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Sew and tell! Virtual Championships of Cosplay winners announced at NYCC 2020
A pandemic couldn't stop the unbridled creativity of comic con-based cosplay. Partnering with ReedPOP, SYFY WIRE co-sponsored the Virtual Championships of Cosplay at this year's New York Comic Con's Metaverse event. The cosplay throwdown even had SYFY WIRE's very own Jackie Jennings (you may have seen her as MC of Hasbro PulseCon last month) on the panel of judges, which also featured veteran cosplayers like Jaremi Carey, Gizona Costuming, JediManda, and Yaya Han. The competition was broken up into three categories: Beginners, Needlework, and Armor.
The Beginners victor was Commander Poptart, a U.S. entrant who dressed as Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. "This was an incredible build for a beginner. Well, done, Commander Poptart," said JediManda, who was dressed as Baby Yoda from The Mandalorian.
No runner-up was announced.
The runner-up in Needlework was Demorafairy from the U.K., who dressed as Little Red Ashe from Overwatch. "We loved this costume, the letterwork is so impressive on it. All her engineering, like the vest, was done in three different layers, so every piece would lay correctly," said Yaya Han. "I thought that was just really genius and it just has such a great balance of different techniques used. All her sewing was very clean and the skirt was the right length and everything was finished."
Sewcialist Revolution from the U.S. nabbed the top honor for the Needlework category with her Claire Fraser costume inspired by Outlander. She spent five years learning how to make 18th-century clothing and then hunkered down for an extra six months putting the dress together. "This is needlework in its best representation," Han added. "She used period-accurate methods, so much of it was hand-done ... We really appreciated all of the efforts that she went into."
Tim Tanco from the U.S. became the runner-up for Armor, thanks to their Merman costume from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. "The costume is awesome, I don't need to say anything more because you guys know how I feel," Gizona Costuming said.
Slade, a competitor from Russia, was the top winner in the Armor category with an Anubis costume from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. "That is such an awesome costume," Gizona marveled. "Literally the whole thing is embossed. It's crazy. I don't know if I would ever want to do that and I spent a lot of time on my costumes as you guys know."
Katie of Raerovia of the U.S. took home "Best in Show" for her Princess Zelda costume based on the artwork of Hannah Alexander. "It was beautiful, it was perfectly tailored, it was super ambitious, and we all loved it, including our Baby Yodas," Jennings concluded.
The judges' picks will receive vouchers to purchase more cosplay materials. Carey announced during the event that the prize money has been doubled for each winner.
Watch the full event below:
Click here for SYFY WIRE's full coverage of New York Comic Con 2020.
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Still looking for more cosplay fun?
Aside from co-sponsoring NYCC's annual Cosplay Central’s Virtual Championships of Cosplay above, SYFY WIRE has partnered with con organizer ReedPOP for a Fan Favorite cosplay contest hosted entirely on our Instagram page. And you can help choose the winner!
Fan voting is now open, the results of which will be announced this coming Wednesday (Oct. 14). The grand prize includes a full New York Comic Con 2021 experience package, which comes with four-day badges and perks for them and a friend. You can vote for your favorite finalist on SYFY WIRE's Instagram page here.
