Princess Emeraude

Series: Magic Knight Rayearth

Variation: ending dress

Worn at: Fanime 2009, Anime Evolution 2009

Awards: Best of Division Advanced Craftsmanship Group – Fanime 2009

Why I made it: Emeraude never rang out as a particularly strong character to me despite her tragic ending, but the decision to make her was immediately made when Nessa and Melissa asked me to be in their Rayearth group for Fanime ’09. Having finals, moving, and other costume commitments in the same time frame as making this, I had to do as much as I could with the time I had nevering having previously made a large dress like this, while still impressing masquerade judges.

Construction: The bodice was made from an altered pattern and fully corseted, with two layers of lining with linen and interfacing to keep its shape when the armor was on. The skirt was patterned by me with a shorter under layer to help the skirt keep its shape, draped over a pre-bought hoop skirt. The bodice and bottom of the dress both have machine stitched flower embroidery as well, though hard to see in photos with the bridal satin. The arms were bare-none the hardest to make, since I couldn’t figure out how to make sleeves that poofy and free standing, ending up patterning them myself. I used matching bridal satin to wrap the lilies commonly seen in artwork with her, and styled a long wig bought on Ebay that I thought resembled her wavy hair style. Kasou flawlessly made all my armor, I just put it together and added the pearls.

Personal thoughts: My good friend Teca surprised me the day of the shoot by secretly making a Ferio, Emeraude’s brother, so I adore the photos of us together since I rarely see photos of those two characters. I’m so proud of the team effort of the group and how much this was a collaborative project. The skit was great under the time constraints, and everyone looked fantastic! I think I was most amused with the fact we could fit most of the Rayearth cast under my hoop skirt. And that I apparently glow like a lamp when standing on a floor light lol

Costume reference

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