Cosplay Chloe…

Chloe Patton is a 21-year-old childcare student from Omagh. Before her studies in childcare, she studied in Dean Maguirc College, and then progressed to media in South West College.

In her free time, she loves to read, craft, play games, and she is involved with the LGBTQ+ community.

However, what she is known best for is her cosplaying career.

With more than a thousand followers on Instagram, and more characters than can be counted, she has delved deep into the cosplaying community and has become Omagh’s own cosplaying figurehead.

What is ‘cosplaying’?

Cosplay is a performance art in which the participants dress in costumes and make-up, representing characters from anime, video games, TV and film. In addition to creating authentic costumes, the cosplayers also act in character, and are usually subject matter experts on the characters they are replicating.

Most people start cosplaying because they love a character, series, or game so much that they want to express their joy for it.

People continue cosplaying to test their skills, as a form of escapism, and as a way to be a part of a community.

How did you get started in it?

I got into cosplay as I wanted a way to express myself, and I loved the characters. I, also, have always loved dressing up on Halloween.

I thought I’d try cosyplaying when I was 14/15, and I’ve loved it since.

Did you join any groups or online forums?

I have met lots of people at Comic Con, who I’ve connected with, but I haven’t joined any cosplay groups. You always find others who are as geeky as you when you go to Comic Con!

What is involved in cosplaying?

Being respectful toward cosplayers is key.

‘Cosplay is not consent’ is a popular phrase in the community; meaning that attending an event, or wearing a certain outfit, does not mean people can act however they want toward cosplayers.

Some people craft, some don’t.

It’s not always about just having fun; time and patience is involved, and everyone takes on different styles.

For example, some people use wigs like I do, while others use their real hair​​​​​​​.

Is it expensive?

It can be, depending on if you make your cosplays. It all depends on what everyone wants to spend their good money on.

Do you cosplay at conventions?

Yes, I always try, depending on how many days the ‘Cons’ are on for. I have mostly attended the Dublin and Belfast conventions, and I do a harder cosplay on the first day, and an easier one the second day.

What is your favourite character to cosplay?

Keith from Voltron and Chloe Price from the game, ‘Life is Strange’. They were my very first cosplays. My two favourites that I’ve done more recently are Ladybug from ‘Miraculous’, and Bakugo from ‘My Hero Academia’.

Who inspires you?

Far too many cosplayers have inspired me, as I follow so many of them. They all bring something different to the table, and I take bits and pieces from each that I like.

Do you know many people locally that cosplay?

I have a few friends I’ve met outside of ‘Cons’ and at ‘Cons’ who live close to Omagh who do cosplay, too. It’s a lot of fun to have people close to cosplay with.

What do you enjoy the most about it?

I like bringing the characters to life, and I make so many kids happy, because they feel they are meeting their favourite characters.

I love the freedom to express myself as it is an art form, and meeting other people at ‘Cons’ with the same interests as me.

What advice would you give someone who wants to start cosplaying?

To get into cosplay, you don’t have to buy the most expensive or accurate materials to be the characters. I started as a closet cosplayer, which is where you buy cheap wigs and use your own outfits to be the characters.

You can buy cheap pieces of what you are missing if you really want, and modify pieces like I have.

So many cosplayers buy expensive materials, but you don’t have to do that at all if you can’t afford to.

Also don’t compare yourself to anyone else, as everyone has a different cosplays style.

You learn and improve the more you try; it is all about practice. But don’t doubt yourself or pick apart others if it isn’t accurate.

It really doesn’t matter – as long as everyone is having fun.