Tell us about your first cosplay experience. When, where, what, etc.

It all began in 1992. I was 14, and for carnival, my friend and I dressed like Bronze Saints from Saint Seiya. I was Shiryu, but at that time, my costume technique was really rudimentary. The armour was made of colored cardboard attached with staples and glue, and I didn't know how to sew; I learned afterwards. Anyway, on that occasion, I brought the costume for the streets of the city where I lived. But cosplay was still unknown...in fact nobody recognized our characters...there is a funny story about it: a person asked me if I was dressed like a cricket.^^;;;

My real, official cosplay was in 1998 at Lucca Comics as Lina Inverse together with a group of my friends. It was the first cosplay contest in Italy. There were only a few people, and the choice of characters was very similar -- there were three other Linas. ^^;;; I started to do cosplay mainly because I could finally be my favorite characters, and I could behave like them. To do cosplay is like realizing a dream (like fairy tales) because for a few hours, you can be another person. For this reason, I have always cosplayed characters that I loved. I can't do one that I don't know and don't love because for me, "the cosplay" isn't only to wear a dress, but it's being the character. You must feel them m in yourself, and for this, you must really love them.

The other reason is I like to work with materials, cloth, metal, wood and others. I always took artistic classes, and I loved to make things with these. ^__^ And because I love the theater, I think the performance of the cosplay is a little like this.^__^ I could say that the cosplay is an important part in my life, too. Thanks to it, in the past, I overcame a moment of a bad illness.

How is the cosplay scene in Italy?

The Italian cosplay isn't great...because the organizers of the coventions often view the cosplayers as a bother to other visitors and not as artists who work with devotion on their costumes. Also if there are many cosplayers, very often the conventions don't have the necessary equipment for the contests and parades. This causes discomfort, and on many occasions, the dresses are ruined. It happened also that some cosplay was under the rain...even at big conventions.;__; For this reason, I prefer to do cosplay in France where the cosplayer is considered like an artist. Regarding the quality of Italian costumes, it is really good. Maybe because there are many contests, this leads the cosplayers to make good and very detailed costumes.

Is there such a thing as an obsessive cosplayer and how important is it to get the details right?

It's true I have many costumes of Final Fantasy and Fullmetal Alchemist because I love these series. For Final Fantasy, I could say that this is one of my big passions. I like the realism of the characters, the wonderful graphics, and the stories are really touching. I think that these videogames are the modern fairy tales. Moreover, I really like cosplaying these characters because the suits are conceived on real models, and in the last chapters, it's also possible to see the type of cloth. (Lenne has the sleeves in crepe chiffon while Auron, for example, has the suit with a similar weave to linen.) I also love the weapons in general. They are really wonderful, and making them correctly is really a challenge. (I love cosplay challenges!)

As for Fullmetal Alchemist, this series is my obsession. In particular, I love Edward because he is like me (except for the gender, age, and eye color ^^;;;). We have the same personality and also similar figures. I'm chibi so when I wear male suits I can look like a boy. ^^;;; Edward is like a son for me. Ok, this can seem stupid, but it's so: if I will have a male child his name will be "Edward." (I also convinced my boyfriend of this.^^;;) I have the intent to sew all of Ed's costumes...I hope to be successful in this enterprise.^__^ Besides this, I love Fullmetal Alchemist for the story which is really unique and enthralling, and the characters are developed very detailed and deep. I think that psychological introspection is really important to do a good story. ^^

For the details, yeah...I have a real obsession, all must be perfect. If you want to be a character, you need each accessory and the same movements. So the fine points became important... many details seem irrelevant, but the author inserted them because they're useful. I'm a mangaka (now I don't work in Italy for editorial reason), so because I always give importance to the details when I draw a story, I also think that other authors do this. Maybe it's because of this that I'm so precise in the particulars. Making good details is first a tribute to the work of the designer, second to help understand the characters, and it also makes the costume look better.

How has starting the web site, finalfantasycosplay.it, affected your cosplay? Good and bad.

Final Fantasy Cosplay was born from my idea 3 years ago. I wanted to make a site of Final Fantasy, but I saw that there were already a lot of them, so I searched for a particular theme. Then at a covention, I had the idea to make a site about two of my passions (cosplay and Final Fantasy), but not a personal one... a site that could take the photos of all Final Fantasy fans and show their love for this series. The first version was only in Italian language because at that time, my English was still poor. The first version was really rudimentary, but thanks to my boyfriend and other collaborators, it has grown, and the last year in France, my boyfriend (Young Auron/Zel) and I worked to convert it into English (now my English is improved), so all the fans of Final Fantasy in the world could send their photos. The idea was liked and many photos arrived from all parts of the world. It's really great to see the love of the fans for Final Fantasy. This September, we will have a new portal dedicated to Fullmetal Alchemist Cosplay, and I hope that there will also be many fans of this series.^___^

My cosplay was not affected by Final Fantasy Cosplay site. I always did the costumes that I wanted. It isn't because I started FinalFantasyCosplay that I have many Final Fantasy costumes, but because I love these videogames and cosplaying them. As a reporter for a cosplay site at the conventions, I feel I must always have a nice costumes.

When life doesn't go the way you want it, how do you deal with it?

I have a pessimistic character so many times, I'm depressed, with bad humor, and often I'm angry so that I say things without thinking. I'm very sensitive even if I don't show it, so even the silly things can provoke sadness in me. But luckily, I am strong willed so I can recover quickly and find the solution to my problems.

What will you be when you grow up, and how will cosplay help with that goal?

Grow up? uhm...maybe I am already grown, only a few years and I will be 30. Anyway, I think that the experience of the cosplay will always remain with me. I think that I will continue still for many years to do cosplay. And if I have children, I will also teach them to love this art. I think that my future family will be a "cosplay family" because my boyfriend and I are cosplayers so surely our kids will also be cosplayers. ^____^

What are some costume construction tips you can offer?

My favorite part of the costumes are the weapons. I often use wood, but not plywood (too fragile), usually fir [pine] or other strong wood, metal, polyurethane foam with latex, and resin. I also like to customize the shoes. There are many materials for them, like real and imitation leather, plastic, rubber, etc. There are also different glues for them; use what's right for the type of shoes you have.

To make a good costume, in my opinion, it's necessary first "To observe" and "To understand" how it is made, and only after that, can you go and find the right materials. By knowing really well and loving the characters that you want to cosplay, the creation will be easier. Observe also the smaller details: to understand the type of cloth, examine the pleats of the suit, observe the structure and the use of the items, look at the shoes, hair and weapons -- everything. When you know all about the character, search for the right materials. To choose the type of cloth, think of what the character would wear (Julia Heartilly is a musician of a deluxe bar so she would choose caddis and not cotton). For the accessories, search among common items, and don't worry if the first time the result isn't good. Keep trying until you succeed.

Keep in mind how you will use the dresses and items. For example, if you want to do a photoshot of Yuna with the staff in the water, paint it with a waterproof varnish so the wood won't rot. For the creation of the dresses and accesories, usually I make paper patterns but, since I'm the daughter of a dressmaker, sometimes I cut the cloth directly. I try the outfits many times and adjust the details, even choosing the type of stitch that works best. For the accessories, I use use several types of materials: wood, metal, resin, putty, ceramic, papier-måché, fimo, rubber, imitation leather and others. Among the materials that I use, there are also some dangerous products so if you don't have experience, it's better to be cautious.

For the jewels, I mainly use clay, resin, fimo or metals like lead or silver; but for the metals, you must have a crucible to melt them, and good stamps [dies/molds]. For the color, I use glaze or specific paints.

For the wigs and hair, I use gels, hair spray, and foam, various types of hair colors and hairdresser tools. When I paint, I always pay attention to the type of color. For example, if I have black shoes in suede, I will use an acrylic color spray and not automotive spray paint because the suede absorbs that varnish. On the other hand, spray paint is good for rubber because it fixes chemically. It's important to have many tools, like those for the studs, nails, screws etc. (My home is like a workshop. ^^;; )

To do a good cosplay, I spend also a lot of time, and I'm ready to make some sacrifices like cut my hair or go to the gym to have a better figure or to learn fighting techniques. So for me, it's important to attain not only the dress and the details but also the physique and behavior.

If you were given the chance to help write the final chapter in the Final Fantasy series, how would it end?

It's really diffucult because every Final Fantasy chapter is separated (except FFX and FFX-2). Maybe I could write a chapter that includes all the most important characters of the various games...Surely the story would be very touching (I love the stories that touch the soul of those who watch them.), with dramatic turn of events, psychological introspection, and a lot of fighting and action, but the end will be good for all characters. I would like to do a game that strikes the heart of the gamers.

Are there any My Little Pony dolls you don't have? Tell us all about your collection.

Yeah...there are many ponies that I would like to have, my collection is really little...but I hope that it soon will grow. ^^ When I was a child, I always played with boy games (I hated the girl games like dolls and such.), and the My Little Pony were the only girl toys that I had. This passion was born 20 years ago, when I was 7. For my birthday, my older sister gave me a pony unicorn. The Italian name of the pony is "Turchino," but in USA it's Moonstone, and it started my collection. When I was little, I bought the ponies to play. I loved the fantasy stories with fantastic creatures, in particular the unicorn and pegasus (Ok, so even now, I still love these stories. ^^), and I always loved animals, so with ponies, I could invent many stories...Then when I grew older, I left this passion for some years. (The adolescence always brings many changes.)

Then five years ago, for work and love, I left my family and homeland to live in another city (where I live now). While moving, I found my ponies...and so my passion was reborn, but this time for other reasons: because it reminds me of my childhood and also because they are really kawaii -- so colorful and unique. ^^ (In a house, it's nice to see colorful things.) When I restarted my collection, I told my boyfriend about them (He is my principal supplier of ponies. ^^;;) and talked to other friends, and I discovered that in the world, there were many other adult persons that loved these little horses. Maybe this collection can seem an infantile thing, but I think that it's important to look to the future without abandoning childhood memories because sometimes, even an insignificant memory can became very important.

What do you do with all the costumes you don't wear any more?

Like the ponies, all my dresses are also memories...pieces of my past. Each one of them is linked to an important event and to important emotions, so I keep all my dresses, and sometimes I wear them again, at conventions or only at home for photoshoots. So I can't separate from any of my costumes; I can lend them to friends but not give them away. I keep my dresses in a personal wardrobe for cosplay costumes. The weapons, I hang them up like pictures on the walls of my home, so in my dining room, you can see Yuna's staff, Edward's lance, Rikku's daggers, and other weapons. ^^;;;

see more of Hoshi's costume collection here