Costume serves as a mask to cover my stage fright: Alodia

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Costume serves as a mask to cover my stage fright: Alodia
Alodia Gosiengfiao in costume as Tracer from the video game Overwatch.

Dubai - In an interview with Khaleej Times, Alodia discussed more about her cosplaying roots.

By Keith Pereña

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Published: Fri 6 Apr 2018, 10:22 PM

Last updated: Sat 7 Apr 2018, 12:27 AM

Cosplay is a Japanese portmanteau of the English words "costume" and "play". It is a hobby wherein those involved dress up and accessorise in order to depict a character from movies, video games, television shows or even internet icons. The short of it is for a moment, you step into the shoes of a character.
On the sidelines of the Middle East Film and Comic Con (MEFCC), Khaleej Times spoke to Alodia Gosiengfiao, a world-famous cosplayer from the Philippines. She is famous for contributing heavily to the popularity of cosplaying in the Philippines.
These efforts led to her being featured in conventions across the globe. Apart from cosplaying, she is also a model and actress and was named by a Philippine magazine as one the 'Most Influential Women in the Philippines'.
"When I started, I had stage fright but being in a costume served as a mask for me so I can go on stage with confidence," she said during a Press conference held on Friday. When asked about her cosplaying career, she said: "It helped to put me where I am now - being able to meet different people and be in this lovely country."
In an interview with Khaleej Times, Alodia discussed more about her cosplaying roots while imparting some advice for those looking to start donning costumes when they go to the next Comic Con. 
"I started cosplaying in 2003 and it came to be because of my love for video games.
The first one I ever did was for a launch of a video game called Ragnarok where I costumed as a priestess, which was one of the playable characters in the game."
During her cosplay career, Alodia shared that she's met several cosplayers from the Filipino community around the globe; some of who even became her friends.
Behind the colourful world of cosplay, also lies some degree of technicality. Getting a costume made requires skill and effort and this depends on the complexity of the character one chooses to depict. Alodia has her fair share of both easy and difficult costumes: "My most complicated cosplay so far would be the time when I depicted a character from the anime series Witchblade, which involved 'transforming' into a monster. I had to wear two different wigs, face paint and a costume which took a month or two to complete. I was also studying at that time so I had to balance between cosplaying and studies.
"On the other hand, the easiest one is dressing up as school girl or Lina - a popular character in the e-sports video game Dota 2. For me, it's just easier to make cosplay armour."
But despite her being in the limelight not only in the Philippines but also abroad, as well as a huge and loyal fanbase; Alodia admits that she's inherently shy. "A few might know it, but one less known fact about me is that I'm a shy person on a normal day. I'm an introvert by heart so if there's a lot of people in the vicinity, I just tend to listen.'
keith@khaleejtimes.com


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