Surreal photos capture cosplay fans in the suburbs

In Thurstan Redding’s series of photographs, “Kids of Cosplay”, the mundane and fantastical universes collide in unexpected ways. Spider-Man gazes pensively at the horizon as he takes milk from the fridge. A group of Batmans hop outside a small brick bungalow. Mystique, from the X-Men, lies in the street under an orange sun, with a cigarette in her hands.

The everyday figures chosen by the fashion photographer – whom he identifies only by their professions: a receptionist, a lecturer, trade workers – are part of a vast but elusive cosplay subculture that sees fans of television, film, anime, manga and video games using elaborate costumes and makeup to transform into your favorite characters.

It’s a rarely documented community outside the confines of fan conventions. But initially having taken portraits at London Comic Con in 2018, Redding spent the next three years earning the trust of cosplayers and photographing them in diverse suburban settings, from bus stops to undergrowth. The backdrops can be anywhere, and that’s exactly the idea.

“We wanted to ensure that none of the locations were easily assigned to a specific country. A lot of people asked me if they were photographed in the United States, which they weren’t…actually, they were photographed in a small space,” he said in a video interview directly from Paris, declining to reveal exactly where the images were created.

The reason, Redding explained, is that cosplays have become a “global phenomenon” – one that connects like-minded people around the world, regardless of where they are.

“The social aspect of it is probably the most important, in the sense that it’s a community of people who really support each other and are genuinely good friends,” the photographer said. “During the sessions, several people expressed that they struggled to make many friends or feel a part of a community during their growing up phase, and cosplay gave them that.”

“It’s a very inclusive space,” added Redding, who included plus-size and LGBTQIA+ models among those photographed. “It is inclusive in a way that other communities generally are not.”

Fan costumes, in a contemporary sense, first gained popularity at the World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon), which was held in the US in 1939 and has since traveled to cities around the world. The term “cosplay” – a portmanteau of the words fantasy and game – originated in Japan, where fan subcultures exploded in popularity in the 1990s. Japanese anime and manga continue to be a source of inspiration for cosplayers, with a of Redding’s characters, dressed as the antagonist of the manga series “Kakegurui”.

Today, the subculture comprises a growing ecosystem of online fan communities.

“Comic Con only happens twice a year, and the rest of the time, most of the communication is digital,” explained Redding. “It’s a very fluid community in the way it communicates.”

forms of expression

Having shown his series at a gallery in Paris earlier this year, Redding is now gearing up to release “Kids of Cosplay” as a limited-edition book. The publication contains nearly 60 cosplayers, with characters ranging from the Witch of the West (from the Wizard of Oz) to Indiana Jones.

The photos are accompanied by comments from the characters themselves. Their accounts demonstrate how cosplay is not just escapism, but self-expression. Assuming a character can, ironically, help people be themselves, said Redding, who created the project alongside art directors Jean-Baptiste Talbourdet-Napoleone and Lolita Jacobs.

Take, for example, a trade worker dressed as a Resistance pilot from Star Wars. In a photo caption, she explains that cosplaying helped her embrace her “true self” as she went through her gender transition.

“Her dad stopped talking to her when she transitioned,” explained Redding. “And the only thing they had in common before was ‘Star Wars.’ So this obsession of hers was, in a way, the only way she could connect with her father, despite the fact that they are no longer speaking.”

“It’s an example of how cosplay is a means of expression and a means of connecting with people,” he added.

As a fashion photographer, Redding has worked on campaigns with major brands such as Dior, Gucci and Marc Jacobs, photographing top models such as Adwoa Aboah and Kendall Jenner. Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, her ostensibly banal cosplay portraits ooze subtle drama thanks to theatrical lighting and closely-directed compositions.

Her fashion experience has also given Redding an appreciation for the work that goes into each outfit. Often taking days or months to complete – and hours to style – many of the outfits feature elaborate accessories and meticulous detailing.

“Crafts are not that different,” he said. “The attention to detail and sewing skills are genuinely amazing, and I think many of them could work in the fashion industry if they wanted to.

“But in fashion, clothes are (part of) a constant production line and cycle of everything having to be new. Cosplays, however, are treated as something that is customized, refined and tweaked. Cosplayers often recycle their costumes and over time add extra elements to it…so it’s really interesting to see such a different approach to fashion.”