Victoria

Carnival of Masks presents Portland, OR based costume designer, Victoria Fisher, as part of our Beyond the Carnival: Interviews with Costume Folks Around the World series.

Princess Serenity costume by Victoria Fisher. Photo by Aleks Vu Photography

CoM: Victoria, tell us about what you do.

VF: I’ve been a cosplayer for 12 years and now enjoy the privilege of being invited to Comic Cons and other events that I get to travel to attend. I design and make most of what I wear in these spaces and have started competing too. I won best in show with my friend group at Emerald City Comic Con during the costume showcase, and I got chosen to be a finalist in the upcoming D23 competition.

And in my daily work I like to add body positivity/neutrality into my costuming posts. I want making and wearing cosplays and costumes to be more accessible. And since I am a plus sized woman, that’s my niche.

I now get so many people who have come up to me, commented on my posts, or messaged me to tell me that they see the beauty in themselves and they started dressing up because I gave them confidence. Sometimes the daily hate comments are discouraging, but these messages are what keep me going and reaching for (and achieving) new heights! I’ve now paneled internationally at Comic Cons and have gotten brand deals and have been on podcasts and in a magezine and a zine. Little me would never in a million years have conceived that this was where costumes would bring me!

Anna Coronation costume by Victoria Fisher. Photo by Aleks Vu Photography

CoM: What inspires you?

VF: Movies inspire me, fellow costumers, my kids and their questions inspire me, and honestly my enemies do too. When I’m told I can’t do something or I’m being too much or “it could never work” I always find a way. I was in a toxic friend group that demanded my outfits be exactly like they are in the source material. I was already deviating from the source material by being plus sized while playing a small anime character at my most poignant moment in that friend group. They didn’t understand my needs to adjust a costume as a large woman. They didn’t want me to add a little sparkle to my cheeks. I decided I wasn’t going to be limited anymore.

I created a femme Megamind look because one of them told me I couldn’t pull off a bald cap. I keep pushing my boundaries of what I know because I won’t be limited anymore. I’m currently creating a Rapunzel Rococo inspired look and I’m using the back of the robe as Rapunzel’s tower and hiding a tiny sculpture of the princess and Flynn (which I also created) inside the hair. I’m experimenting with a dress made of the pages of one of my favorite books (Emma) and I’m redoing any cosplay I was previously made to feel bad in, but way more fabulously. Spite fuels my soul. And I just want to keep inspiring people!

Megara costume by Victoria Fisher. Photo by Aleks Vu Photography

CoM: How did your life in costumes begin??

VF: 12 years ago my sister and I decided to make matching Anna and Elsa cosplays, my college friend took me to Comic Con and I wore the only cosplay I had: Anna. We were broke college students and could only afford one day but the reception of everyone changed my soul. The children thought I was Anna and even as a beginner I was welcomed with open arms and hearts!

I’m basically self taught. I learned how to make a pillow case when I was small and read a basic pattern, but with years of trial and error I now know pattern adjustments, drafting from scratch, corsetry, fabric manipulation, wig styling, embroidery (machine and hand), and so much more.

Danielle (Ever After) Costume by Victoria Fisher. Photo by Clumsy Bob

CoM: Are there costumed events you make sure to never miss? And if so, what do you love about them?

VF: My home Comic Con for sure: Rose City Comic Con.
I have a soft spot for the con that started my journey into costuming. Friends I’ve known for about a decade still attend. They shaped me and encouraged me to keep going even when my costumes were far from polished. Comic Con is like entering a magical place where you can be your true self and you are accepted for exactly who you are and how you want to dress.

Rapunzel costume by Victoria Fisher. Photo by Aleks Vu Photography

CoM: What's your favorite thing about costumes?

VF: It is art you can wear. Clothes have such deep meaning and there are endless possibilities on how you can tell a story through a piece. The colors, fabric type, embellishments, how you manipulate it, what you pair it with. I kept being told I have to remake things “just like the source media” to be valid. That’s not true at all.

My best costumes happen when I dare to be bold and creative and different! I also love be putting on a character. I’ve channeled the strength in characters when I wasn’t feeling as confident as I liked. I can feel all of their good qualities and I walk a little taller knowing I look amazing and remind people of the specific character I am portraying.

CoM: Who do you want to shoutout in the costume world?

VF: Fellow cosplayers/costumers I admire are listed below for their talent, ever seeking knowledge, taking risks, and being so uniquely themselves:
Erika ala Mode, Coco Cosplay, The Stellar Fox Cosplay,Our Shield Maiden, Shakespeare and Me.

CoM: Thanks so much, Victoria!

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