The winner of this year’s adult costume contest at Eek! Fest was turning heads long before she appeared before judges onstage this Saturday.
On the way to the contest there was a Disneyland moment in Servus Place that seemed to foreshadow the result in hindsight.
A mesmerized little girl was towing her mother along, trying to follow a graceful elf-princess in a beautiful dress and keep her within eyesight for as long as possible. These awe-struck gazes must be normal and immensely enjoyable for serious costumed contenders and paid professionals.
Sarah Chernik says she was delighted to have won Best in Show dressed as Princess Zelinity, a cosplay combination of Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda franchise and Princess Serenity from Sailor Moon.
“I had cosplayed a few different characters before,” said Chernik. “I decided to challenge myself this year with a mashup.”
A veteran cos-player, Chernik is no stranger to conventions and has participated in three other contests in the past.
Competing against contestants such as a steam-punk Harley Quinn and a Halo: ODST soldier, this contest award is Chernik’s first win.
Allison Tatarniuk of Kitnip Cosplay judged Chernik and other participants while expertly dressed as Shyvana from League of Legends.
“It was a tough competition,” said Tatarniuk. “(Chernik) was amazing. There was so much intricate detail on her dress, wooden staff, long hair … we were all like, ‘it’s gotta be her.’”
Chernik’s experience was clearly visible as she crossed the catwalk on stage.
Aside from lip-syncing to a pre-recorded narration that creatively blended the two universes together, there were subtle poses and mannerisms that likely set her apart from the other contestants in terms of effort and accuracy.
The Princess Zelinity costume is likely an original blend, as Chernik could find no examples online of anyone merging the 30-year-old characters she had grown up with playing games and watching anime as a youth.
“I thought the characters complemented each other very well,” explained Chernik. “I was shocked when I couldn’t find a single example of this having been done before. I may be the very first to have made the attempt.”
The outfit had taken six months to reach completion. Two artist friends who were fellow fans of both series helped in drawing concepts for the project.
Costumes and cosplay often require a significant investment of time and money. Jules is an anthropomorphic animal lover who has spent more than $600 on her custom-made Chamomile the human tiger outfit.
Last year at Eek! Fest, Jules just had the paws and tail but decided to up the ante this year and participate in the contest with a realistic tiger mask. Recently, she claims to have ordered a new suit – even more expensive and crazier than the last.
“(Chernik’s) outfit was really pieced together nicely,” said Jules. “I’m super glad St. Albert has a pop culture convention like this one.”
Chernik tested her costume a couple of other times over the months at other conventions such as Edmonton’s Anime-thon, gradually adding more pieces and further refinement.
Future costume competitions can be expected to become even fiercer as Eek Fest! continues to grow in size and popularity.
Many new conventions have sprouted up all over North America capitalizing on the established online subcultures that make up some of the more popular choices for alternative entertainment. Disney princesses may have to watch out.
