflex; layered and painted. The gloves are built on top of black satin gloves, making them easy to pull on and off. The armor straps under my arms and around my chest, while the straps are completely hidden under the cape and coat. The mask is attached to my face with the aid of a headband under my wig and secured with fashion tape.

I'm super proud of this cosplay! I was thrilled to finally be able to wear it at Fanime 2010 and have plans to exhibit it again for photoshoots and future conventions.

*You do NOT have permission to use my design elements. If you would like to incorporate my ideas into your own cosplay, please contact me first.