E-Life — one of the newest retail and entertainment complexes in the Ortigas area (MAP), is holding its first ever cosplay competition!

Dubbed the E-Life Cosplay Genre Wars, this unique take on the ever popular cosplay competition pits characters from the same genre against each other for slots in the the grand finals.

To qualify, cosplayers are asked to submit reference photos of their character from the genre they came from. In case of characters that appeared in more than one genre (for example: manga, anime, and live-action film), competitors are asked to bring reference photos from the genre of the day.

Cosplayers may not interchange costumes and genres. For example: Optimus Prime movie version may not compete during the Anime contest date, nor can Optimus Prime animated series version compete during the Movie contest date.

For a complete listing of rules, please click here.

Contest dates are scheduled as follows:

26 June 2010 – Anime Mayhem
10 July 2010 – Comic Book Battle
24 July 2010 – Video Game Face-off
7 August 2010 – Movie Showdown
21 August 2010 – Grand Finals

The winners of each genre round will receive the following prizes:

First Place: P5,000 worth of Cash and Prizes
Second Place: P3,000 worth of Cash and Prizes
Third Place: P2,000 worth of Cash and Prizes

The winners of the grand finals will receive the following prizes:

First Place: P15,000 worth of Cash and Prizes
Second Place: P10,000 worth of Cash and Prizes
Third Place: P5,000 worth of Cash and Prizes

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Finally, a cosplay competition for the entire Philippine nation! Cosplay.PH in cooperation with the SM Supermalls is proud to present the Cosplay Tournament of Champions.

Pairs of cosplayers aged eighteen and above performing as characters from anime, tokusatsu, video games, movies or comic books are invited to join another first in Philippine cosplay.

Contestants in the regional legs will be judged on: 1) Performance (40%); 2) Craftsmanship (45%); and 3) Overall Impact (15%).

Winners of regional rounds will be invited to the Grand Finals at Cosplay Mania X to be held at the SM Mall of Asia on 3rd October 2010.

Round trip air or bus fares, hotel accommodations, and PhP 2000 in spending money will be provided for the regional winners. They will also take home a Brother Sewing Machine and a Multifunction Printer.

TOrCH will be holding regional qualifying rounds in SM Supermalls nationwide:

24 July 2010 – SM Baguio Event Center
10 July 2010 – SM Cagayan De Oro Event Center
7 August 2010 – SM Clark Cyberzone
22 August 2010 – SM Cebu Event Center
11 September 2010 – SM Davao Event Center
25 September 2010 – SM Manila Cyberzone

For a complete listing of rules and other guidelines, please visit the official Cosplay Mania website. You can also verify event details with their real-time HelpDesk via Google Talk.

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After a succesful career as one of Manila’s Gothic and Lolita pioneers, Catherine of One Free Kiss is moving on to bigger and better things.

She is currently in fashion school refining her talent and learning the techniques needed in the clothing trade, as well as putting up aa cosplay commission shop Layers HQ.

Cat took a couple of minutes off her busy schedule to answer a few questions from magnetic-rose.net

What was the inspiration for Layers HQ? How did all of this get started?

This would be a difficult and long story to tell but it all started with Gothic and Lolita and visual kei I guess. I’ve always been a fan of visual kei – its music and the visual part of their performance long before I got hooked with cosplay (or making costumes for that matter). Somehow I was able to get in Ongaku Society and was appointed as a mod.

We were cutting event tickets in a friend’s house one day and a senior in the org brought a Gothic and Lolita magazine with her. I borrowed it and I was amazed with the contents. I thought back then that hey, I’m a bum and since those accessories in the magazine looks easy to make, why don’t I make some and sell it? I have some dressmaking knowledge after all, it’s time I stop being a bum.

No one was selling gothic and lolita inspired items aside from me and h_matsumoto back then so I decided to open one. I called it “onefreekiss” and its purpose is to provide items inspired by the popular subculture in Japan. At first it was half business, half pleasure for me. But I fell in love with the craft and the subculture more as I spent time with it. I loved it so much that I decided to seek formal education in making clothes. Enrolling in a fashion school turned out to be a perfect idea , because as years passed by my clients started asking for more difficult clothes.

I started receiving requests for costumes, too. Then the demand for costumes for cosplay started to overcome the demand for frilly girly clothes. I decided to leave the lolita scene and concentrate more on cosplay. Ever since Onefreekiss started several other similar shops have opened. Philippines is no longer a country with zero gothic lolita shops around. My shop’s purpose has been fulfilled. I thought it’s time to move to another level so I opened Layers Headquarters, an atelier that specializes in detailed costumes for cosplayers.

For you, what is the best thing about the what you do?

The best thing about my job is I can geek out as much as I want and it always brings out good results. It mashes my passions: Manga/anime/games and sewing. I feel very fulfilled when I finish a costume and it fits the commissioner well. It feels like I’m a fairy granting wishes, or a genie making things appear out of nowhere. Also, pattern making for costumes is a good brain exercise. Because most costume designs are out of this world drafting patterns for it (what dressmakers use as a basis for the cloth’s form) is almost a challenge every single time. It was a great advantage for me when I entered fashion school since I had experience with weird dress silhouettes.

Which design or commission was your favorite? What were your most unusual requests?

My favorite would be the Full Metal Alchemist costumes I made for 7 people. I’m a fan of the FMA manga, and doing the costumes of Alex Armstrong, Roy Mustang and his crew gave me so much happiness. It didn’t feel like I was working at all, hahaha.

What is the hardest part about the business? Have you dealt with any problems?

I can’t think of a major problem in this business but I think dealing with some unreasonable cosplayers could be a hassle. Some people take this craft for granted. I’ve encountered a lot of cosplayers who demand accuracy, quality and speed but are not willing to pay the equivalent monetary amount for it. It could be really annoying.

What advise would you give to other anime-inspired designers who want to strike out on their own?

If you aim to be a costume maker, invest. Invest in quality tools and start off with simple products. Do not rush yourself, just build a good portfolio slowly, surely and don’t do anything you don’t wanna do at all.

For aspiring fashion designers, I don’t know if I’m qualified to say this already since I haven’t graduated from fashion school yet but fashion design is not as razzly, dazzly sparkly as you think. If you aren’t ready to get your hands dirty with work (as in manual labor), don’t even think about it. Fashion design is not all about drawing stuff only. Educate yourself, learn about pattern making since it’s the base of your craft.

And keep that vision clear in your head always. Without your goal it’ll be easy to get influenced and lost in the world of fashion. You don’t wanna be just another designer in the market. To be irreplaceable, you have to be different — that was what Coco Chanel once said.

For quality cosplay commissions, visit Cat’s site at http://layersheadquarters.multiply.com.

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Shoe fags rejoice! Japanese shoe retailer Double Decker — famous all over the world for their boots and rocking horse shoes splashed all over the pages of shoujo manga and Harajuku fashion magazines, is holding a special one-month sale for their overseas buyers.

As an online retailer, Double Decker knows that it is shippping costs that deter most would-be buyers from sampling their unique line of Japanese footwear. In order to encourage foreign buyers to take the plunge, they have slashed their prices almost in half.

From USD 98 selected pairs are now down to USD 59, and from USD 89 other pairs are down to USD 49. But to get the best deal, order any two pairs for shoes for USD 90. Shipping costs should be paid for separately. Group orders are welcome! The sale starts 16th May 2010. Have fun, kids!

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Asia Cosplay Meet Philippines will be held on the 27th of June 2010 (Sunday) from 11:00 AM at the Philippine Trade Training Center, Roxas Boulevard corner Gil Puyat Avenue in Pasay City (MAP).

This event is the Philippine elimination leg for the Asia Cosplay Meet Grand Finals, to be held in Singapore on 4th July 2010. Cosplayers who wish to take part in the event must be valid passport-holders, and must pre-register for the event from 15th May to 5th June 2010.

Please click here for a complete listing of competition rules.

Commuting Instructions

From North to South

By LRT1
1) Disembark at Gil Puyat Station.
2) Board the orange or blue shuttles for SM Mall of Asia.
3) Ask to be dropped off at the PTTC next to the World Trade Center.

By MRT3
1) Disembark at Ayala Station.
2) Walk to the corner of Ayala and EDSA and board a bus for Ayala LRT or Baclaran.
3) Ask to be dropped off at the PTTC next to the World Trade Center.

By Bus
1) Board a bus for Ayala LRT.
2) Ask to be dropped off at the PTTC next to the World Trade Center.

From South to North

By Shuttle
1) Disembark at Baclaran. Board the orange or blue shuttles for SM Mall of Asia.
2) From the MOA Transport terminal, board the orange or blue shuttles for Buendia/Gil Puyat.
3) Ask to be dropped off at the PTTC next to the World Trade Center.

By MRT3
1) Disembark at Ayala Station.
2) Walk to the corner of Ayala and EDSA and board a bus for Ayala LRT or Baclaran.
3) Ask to be dropped off at the PTTC next to the World Trade Center.

By Bus
1) Disembark at Ayala Station.
2) Walk to the corner of Ayala and EDSA and board a bus for Ayala LRT or Baclaran.
3) Ask to be dropped off at the PTTC next to the World Trade Center.

Please note that I am only posting these details because people have been asking around. I will not provide warranty on any mistakes or omissions in the event details. Please contact the organizers directly for any clarifications.

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• 4 July 2010 — Asia Cosplay Meet Grand Finals Event Report