(cos)WED: Jerikandra Cosplay
Written by: Riri (@lillyums)
Cosplay Wednesday features local Seattle cosplayer, Jerikandra! She's got her Batgirl of Burnside cosplay; her take on the Batgirl suit is super cool and we always welcome creativity beyond the original! In this version, Barbara Gordon moves to Burnside (the hipster side of Gotham) to start a new life and a new Batgirl -costume. She is equipped with a moto-styled jacket, a tool belt and some yellow Docs - this was quite an upgrade from the usual spandex we are used to seeing our super heroes wear, and we get why many cosplayers loved the new look. Let's see what Jerikandra has to say about her latex take on this cosplay!
1. How long have you been cosplaying?
5 years
2. Why did you choose to cosplay this character?
Because purple! Haha. I started reading Batgirl comics in the New 52 and while the first costume was pretty cool looking, it was more armor inspired and I'm just not as into making armor. When Batgirl moved to burnside after having her suit burned up, she threw together a suit with a purple leather jacket and purple leather pants. I, of course, loved the purple so I knew I had to cosplay that version but with my own latex catsuit take on it.
3. How long did it take you to complete?: A long time. Probably several months because it was quite a process.
4. Any difficulties when constructing the costume?: This was my first latex catsuit and to get the pattern right, I first made it in a heavy spandex material called Spandura. Actually, going back further, I started with yaya hahn's bodysuit pattern, made it in spandura, tried it on and took it in....then used the modifications to update the pattern and then made it in purple latex.
Surprisingly, it came out pretty ok. There were a couple weird loose wrinkles in a few areas but for the most part, it fit pretty well and you can't see the defects very well unless you're me.
I also hate hand sewing and I made the belt out of a marine vinyl pleather. Unfortunately it required a lot of hand sewing and after making it, I am thinking of farming out my next utility belt to a prop builder so I don't have to make another one, haha.
On top of that, I had a friend chlorinate the catsuit when I was done which essentially makes it less 'sticky' to skin so it's easier to get on and less likely to tear.
5. What do you love most about cosplaying this character?: I relate to Batgirl in a lot of ways. She's a badass and technically minded as am I. Add purple latex and suddenly she's both sexy and beautiful and it's also one of the few mask costumes I've worn where I didn't feel like I was covering up too much of my face and makeup and hair.
6. The other cool thing is the props. Dolfworks made the grappling gun prop as well as the mold for the batarang which Allen Amis Creations made and Dolfworks painted it to match the grappling gun. Not only are props cool but they also provide some extra elements when doing a photoshoot ;)
7. Where did you debut this costume? If you haven't... where do you plan to debut?: I debuted this costume originally when Abi Sue and I were guests at Stockton Con in 2017. Since then, I've worn it to Emerald City Comicon 2018 and WonderCon 2018 and I plan on wearing it a bunch more this summer at ACE Comicon, Versus Comicon, and Stockton Con again ;)
8. What's next? Cosplay related of course...: Well my next costume was a Latex CW Supergirl but that's finished and that's another story to tell.
My immediate plans are to redo my catsuit pattern completely from scratch and create a new Latex Psylocke. I hope to debut that at the end of 2018.
After that, I'm considering doing Cami from Street Fighter , Supergirl or batgirl from DC Superhero Girls, or maybe the Major from Ghost in the Shell. Who knows? ;)
