Creating this handmade Marisa Kirisame look (Marisa Kirisame cosplay) from Touhou Project—encompassing the witch hat, dress, styled wig, and broom prop—took me a full month of effort on and off. The greatest hurdle during production lay in handling the lace layering on the hat and skirt hem. Combining black fabric with white lace, along with placing star-shaped glitter embellishments across the fabric, was quite a massive workload. To maintain the crisp, structured silhouette of the oversized hat, I used stiffer hard tulle as an inner lining and reinforced the outer edges. The wig color was also carefully selected to faithfully recreate the original character design. The lantern section on the broom prop was cast from plaster molds and hand-painted by myself; although the process was tedious, the final result was very satisfying. During early fabric sourcing, I made several trips back and forth to fabric markets to find black netting with ideal drape and cotton threads with subtle golden shimmer. The petticoat was also handmade from wire and tulle rings to support such a fluffy silhouette. Several test fabrics were scrapped during pattern-making, but handmade crafting remains the best way to capture that unique texture. To ensure the star ornaments remained visible in dim lighting, I specifically chose reflective patches.
During the May Day holiday, I attended the Firefly ACG Expo with this outfit. The spotlight layout at the venue was exceptionally suited for capturing backlit Convention photos, beautifully outlining the edges of the wig and lace trimming. I also prepared a small handheld lantern as a prop, which proved to add great atmospheric value under the convention's overhead lighting. I booked a shoot with photographer Youchang Jiaqi-sensei, who offered very professional posing guidance. Because I had practiced dynamic poses in front of the mirror at home beforehand, the action jump shots captured on site turned out wonderfully in post-processing. The White stockings paired with black leather shoes complemented the flying flare of the skirt hem, which I personally loved. In practical shooting, controlling the brightness of the lantern prop required multiple trials; in the dim indoor environment, its reflective sheen was particularly striking. Since the oversized hat easily shaded my face, adjusting camera angles took some time, and the photographer patiently waited for me to recalibrate my posture. We shot for about an hour, communicating ideas throughout, ultimately capturing this satisfying series of Convention photos.
Many Touhou Project fans at the expo recognized me, chatting about costume tailoring experiences and taking group photos together. Although exhausting throughout the convention, receiving everyone's recognition and seeing the finished captures by the photographer made this month of hard work completely worthwhile. Both in composition and lighting, these Convention photos captured the finest essence of this costume.