Costume and Play aims to voice the UK’s individual movement of Costuming providing beautifully delivered content alongside features and events. What is cosplay?
Cosplay is derived from the terms ‘Costume and Play’. It consists of individuals effectively ‘dressing up’ as their favourite characters, but it is the individual components of ‘cosplay’ that make it so unique. The ‘Costume’ element when crafted leads into several different skill-sets such as prop making and sewing. The ‘Play’ or ‘Performance’ element with either a made or purchased costume leads
to spectacular shows such as a cosplay masquerade. What does Costume and Play do? With such a vibrant community and so many individual elements making up the art form that is ‘cosplay’ navigating around this can be tricky, Costume and Play provides services to help companies understand the multiple benefits of cosplay such as its incredible audience engagement, while rooting itself firmly in the community to help grow it. How do I get involved? Cosplay encourages you to dress and be a character you love – be it from Anime, Gaming, TV, Film, it doesn’t matter if its brought or handmade, as long as its a fandom you love. If your a community member you can follow and share our community section, social media channels and of course attend the events we’ll be present at! If you're a company, you can take a look at our services section and contact us directly to learn how we can help you.
03/10/2025
Don't forget to check out all the amazing masquerades and workshops at Bolt Events!
Hi everyone! I’m Jack. I started cosplaying in 2021 when someone asked me “what do you want to be when you grow up?”. The answer was and still is, Batman. So here we are!
I love the hobby, have met some great people and shot with some amazing people and look forward to meeting more folks in the community.
Hi I’m Kev, The Cosplay Nightmare! Now into my second decade of cosplaying I like to use my experience to encourage everyone to throw on that costume and become the character you always wanted to be!
I feel it’s always important to try when it comes to crafting and because of that cosplay as taught me so handy skills that are not transferable to everyday life but still really cool to have, like making scalemail or painting masks and swords! And when something is beyond my skillset I take pride in showing off the work of my friends and the talented makers of the cosplay world!
I lean towards characters in leadership roles, not because I see myself as one but because I aspire to be one, in entertaining, encouraging and giving back.
So be sure to come say hi so we can talk about how amazing cosplay can be and so I can hype you up!
Photography Credit:
Cosplayer: The Cosplay Nightmare
Hi, I’m Stef, a costume designer with over a decade of experience creating unique and detailed costumes. I hold a BA (Hons) in Fashion and Textile Design, and my love for costume design began when I was young, inspired by playing Tomb Raider. Stepping into the shoes of powerful characters quickly became more than just play; it was an escape, a way to become someone I couldn’t be in real life, unless I trained really hard. I’ve been officially cosplaying for the past four years, and my passion for bringing niche characters to life is unstoppable. What I love most about cosplay is the incredible community, the inspiring people I meet, and the creative ideas we share together.
Please don’t hesitate to come over and chat with me, I can’t wait to meet you all.
Guest announcement!
Hey, I’m Tess AKA Ready Cosplayer One and I’m a London based Cosplay Artist and Creator.
I’ve been a Comic Book, TV and Film nerd my entire life, attended cons for 13ish years now and I made the leap into full Cosplay in 2018. My cosplays vary, some are made from scratch, some bought and some, a bit of both. I absolutely love making costumes and props from scratch, especially by using reference images over existing patterns. I’ve learned tonnes over the years, essentially by winging it and trying new techniques - YouTube cannot be underrated for this!
My favourite aspect of Cosplay is something I hadn't anticipated, the community! I’ve met more people I have multitudes in common with than ever before and had opportunities presented to me I never would have imagined I’d get to do!
Super excited to see you all - please come say hi!
Photography Credit: Ready Cosplayer One (Self taken)
Cosplayer: Ready Cosplayer One
Tess Ramtohul | Ready Cosplayer One https://beacons.ai/readycosplayerone
Very excited to announce that we will be BACK to HYPER JAPAN for Manchester! Back for Saturday & Sunday cosplay masquerades - Signups are live now so head over to our website!
📍 Manchester Central
📅 14th-16th November 2025 https://hyperjapan.co.uk/
30/08/2025
Ready for Worcester Comic Con tomorrow?
Will we see you at one of our workshops or at one of the masquerades?
We'll be joined by 3D Prima UK (Technology Outlet)
(Don't forget to check out their new website!) Our amazing sponsor partner who will be offering print time* as part of the community masquerade prize for 1st, 2nd and 3rd! Don't forget to check out the new website too!
*(Further details on costume and play website)
25/08/2025
WORCESTER COMIC CON ANNOUNCEMENT
Hey! I’m Meera () – a mixed-race cosplayer based in central UK. I’ve been bringing my favourite characters to life since 2018, with a love for all things Disney, Marvel, and DC (and the occasional dip into other fandoms too!).
I gravitate toward strong female icons—characters I admire and relate to—and cosplay has given me so much confidence, both in myself and in social situations. Now I’m passionate about helping others find that same spark.
I'm a casual content creator, and I’ve hosted fan meets, run panels on confidence in cosplay, and absolutely love a good photoshoot! Always up for collaborating or helping with costume ideas and social media tips—so feel free to reach out!
Hi, I'm Laura! I've been cosplaying for 10+ years and have almost 30 handmade costumes in my collection. I make all my cosplays from scratch and am passionate about learning new skills; I could talk about crafting techniques for hours! I have a few awards under my belt, including a craftsmanship honour at Fantasy Forest, second place at Insomnia’s i72’s community masquerade, and more recently, I won first place in Hyper Japan ‘25 cosplay masquerade. I'm looking forward to meeting you all and chatting about cosplay!
Welcome to your brand new comprehensive guide for masquerade audio - thanks to our house cat *cough technical wizard snow!
"So you’ve built your Cosplay, chosen the Masquerade you want to enter, planned your stage skit and everything is looking amazing. Then you spot a request on the entry form for an MP3 file or YouTube link. What are you supposed to do with that?
Creating an audio track, like any creative process, can be done in a variety of ways."
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These movements, values and ideology have been wrapped up and held mostly in secret, but they burn within the hearts of all the Cosplayers. Publishing the slogan ‘The Home of Cosplay’ several months ago to aid in the launch of a convention was one of the boldest moves I’ve ever made, yet it harmonised with all the people I’ve been lucky enough to work closely with over the past few years.
I open up to you now and step forward, presenting you with the values I carry in regards to Cosplay, you’ll learn about the changes within the Masquerade formatting that have now spread across the UK. How the ‘Cosplay star’ concept was formed, the wider picture of ‘Careers from Cosplay’ I started a year ago and most importantly who the Costumers are, the values they carry and Britain’s individual voice on the Cosplay movement as part of the global phenomenon.
Costuming and Play serves a few purposes;
To stand for each individual Cosplayer within the community and to voice the UK’s individual movement of Costuming. To harness the amazing skill set built into each cosplayer and present them with further opportunities and goals within the Costuming and theatrical profession. To reveal the heart of Cosplay itself and present a full and honest account of the scene. We’ll cover tutorials, masquerades, Cosplayers themselves and take a look into the professional world of Costumes and Drama. Most importantly this goal and mission will be achieved together as a community wanting and willing to strive for more, for better and for Cosplay to conclude to a recognised artistic form. My thank you’s span out to all those that have and still do support me through my goal to create a scene for everyone. It’s your voices that shape what the scene does, I’m just here to make sure that is heard.