 When the Aka-Kon
organizers decided they wanted a live version of their Aka-Chan mascot,
they turned the job over to costume designer and maker Samantha Evangeline.
Provided with a model and her measurements, Evangeline (in jeans and black)
was able to create the costume in a few days. As with the animated Aka-Chan,
the costume is a simplified version of the original character design, made
out of PVC fabric instead of metal and feathers. A closer look at the costume
showed how some of the interesting details were created. |
 The horns
aren't horn or clay. They're shiny PVC, rolled around wires for support.
There are seams in the horns, but they're on the underside of the structure
where the seams can barely be seen unless you know exactly where to look.
Then the horns were attached to the costume's long red wig, which played
a major role in concealing some other details of the costume's construction. |
 The wig hid
some parts of the wings, which were made from white and silver PVC. Each
wing was built on a wire frame that made up the leading edge, from which
the top and feathers were suspended. To give the wings a three-dimensional
look, they were stuffed. And the wings were cantilevered from the model's
shoulders so they would bounce and wave as the model moved. |
 This is the
area that was hidden by the red wig. The pad in the center was a piece
of PVC folded over a rectangle of cardboard which served to hold the wings
together at the top. In turn, there was another length of fabric that held
the shoulder piece to the rear of the bra, and another strip of PVC connected
everything together at the front. The model said the wing assembly felt
heavy at first, but she barely noticed its weight after a while. |
