I talked one of my friends into being shirtless Balem Abrasax with me at Geek Girl Con. I’m not sure quite how I managed this, but I think a lot of it was related to shouting “I create life!” at her loudly and repeatedly. The costume itself was put together pretty quickly, but was an absolute delight to watch her wear it (plus we were a genderbent duo)! If you feel like being a space capitalist, the primary ingredient is sparkle – and the rest is really just gravy.
I made two main parts for this cosplay, rather than trying to completely recreate the amazing shirtless loungewear from the movie. It’s pretty similar but working fairly fast and loose with the design.
Cloak
The structure was very simple, essentially a square cut robe with rectangles for sleeves. Mimicking the fabric was the trickiest we settled (largely due to convenience and budget) on a triple layered monstrosity. The first layer was using the reverse side of the confetti dot fabric in gold and black, layered over a heavy black satin and a gold light weight satin lining. The main cloak didn’t need the gold lining that was just used on the sleeves.
I then top stitched a ruffled black trim (also from Joann), around the edge of just the front opening, if you have enough it can go all the way around the outer edge and also on the sleeves. The shoulders and collar were also reinforced with black felt to give them a little more structure (though some real shoulder pads wouldn’t hurt).
Vinceaddams on tumblr made a fabulous version of this same robe, check out their blog for alternative fabric and construction suggestions.
Collar
The collar was made from EVA craft foam (3mm). I simplified the pattern based on the reference images. To make the curve on the collar I heated the foam and stretched in gently to make it flare (wider at the bottom than the top). It was constructed in 3 main sections, one for the center and one for each side, and joined in the back using a strip of Velcro.
I then painted it with a base layer of dark brown acrylic followed by gold acrylic over the top, and of course a small amount of red for the center.
