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Portraits of cosplayers (short for costume play) photographed at conventions in Toronto and Montreal, where young people gather to meet with online friends and wear homemade costumes.

I see modern costuming as part of an ancient human practice, including Halloween, Renaissance faires, historical re-enactments, theatre, and ceremonial dress throughout the history of civilization and pre-civilized tribal ritual. I’m curious about costuming; why do we do it, and what does it mean? What does it have to do with our daily mode of dress? What do we learn by assuming identities and what impulse does it serve? This subject ties into my interest in the role of clothing in identity, representation and cultural values, which I have explored in previous work. Costuming seems to be a logical next step.

The costumers dress to be photographed and develop their own vocabulary of poses and behavior that form a ritual. My concerns include issues of identity, but also community and fandom. How is this phenomenon related to something like Halloween? How are these related to other traditional ceremonial costumes? Some of these people spend a year or more designing, sewing and reworking their costumes, and go on to study fashion design. What effect will cosplayers have on the future of what we wear?