GIORGIA - COSPLAYING WITH A TOUCH OF ITALIAN GLAMOUR

What would you do to live your dreams? Would you try your best to keep in shape, perhaps? Would you dress up as a superhero? Or better yet, would you study, innovate, and then improve upon your own talents, just as my great pal Giorgia did when she dedicated herself to being a top-class performer? Now if you want to know what I mean by this, by all means please check out the following conversation I had with her only the other day, whilst dreaming a dream amongst dreams. 





1) What are your own origins, Giorgia? Plus what path did you take in life prior to getting to where you are today?   I was born and raised in a small town near Verona, a city you might know of because it's the home-place to Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet.

I'm quite a normal girl who attended the local school, yet I've always had a passion for Japanese animation (amongst others) and the performing arts. I like to be on stage and I've studied acting, voice acting, improvisation and other subjects that are a feast for my love for the theatre.

2) What are the most persistent comments you've received from your fans?   Well, the most frequent comment I get is about how they like my look in a particular costume or in a specific photo. But I also receive messages from people who just want to encourage me to always pursue my dreams or to thank me for bringing theirs to life.

3) What is your ‘regular’ job? And does it in any way shape or form aide you as a Cosplayer?   As I said before, my interests and my passion lie in performing arts, and I'm carving my career as a voice actress and TV show presenter.

Since both my work and my hobby involve performing on stage, it's very difficult to say which is helping which, as they both require the same set of skills, abilities, and qualities, that improves every time you do the former or the latter.

4) How did your friends, family, and work colleagues first react to the news that you were a model?   This is not something that happened overnight, so I think that while at first they (especially my parents) were suspicious because they were afraid I was wasting my time, they slowly became accustomed to it and now they are even supportive and help me.

It has been a very long path, dating back to 1997, so please believe me when I say that the best thing you can do for your passion is hold strong and keep moving ahead, because those who don't understand you now and might even try to hinder your path, will eventually realize if something is important to you.

5) How do you decide what Cosplay costume to wear for a convention? And who makes them?   I try to stick to those characters that fit me physically, choosing among those I like the most, which usually means I pick among my childhood's heroes. I don't mind if the costume isn't magnificent or spectacular. To me a cosplay is a way to pay homage to someone or something that helped you through your childhood, and that is what I want to do too.

Recently I have commissioned some props from a bunch of my friends, though I usually make my costumes by myself, with the help from my mother (who is a very fine seamstress) and my father (who is a good smith and carpenter).

I think it's a good thing that we work together as a family.

6) What have you learnt about yourself whilst being a Cosplay model? And were their any unforeseen obstacles you had to contend with?   I think I learned resolution, perseverance, tenacity. There are always obstacles between you and a complete costume and you must learn to overcome those and not let them dissuade you. And I learned to always be willing to “play the game”, because, even if through trial and error, you'll eventually reach your goal.

As the commercial says: impossible is nothing.

I had a clear demonstration of this when I was about to leave for Japan to participate in 2005's World Cosplay Summit. Just a few hours before my departure, I tried on my Silen (from Devilman) costume, and the wings on my head wouldn't stand still, always collapsing on one side or another. It was a really unforeseen problem (so to answer the second part of your question), but in the end my father came up with the idea that saved the day.

We created a support for the wings and everything went fine.

I didn't let this difficult moment discourage me and eventually I won the championship that year and with none other than that Silen costume.

7) What was the best / worst convention you ever attended?   I've been really impressed by Paris' 'Japan Expo'. It's a very big event and yet they manage to disperse the crowd through the big exhibition hall, so you never feel overwhelmed. And as for the stage, the stage is wonderfully huge, with professional lighting and smoke for dramatic effects.

As for the worst, I won't tell names, but let's just say that there are too many 'little conventions' which regard cosplay as an out of season carnival and are able to attract only cosplays that fit that definition.

8) What would be your dream Cosplay gig and outfit?   Witchblade is kind of a dream costume of mine. Even though I've already made it, a lot of time has passed and I would like to attempt it again using the experience I gained meanwhile.

Unfortunately it seems the universe is conspiring against me, always putting in front of me some kind of obstacle, and I'm talking about people who should have provided professional aid for some parts of the costume leaving this world for good.

As for the skit, I haven't taken part in any contests since 2005 (when I won WCS), but there indeed is a skit I would like to perform if I was invited as a guest on the proper stage with the proper lighting, but I'll keep it a secret for now. Ha!

9) Has their ever been an outfit you just did not like wearing? And if so, why?   I will answer that question without hesitation -- Mortal Kombat's Jade. Not only is this costume very uncomfortable, but I don't “feel it” when I wear it either. 

10) Do you have a credo you live by?   I think that “live and let live” sums it up pretty well. If more people in the cosplay scene took this particular route, cosplay drama would be reduced by 99%.

So there you have it, folks. My pal Giorgia and her life as a cosplayer. When you have the time please feel free to check out her wares by visiting her website, facebook page, deviantart hub, plus intagram page. Go on. It'll be a blast.