 Battens of
cloth and sewing machines get all the glory when costumes are admired at
anime conventions. However, staying in the background and helping support
the entire show is ordinary, humble wire. Some of the most impressive costumes
at conventions are constructed with wire frames. Heather (left) and Tikki
let in a room of costumers on the secret ingredient: rolls of 16-gauge
steel and aluminum wire that shape costumes and hold up object that just
seem to be made solely from cloth. |
 For example,
the Dug Fin costume from the Dragon Half skit presented at Katsucon in
1999. Tikki showed costumers how it was made. The head was shaped from
wire, looped and bound to make the frame, then overlaid with foam and cloth.
The rest of the costume was basically a tube of fabric cut to make the
character's body. The costume makers said that the wire-frame heads they
make can actually be compressed to fit into a suitcase without losing their
shape - but they can't get away with that sort of thing too often. |
 The wings
for the Mink character in that Dragon Half presentation, modeled here by
heather, used a more prosaic form of wire, a coat hanger bent to form the
shape of the wings' backbone. tikki said she found that the wings were
solid enough to hold their shape, but also compliant enough to bounce as
if they were flapping as the costumer (Lynn in this case) walked across
the stage, something Tikki described as a happy accident. |
 Tikki also
wanted the tail for the catgirl costume seen at Katsucon 2000 to bounce
with the wearer's movements, but to stay in place. She started with a foam
and elastic harness that the costumer puts on like a pair of pants. Then
she created a wire base for the tail that allowed enough movement to give
it a life of its own, but was solid enough to hold the curved shape and
hang in the air. Again, that shape was maintained by the wire hiding under
the foam and cloth. |
