GETTING PAID TO DRESS UP in superhero outfits and becoming a social media celebrity seems like a dream job. Well it is to Yaya Han. She has turned her hobby into a lucrative business, and wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Yaya Han is a cosplayer with hundreds of thousands of followers. She is a mainstay at conventions, film and TV festivals worldwide. She was recently in Barbados for the annual AnimeKon convention and spoke to EASY magazine.
The Chinese-American is one of many ambassadors of this subculture. She has been cosplaying since the late 1999.
“I discovered cosplay 16 years ago. I wasn’t trained, I didn’t know how to sew but I was just very artistic my whole life. I drew and painted but when I realised that you could actually cosplay and become the characters I sort of dove in with no skills or equipment . . . It was like do or die,” she said, laughing.
There weren’t many places to buy cosplay costumes so she learnt fast.
For Yaya Han cosplay is an art form so she designs original costumes when she has time.
“I approach it very similar to art. My characters are inspired by anything from music to books to movies to animals (she did a peacock costume once). But the recreation is a huge form of cosplay and that is to recreate a character’s costume in real life and that really is between a love for a character . . . feeling a connection to the character . . . and the craftsmanship challenge which is trying out a new skill, technique or material.”
In doing the art full-time, Yaya Hans’ costume-making skills earned a lot of attention and she was invited to conventions as a guest of honour or to judge competitions.
She says she was shocked at how huge cosplay and anime is in certain countries.
“I went to Dubai, Romania, Brazil, Argentina and the creativity and crowd blew me away. I have to put Barbados in it as unexpected as it is unusual because it is such a new community here still . . . . Very young and enthusiastic.
Yaya Han quit her job in 2005 as an entry level data analyst to do cosplay.
“I didn’t quit it to go to conventions and feel like a celebrity. No. I quit to make costumes for other people and so it has developed over the years to letting me work full-time doing a line of cosplay accessories like wings, ears, and horns, based on fan-favourite characters.
Yaya Han says she tries to be well rounded in her skills and some materials pose a challenge to her.
“Velvet because of the nature of the fabric, and latex which has to be glued. Also to make moulds and casting items out of resin or rubber has a lot to do with the humidity and temperature, So sometimes you can’t even control these materials, and throw in a deadline compounds it.”
She has earned fame with appearances on TBS’s King Of The Nerds, and SyFy’s 2013 reality show, Heroes Of Cosplay, which introduced her – and cosplaying – to a new audience.
She wants to further the artform and the standards of cosplay by making patterns for the world renowned patternmaking firm McCalls.
“I want to make patterns that make it easier for cosplayers to alter them into whatever costumes they want. It is opportunities like this that I never dreamt I would have. I grew up sewing on McCalls pattern so now to actually be in their headquarters, collaborating with them is absolutely unbelievable. Or being asked by a comic book publisher to be in a comic book so I am going from cosplaying superheroes to becoming a superhero technically is like going full circle.
She said cosplay was a secret activity and members of the community was judged harshly for it.
“No one understood us, not even our parents. We had to fight through criticisms and now to do something that has become so widespread and popular and to make a living from it is rewarding.”
She says she gets recognised more when she is not in costume.
“My purple hair for the past two years has made me stand out. It is so funny that now I have to make wigs to go around incognito,” she said laughing out loud.
She regularly shares production processes on social media and has over 300 costumes, not keeping exact count. They are in her two sewing room, basement and storage and there are more costumes to come.
“I have walls of fabric. I source them from anywhere. I go to Los Angeles with empty suitcases just for fabric. It is a planned day. I buy enough for like five to ten costumes. I even order online and go to thrift stores.”
Her finished costumes depend on the sewing projects and on average take two months. If she wants a “fairly decent looking costume it can take two weeks and that is a 24-hours-a-day activity.
“When I do that I just roll from my bedroom to the sewing room and back. It is very nice and comfortable to do that.”
She isn’t looking to do any more TV roles soon and “that is great, because I cannot even keep up with my current workload and it is the most unproductive thing to have someone film you when you work.
“I am really, really glad for the experience and the many doors it has opened. I have cherished being on King Of The Nerds and Heroes Of Cosplay, but it is time for me to give back to the community. I want to make things available for the next generation and be there to hopefully motivate and inspire them.”
She says cosplay is a personal form of expression and a private and solitary life.
“For me I only share it with my closest friends. I just couldn’t go on a crafting day with someone I don’t know. It has to be someone I trust and works in a similar manner like me.”
She says current and future cosplayers should make sure they know exactly what they want and what they are getting into it.
“Do not confuse cosplay with modelling or acting. See it as a form of a very unique performance art and creative art.”
