With this addition to my research, I wanted to compare the level of quality in the costumes of two very different cosplayers. In my next post I will be dissecting the work of Holly Conrad; but in this post I will be looking in to the work of sexy cosplayers Jessica Nigri.
Notably one of the most famous cosplayers in the world, Jessica Nigri got in to cosplay by attending San Diego Comic Con dressed up as a ‘sexy’ pikachu; which to her seemed ‘ridiculous and ironic at the time’.
This had a big backlash due to the nature of the costume being as sexy as it was, however Jessica could continue making her own costumes as she gained attention (good or bad) from this and was able to make her very brand and franchise of herself.
Jessica herself has said that she was very insecure before she began cosplaying; which completely shows in her style of cosplay in which it may come over to some as though she is ‘making up for what she lacks’. It is a shame as Jessica as a person is very interesting and clearly has a great deal of knowledge of all things somewhat ‘geek-related’. Some could say that she has managed her cosplay career in a very smart way, as she understand the image that she portrays to the cosplay community and has made a name for herself by cosplaying as more sexualised versions of characters.
Looking back at some of the interviews and videos that Jessica has on her Youtube channel, it is clear that she’s a very interesting and misunderstood individual within the cosplay world. And not only does she cosplay for her own pleasure but she does it for charity as well and to help raise awareness of things through her brand. I personally can’t help but think though that she chooses sexier characters to cosplay as however as an outlet to still gain attention from due to her own insecurities and I feel that its a very mainstream idea of what people would ideally portray as sexy. Some of her cosplay even borderlines of somewhat pornographic, which although you could say she’s wearing what that character is wearing from the comic/video game/film, she is still the one who is in control of who or what she cosplays as.
I personally feel very much in two minds about Jessica Nigri and the style of cosplay that she chooses to portray with her costumes. Jessica herself seems not dissimilar to every other individual who appreciates the artform, but its what she wears and how she delivers her cosplay in a way in which I can see why other cosplayers would say that she is giving the sub-culture a bad name.
Regardless of what people may think of her, I’m sure that she is the type of character who ‘Geek’ magazine would love to feature in their magazine as she appeals completely to their type of demographic (18-35 unisex, although primarily male readers). She is facinating in the fact that she simply doesn’t care what others think of her, as she clearly has fans who want her to carry on with her style of cosplay and she is probably a big influence on some people getting in to cosplay as well.
