It might lack the satin sexiness of Ada Wong or the strike-a-pose foppishness of Leon Kennedy, but this inspirational Licker costume has a special charm all of its own. It is quite simply the best Resident Evil cosplay I have ever seen. Admire it in this photo, which could easily be straight out of the Resident Evil High School Yearbook:
The picture was taken at a cosplay convention in Northampton earlier this year and is part of Kosupure, an ongoing photographic series by Stuart Harper. The photo gave me such a smile that I got in touch with Stuart - a Middlesex University photography graduate - to find out more. This is what he told me about the idea behind Kosupure:
"I have always been fascinated with identity and how people present themselves day to day. As an avid gamer, I found it intriguing that people in their late teens and upwards would gather on mass and participate in a weekend of becoming someone else, with some taking on the characters personality."
And what of the creative mind behind the generously-tongued Resident Evil mutation? "The sitter in the Licker costume was a woman in her late 20s. She told me she got into cosplay as she suffers from arthritis, with the fine detail of costume making keeping her hands active."
You can see more UK cosplayers elegantly photographed for Stuart's Kosupure series at www.stuart-harper.co.uk. All the cosplayers are the real deal - each being the proud makers of their own costumes.
I think it's high time I did a follow-up tomy own first - and pretty successful - attempt at cosplay. Maybe in the next TalkRadar UK podcast. Stay tuned.
August 26, 2010
