Alexiel

Organic Angel Alexiel

Series: Angel Sanctuary

Variation: artbook page

Worn to: Sakura-con 2009, Nan Desu Kan 2008, Anime Oasis 2008

Featured in: Seattle Q13Fox News, Epicstage Vol.1, Cosplay.com Showcase, Daily of University of Washington

Why I made it: I was enamored with Alexiel’s persona and role after reading the Angel Sanctuary manga, and made it my goal to recreate her as accurately and logically as possible. A 3-winged angel, how cool is that!  However, after starting it I realized it would be a lot of firsts for me – first time constructing wings of that magnitude, vinyl corseting, first time sewing gloves, and patterning my own dress.

Construction: Over 30 hours of construction went into the fabric aspect of the costume alone. I used a thick, non-stretch black vinyl for the corset and fully boned it, altering the design to put a wooden back-plate into the back of it to support the weight of the wings. The hand-sewed gloves, boot-cover, choker, headband, and front straps were all made from a matching black vinyl, while the dress was custom patterned by me using white peach skin fabric that draped enough to show leg, but not enough to flash the crowd while performing. About 70 hours went into the making of harness, while over 70 hours went into the wings themselves. Quite a bit of time and “engineering” went into the corset/harness system, as it can support about 15 lbs of wings but feels like 50 with the pressure they exert on my back. The harness is made of 1/2” PVC pipe bolted into a wood plate that distributes the weight equally between my back and shoulders. The wings were constructed with ½” PVC pipe, chicken wire, white batting, and 3 pounds of turkey feathers (or over 800 feathers!) all hand trimmed and individually laid. The larger feathers were made by overlaying several feathers together together to get the long elegant look of Kaori Yuki’s artwork.

Personal thoughts: She’s my absolute favorite of the series, and bringing her to life in the most accurate way possible was a dream! While difficult to move with her wings especially in crowds, I’ve gotten better at it. I am so proud and impressed with the effort and skill put forth by my Angel Sanctuary group with Yunie and Mythrin as Rosiel and Kurai, and many thanks to Lionel Lum and everyone who made this costume happen.

Costume reference