Ashelia B’nargin Dalmasca
Ashe was a project that took over a year to finish — not due to lack of skill, but lack of motivation. When I began working on Ashe in May 2017, I was running on creative fumes; I had barely any desire to sit down and craft, let alone tackle something as complex as a Final Fantasy outfit. My work reflected my lack of motivation. In fact, it was the first draft of her boot cuffs that made me realize I needed to take a step back from cosplay work and give myself time to rest.
It wasn’t until the following May of 2018 that I resumed work on this costume, and with a full arsenal of motivation and energy, I managed to finish it within three months. That being said, it was still quite the learning process, and ultimately, it was a project that taught me many valuable lessons about my approach to creative projects.
Starting from top to bottom…
For Ashe’s wig, I used an Inigo in Ashe Blonde from Arda Wigs. It was lightly trimmed by Malinda during our Rocky Mountain cosplay retreat; otherwise the style was pretty spot-on right out of the bag! Ashe’s hair changes colors between the illustrations, cut-scenes, and in-game footage, so I opted for a lighter shade to match the CGI renders.
I used cotton sateen for the duster, sleeves, and neck collar. Marine vinyl formed the gold appliqué designs. The emblem at the center of the neck color was built from Worbla, while the gems were cast using EasyCast Resin. I used E6000 to attach the whole emblem piece to the duster. The neck collar attached to the duster with snaps.
The black waist corset beneath the duster was made from clothing PVC and lined with cotton sateen. The seams contained steel-spiral boning for support.
Ashe’s blue belt was made from faux elephant skin leather. I found the vintage belt buckle on Etsy and spray-painted it to match the other metal elements of the costume.
I made the skirt out of a matte 2-way stretch vinyl. It contained a built-in “underlayer” for safety and modesty purposes. The back panel detailing was done with gold eyelets and suede cording. I did make it a point to adjust the skirt length for modesty and personal comfort, but even with that adjustment, it still felt rather short. OTL
All of the armor pieces were built using Black Worbla (some of which contained a craft foam base, such as the thigh pieces). I primed them using Rustoleum Filler Primer Spray, then painted them with Goldchrome Montana Spray Paint. I weathered each piece with black FolkArt acrylics.
Lastly, I found the base boots on eBay and dyed them using Light Rose Angelus Dye. (I needed close to one bottle per boot.) Faux leather comprised the darker red boot cover, with a quilting layer for dimension. The aforementioned cotton sateen boot cuffs contained a base layer of buckram to maintain the shape. The detail work on the cuffs utilized a combination of machine satin stitching and hand-embroidery.
Overall, I’m quite happy with the end result, but this was certainly a design that posed some struggles in terms of translating a fictional design to real life! It also proved to be quite uncomfortable to wear, if only because of the size of the skirt and the way the leg armor impeded movement. This costume was definitely a learning opportunity in terms of considering what designs will translate well to real life, which I’ve started to consider more as I choose future projects. That being said, I’m just grateful I finished this costume at long last!
(Featured photo by The World of Gwendana.)