Adrienne Kohler with examples of outfits she has made for various cosplay events. Photo / Dean Purcell
Adrienne Kohler with examples of outfits she has made for various cosplay events. Photo / Dean Purcell
Avid costumier Adrienne Kohler explains why she and hundreds of Kiwis have spent hours making lavish costumes to wear to the upcoming Costumiers’ NZ Fantasy Masquerade Ball weekend in July.
The blue material is called liquid satin and I’m making a ball gown for my daughter who is comingwith me this year.
It’s Saturday night and I’m pleating metres of organza strips to make frills for an 1860s-style bustle dress.
Next I’m sewing sequins onto a bright red overdress and then glueing jewels onto a spiky black crown.
Why? It’s part of an all-consuming passion for costuming that has gripped me for at least the past five years.
My weekend sewing is in preparation for the annual Costumiers’ NZ Fantasy Masquerade Ball Weekend early next month when more than 300 costumiers will descend on Rotorua, filling the town with bustles, ballgowns and elaborate costumes that have collectively taken thousands of hours to make. (I’m going as a demon queen, hence the red satin and sequins!)
Adrienne Kohler wears the Regency coat and bonnet she made for last year's "high tea" at the masquerade ball weekend in Rotorua. The blue costume is a work-in-progress bustle dress, inspired by American historical drama The Gilded Age, for this year's ball. The red jacket is from Kohler's steampunk wardrobe collection. Photo / Dean Purcell
Now in its fifth year, the three-day event is the creation of Tauranga-based cosplayers Rozanne and Paul de Wild, who organise costuming parades, a cocktail party and a ball throughout the weekend.
I heard about the event through a friend’s Facebook post and, wanting to find a hobby after the Covid lockdowns, thought I’d give it a go.
Having been a keen sewer when my children were young, I hauled my sewing machine and fabric out of storage and started researching how to make a robe à la française.
Adrienne Kohler in her workroom making a blue liquid satin gown for her daughter who is also attending the masquerade ball weekend in Rotorua. Photo / Dean Purcell
After my first foray at the Fantasy Masquerade Ball I was hooked and it has quickly become an addiction.
Now, I’m keenly awaiting the next season of the American historical TV drama The Gilded Age so I can study the costumes.
Any museum visit sees me making a beeline to the textiles section. On a recent visit to Tokyo, I was in heaven exploring Nippori Fabric Town.
Costuming encompasses many genres: steampunk, cosplay, Renaissance Fairs, LARPing (live-action role-playing), historical reconstruction, but more than that, it is the craft of play.
Auckland couple Sharron and Michael Erbacher became involved in costuming eight years ago after attending the Thames Steampunk Festival. Before her career as a nurse, Sharron studied textile design in the United Kingdom, working with antique fabrics.
The steampunk festival lit a spark in her, she says.
Auckland couple Sharron and Michael Erbacher at the Ōamaru Steampunk NZ Festival earlier this month.
“I saw these people in all these wonderful costumes and I thought I could make the costumes and Michael could make the gadgets.
“I also found it an all accepting community with no judgements, and with people of all ages. The average age of people in steampunk is in the late 50s but you see people in the 70s and 80s taking part.”
Bonding over pleats
Sharron and I met through Masquerade’s attendees Facebook page. We bonded over puzzling out how to create pleats for a French gown, and I am deeply envious of her tailoring ability, which she uses to create fantastic shirts and jackets for Michael.
“I love that I get to learn new skills,” she says. “To make Michael’s coat, I had to improve my tailoring methods by going to YouTube and watching the tutorials. There’s always something to learn.”
After attending a Steampunk festival in Lincoln, UK, Sharron noticed people tended to hire costumes or buy ready-made.
“Over here, we put our own stamp on things by altering them or making them from scratch. I’ve learned to embrace second-hand curtains and use that as fabric, and modify everyday clothes into steampunk. I also like to recycle so I make all my costumes, so I can mix and match them.”
Aucklander Carol McKay, 74, was also introduced to costuming at the Thames Steampunk Festival four years ago. She says her inspiration often begins by finding a piece of fabric or lace, often fossicking in Geoff’s Emporium or fabric shops in Ōtara, with each outfit taking about a week to make.
Costumier Carol McKay at the Steampunk Express Day held at Glenbrook Vintage Railway in March this year.
“Something will inspire me in some way and then I can visualise what I want to create and I just keep rolling from there. It’s all about experimenting, that’s the exciting part, everything can be put to use.”
Her years working as a florist have given her an eye for colour in her designs, she says.
“You have to have a focal point and bring the colours through, if it’s with the hats, the shoes or the gloves. You might have a beautiful dress but it won’t have impact if the colours are wrong. Colour is everything.”
Carol also loves the ability to create a character.
“You put on a wig and become a totally different person to what you are.”
Becoming a different person
Sharron agrees, saying a large part of the fun of the costuming world is leaving herself behind for a few hours and stepping out of her life.
“The joy and fun for both of us, especially when we were both working intense jobs with little downtime, was to become a different person, forget your work woes, and just have fun.”
The Costumiers’ NZ Fantasy Masquerade Ball Weekend will be held in Rotorua on July 4 and 5 at the Millennium and Sudima Hotels in Rotorua.
