I like the versatility that Kingswood Cosplay brings to the table. From big poofy dresses to supervillains to things like literally look like they’ve crawled out from underneath a rock (in a good way!), Kingswood has it all. I’m a big fan of her version of Arya Stark, check out our interview and photos with her to see if you agree.
Age: 23
Location: Hampshire
Favourite food: chocolate
Who or what first inspired you to start cosplaying?
I guess I’ve always wanted to try it but it was a friend from university who finally gave me the push by taking me to my first Comic Con. It was MCM October 2013, I went for the Sunday if I remember correctly and I did my first ever cosplay! I went as Peggy Carter from Captain America using an old Halloween costume that I tweaked a little to try and make it look a bit better, and attempted to curl my hair. I went to the Marvel meet and everyone there was so kind and lovely even though I didn’t look nearly as good as they did, and feeling so welcomed by them all inspired me to keep going and make my own costume from scratch the May after, and I guess I’ve never stopped since!
You’ve come a long way since then, but what would you say has been your most complex costume so far?
I keep trying to push myself to make things that are bigger and better each time! I think the most complex so far is probably Bootstrap Bill, I made everything on him from scratch and making all the prosthetics was a big learning curve for me as I hadn’t really done that before, along with working out how to attach all the sea creatures to him, weathering the costume and trying to make him look as realistic as possible.
Do you have a dream cosplay? Can you use anything you learned while making Bootstrap Bill to help?
I have so many dream cosplays, but I’d love to do something like The Hound from Game of Thrones that would use what I learnt prosthetics wise, like how to mould and paint latex, and knowing some basic weathering techniques would help with his armour too!
What’s your favourite part of the costume making process?
My favourite part is probably the first time you get to have a wearable garment. Sewing is my passion and I love manipulating the fabric to see what I can get it to do, but there’s always something exciting about when you get to try on something for the first time and get to see how it fits – it’s always special. I like to make things that tend to be weirdly shaped so seeing that actually fit always feels like a triumph!
If you could go back in time and give newbie Kingswood any advice, what would it be?
If I could give her any advice it would be that there is a tutorial out there for everything, you just have to look for them, and to not be afraid of making mistakes. It’s how you learn, not everything has to be perfect from the outset and it’s okay to be proud of something, even if it’s not perfect, if you’ve worked hard or tackled something that was difficult for you!