San Diego Comic-Con 2023 Fashion, Costuming And Cosplay Panel Line-Up
Image: Fashion and Fandom
There’s a lot more to San Diego Comic-Con than big studio Hall H announcements and celebrity panels. That’s a good thing since we won’t be getting any of those this year with the SAG-AFTRA strike. That doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of great panels on the schedule this year to look forward to, especially if you’re a fan of fandom fashion, costuming and cosplay.
Keep going for a look at the lineup of fashion, costuming, and cosplay panels on the schedule for SDCC 2023!
Marena Bronson is an award-winning journalist, a life-long nerd, and the Editor-in-Chief of Fashion and Fandom. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
THURSDAY, JULY 20:
10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 3
No sewing machine? No problem! Learn to make stunning embellishments for your costumes without picking up a needle and thread. Featuring Lucia Mason (costume educator, costume designer), Marc Salls (costume and makeup artist), Jared Salls (costume artist), and Sara Najmulski (costume and makeup artist).
Cosplaying 101: Bringing Your Dreams to Life
11:00am - 12:00pm PDT
Grand 12 & 13, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
Catherine M. Fisher (award-winning costumer), Bob Mogg (blogger and steampunk expert extraordinaire), Leah Panos (charity cosplayer and musician), Dan Moyer (charity cosplayer and enthusiast), Annika P (young cosplayer and charity volunteer), Jamie Mason (actress and cosplayer), and Miguel Navarro Franco (charity cosplayer and enthusiast).
The Power of Costume: How Designers Inspire the World
12:00pm - 1:00pm PDT
Room 29AB
From hits like Tim Burton's series Wednesday and Disney’s recent The Little Mermaid to beloved classics like Edward Scissorhands and Alice in Wonderland, Colleen Atwood's designs have had a huge impact on popular culture, fashion, and cosplay. Her work has spanned over four decades of breathtaking artistry. A four-time Academy Award–winning designer, Atwood, and her team—Jose Fernandez (assistant costume designer) and Christian Cordella (costume concept artist)—discuss how they work together to create the characters you can’t forget. Moderated by Phillip Boutté of 9B Collective Studio.
Visual Storytelling in Cosplay Photography
1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
Every picture tells a story. Moderator Law Sharma and photographers Pat Loika (Photo Works volumes 1–5, Four Color Realities) and Jim Donnelly discuss storytelling with cosplay photos. Featuring cosplayers Amanda Lynne, Sara Moni, Genevieve Marie, and Morgana Ignis as they chat about creating stories with a single image.
6:00pm - 7:00pm PDT
Room 23ABC
For cosplayers, current or future Masquerade contestants, and those who simply enjoy watching costuming shows, this overview of fan convention competitions will look at their workings, history, how they differ from one convention type to another, and judging processes. Other topics will include design and fabrication methods and stage presentation tips for taking original and re-created designs from concept to stage-ready, and have fun doing it. The panelists are top award winners from past conventions, including Judith Grivich, Allan Lavigne, and Caitlin Shindler, each with over 20 years of cosplay experience. Moderated by Martin Jaquish (Comic-Con and WonderCon Masquerade coordinator since 1992).
The Her Universe Fashion Show 2023
6:00pm - 8:00pm PDT
Harbor Ballroom, Manchester Grand Hyatt
Hosted by Ashley Eckstein (founder of Her Universe) and Michael James Scott (Broadway actor and singer), the Her Universe Fashion Show features 25 pre-selected amateur designers who will create one-of-a-kind couture designs, inspired by anything that is included in The Walt Disney Company family of properties. By the end of the night, two winners are chosen by the audience and an expert panel of judges.
FRIDAY, JULY 21:
10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 3
Learn the basics of using Warbla, Fossmax, and a variety of other thermo-plastics to create armor and costume pieces from Lucia Mason (costume educator, designer), Marc Salls (costume and makeup artist), Jared Salls (costume artist), and Sara Najmulski (costume and makeup artist).
Cosplaying 102: Taking it to the Next Level and Beyond
11:00am - 12:00pm PDT
Grand 12 & 13, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
Catherine M. Fisher (award-winning costumer), Anastasia Hunter (multifaceted costumer), Bob Mogg (blogger and steampunk expert extraordinaire), Brendan Prout (501st and Rebel Legion member), Sean Safken (expert prop maker and builder), Michael Mason (filmmaker and cosplayer), and Nathan Seekerman (engineer and master craftsman) show you how to take your costuming into the big leagues.
The Cosplay Conundrum: Who to Cosplay and Where to Start
1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
Cosplayers Rey Benavides, Kelly A. Varner, Murray Willett, and Patricia Burns plus maker Adam Kyron Murillo give suggestions on choosing what to cosplay and how to get started, including making, thrifting, and buying pieces/parts. Moderated Kristie Schoeman (cosplayer)
The 501st Legion: Star Wars Villainous Costuming
6:00pm - 7:00pm PDT
Room 7AB
An introduction to the creation of fan-made villain costumes from all Star Wars movies. Legion members Lindsay Cepak, Dean Amstutz, Kevin Weir, David Neth, David Ancheta, Joe Lara, and Todd Mullin from the Imperial Sands and Southern California Garrisons will provide an overview of the creative process that brings Stormtroopers, Tusken Raiders, Boba Fett, or Kylo Ren from the silver screen into reality. They will discuss membership, from initial interest through final approval, and talk about the process for working with armor parts, small prop and soft costume construction, and 3D modeling and printing.
Level Up: Cosplay, Characters, and Charity
8:00pm - 9:00pm PDT
Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
TTRPGs have the power to raise funds for important charity causes. Cosplay experts Aliza Pearl (TTRPG performer/game designer), Ryan Omega(streamer/game designer), Jade Valkyrie (cosplayer/streamer), StarShinobi (streamer/game designer), and Sidney Rubino (TTRPG performer/streamer) offer cosplay tips and tricks to level up your TTRPG character for your next livestream (or in person!) charity event and discuss why dressing up as your character increases identification and drives up audience engagement. Moderated by Dan Wood (Creators Assemble, comics librarian).
SATURDAY, JULY 22:
Celebrating 100 Years of Disney with Disneybound
11:00am - 12:00pm PDT
Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
Leslie Kay (author of Disney Publishing’s DisneyBound: Dress Disney and Make It Fashion and the viral blog The Disneybound) and a panel of Disneybound pros examine how Disneybound fashion has evolved and grown over the last 13 years and how 100 years of Disney film and fashion history have influenced the community and their creativity. Panelists include Disneybound experts Tiffany Sutton, Pernell Langhorne III, Dolly Lee, Mikey Louie, Erika Kurzawa, Amber Lena, Nesreen Mustafa, Janelle Cheyenne, and Kelsey Walmer.
Bringing Films to Life: Building Professional and Fan-made Props
1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
Christopher Ting (engineer), Zachary Spencer (engineer), Tony Bellomo (prop designer), Scott Harvey (creator), and Amanda Negron (costume designer, she/her) will demonstrate the process of building fan-made props, armor, and droids with actual demonstrations and examples. Moderated by Jeanie Croshaw (director).
Fans Assemble! The Avengers Initiative Marvel Costume Group
2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
The Avengers Initiative is a not-for-profit volunteer fan club dedicated to celebrating the Marvel Universe through costuming. Mark Chu-Lin (Avengers Initiative club president) is joined by Kato Trooper (Avengers Initiative club executive officer and Avengers Mid-Pacific administrator) and Jennifer Athey(California West Coast Avengers chapter leader) to discuss using Marvel costume fandom for fundraising, charity work, and volunteerism. Natalie Chicas(Shriners Children’s Southern California certified child life specialist) and Chantel Rothenburger (MemorialCare Miller certified child life specialist) share how such volunteers serve pediatric organizations. Kimberly Yong (content distributor) and Goldelini Cafe (general manager) describe how the group shares Marvel fandom with others.
Silicone for Faces and Fabrics
2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
Room 3
Lucia Mason (costume educator, designer), Marc Salls (costume and makeup artist), Jared Salls (costume artist), and Sara Najmulski (costume and makeup artist) discuss how to safely use silicone both on skin and on fabric to create a variety of effects costume and makeup effects.
What Am I Doing Wrong?: Makeup Effects
3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
Omni Hotel, Omni Grand Ballroom DE, 4th Floor
Makeup effects artist Jeff Barkley (Break of Dawn, Frost) discusses and demonstrates some of the most common mistakes people make when working with makeup effects. He will be joined by professional cosplayers Trey Barkley (Bloodfeathercos) and DesiRee Preston (Enasnivee) for Q&A during the makeup demo.
From Concept to Reality: How Costume Design Helped Shape the Second Age of Middle-earth
4:30pm - 5:30pm PDT
Room 10
Explore the fascinating and whimsical process of costume designer Kate Hawley, known for her work on Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Learn firsthand about how she designed over 2, 000 costumes for the series' inaugural season and the craftsmanship that went into creating the lavish, unforgettable Second Age of Middle-earth. Kate’s iconic work has also been seen in such visually spectacular films as Guillermo Del Toro’s Crimson Peak and Warner Bros.’ Suicide Squad. Moderated by Spencer Williams from The Art of Costume Blogcast.
The 2023 Comic-Con International Masquerade
8:30pm - 10:30pm PDT
Ballroom 20
The Ballroom 20 stage becomes a celebration of costuming with a cosplay competition of impressive re-created and original design costumes crafted by our talented attendees! Not a dance or party, it’s a show on a stage with trophies, cash prizes, and other awards. Doors open for audience seating at 8:00 PM, but picking up a free ticket early will save you some line-waiting later. Free tickets are given out at 12 noon Saturday near Ballroom 20, and also at the Masquerade Desk after 3:00 PM. Those without tickets are still welcome if seating is available. The master and mistress of ceremonies will be writers/artists Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio, with special live intermission entertainment from The Corps Dance Crew and the Saber Guild Star Warsperformance group.
SUNDAY, JULY 23:
A Kids and Parents Guide to Cosplaying
10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
Jaime Chavez (Ninja Kids Cosplay) moderates the panel with Diego Chavez (Ninja Kids Cosplay), Iro Chavez (Ninja Kids Cosplay), Cecilia Carbajal (Ninja Kids Cosplay), Scott Nielsen, Simon Nielsen, and Julian Nielsen, who will share helpful tips on how to get started selecting characters, materials, and methods to create your costumes. Examples of past and current projects will be shown.
Cosplay and Costume Professionals
10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 3
Professional costume designers and theater artists Alex and Juli Abene and Junior Bergman discuss the many skills that cosplayers can learn and then apply in careers such as theater, film, live events, music, and beyond. From costume technology to organization skills, cosplay and career costuming go hand in hand.
11:00am - 12:00pm PDT
Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
Miguel Capuchino and Lucy Capuchino (30+ years), Trevor Newton and Wendy Newton (3+ years), and Shawn Richter and Lisa Lower (5+ years) discuss their experiences cosplaying as a couple. From conventions to events to charity work, these three couples are all about doing good in their community and being a positive influence in the world of cosplay.
12:00pm - 1:00pm PDT
Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
Many individuals in the cosplay community suffer from all types of mental issues such as trauma, mental illnesses, and grief. This panel includes individuals from all walks of life with similar experiences who will discuss how cosplay has helped them cope with mental health issues. This panel will include a clinical therapist, a life coach, teachers, veterans and members of the LGBTQ Community who want to encourage others in their struggles and also help others in the cosplay community not feel alone in their struggles with mental health. Moderated by Brandon Jackson, The panelists are Angela Jones, Sierra Christy, Alia Pyatt, Chris Polansky, and Sean Chung-Umeda.