Pre-production for this Mai Shiranui cosplay at the Chengdu World Line Anime Exhibition took roughly over half a month. This character from Honor of Kings features an abundance of costume details; upon receiving the garments, I micro-adjusted the placement of the corset obi and the length of the sleeves to harmonize upper-body proportions. The purple swirl motifs across the chest and shoulders utilized fabrics with a metallic sheen, with all edges hand-stitched with golden piping. Under convention overhead lights or night fill lighting, the material reflects light distinctly, which was pivotal for making the costume pop.
For the wig, to faithfully recreate Mai Shiranui's voluminous silver-white hair, I trimmed the fringe bangs and sideburn strands, while double-securing the red-and-gold crown headdress with hairspray and bobby pins; because the accessory carries noticeable weight, it would easily shift out of place over a full day of walking at the convention if not anchored properly. Makeup focused primarily on the eyes: purple-pink colored contacts paired with elongated winged eyeliner, combined with a naturally fair base makeup to keep my face looking clean and refined under intense lighting.
The folding fan prop hanging at my waist was custom-made, with the handle wrapped in red tassels. Given the high-slit skirt design, walking and posing demanded extra vigilance to prevent wardrobe malfunctions or stepping on the hem. Although wearing the black-and-gold platform high heels was exhausting, they were far superior to ordinary flat shoes in elongating leg lines and complementing the high slit.
Shooting Convention photos at night tested lighting techniques even more than daytime. To ensure a solid black background while making the subject pop, the photographer utilized a key light paired with rim lighting. Because the robe sleeves are exceptionally wide, raising arms or looking back over the shoulder easily risked the fabric covering my face or getting tangled. For the profile standing pose in Photo 3, I tried multiple takes before finding an angle that fully showcased the leg lines and thigh ring details without making the sleeves look bulky.
The hall at the Chengdu World Line Anime Exhibition was sweltering that day; with so many dense layers of fabric, the inner linings were virtually soaked after the shoot. Nevertheless, collaborating with the photographer to capture satisfying Event photo delivery shots and exchanging prop-making insights with fellow Honor of Kings enthusiasts inside the venue made the half-month of prep completely worthwhile.