Yes, it might be about true “geekdom” but it certainly relates to our latex clothing dressing up as well. When a new Star Wars movie premiers we all get to once again celebrate lightsaber battles, argue about what ‘The Force’ actually is, trot out that slightly unnatural fantasy we have for Darth Vader. But almost as important as the actual movie itself and all these thrills we muster about it, so many fans get to exercise their cosplay muscles with the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
On the heels of Atlanta’s MomoCon “Cosplayers on Ice” competition, that happened outside last weekend at the city’s Centennial Olympic Park ice skating rink, Star Wars fans came out in force (pardon the pun) this week. Men, women and kids across the nation came en masse as Vader, Storm Troopers, as well as dressed as new characters appearing on the big screen for the first time. Ardent cosplayers were seen in the long dark robes of Chirrut Îmwe, the blind monk character, others as Saw Gerrera, suited up in his gray rough-hewn armor and also as Baze Malbus with his dreadlocks and beard.
From the bunch of press shots taken at the big premiere held at Hollywood’s TLC Chinese Theatres (better known in filmdom as Gramous Chinese Theatre) one fan even dressed in jeans, a button-up flannel shirt, gray beard, mustache and a bushy head of peppered hair. He truly looked the part in his perfect recreation of George Lucas’s most infamous, and personal, costume design.
Jess Merriman of MomoCon claims that “Our Cosplayers on Ice event goes beyond cosplay.” And one could certainly say that the cosplayers coming out for the new Star Wars adventure go beyond the usual need to dress in fantastical garb. It’s not that this science fiction movie franchise started this need for dress up, but certainly the stark black and white outfits we see in the Star Wars universe (where the evil Storm Troopers are dressed in white, which is typically the color for good guys) all those delicious aliens or super feminist Jyn Ersa dressing in hooded robes to her full flight suit slick black gear give serious cosplayers lots to work with.
