Behind This Costume...
My First Assassin's Creed Cosplay
Every costume I make has a story.
Sometimes it starts with a film.
Sometimes with a museum.
Sometimes with a forgotten book.
And sometimes...
It starts with an enthusiastic nephew who says,
"Aunt Marga... could you make me an Assassin's Creed costume for Comic Con?"
Of course I said yes.
Then I quietly wondered... "How on earth am I going to do that?"
Where Do You Even Begin?
Back then, cosplay was still fairly new to me.
Historical costumes?
No problem.
Victorian dresses?
Absolutely.
Corsets?
Bring them on.
But Assassin's Creed?
That was something completely different.
So I did what many sewists do when they enter unfamiliar territory.
I started looking for a sewing pattern.
Eventually I found exactly what I needed.
A McCall's pattern for a men's Assassin's Creed costume.
When I opened the envelope, I have to admit...
It looked rather intimidating.
There were pattern pieces everywhere.
Layers. Belts. Capes. Sleeves. Hood.
Enough to make any beginner quietly close the envelope again.
Fortunately, I am not a beginner.
One Piece at a Time
Once I had gathered all the fabrics, everything suddenly became much less frightening.
Brown gabardine.
Black linen.
Deep red silk.
And vegan leather for the armour details.
Slowly the character came to life.
Piece by piece.
The broad sash wrapping around the body turned out to be one of my favourite parts.
The twisted leather edging took patience.
Lots of patience.
But those little details make all the difference.
They're exactly the kind of finishing touches I enjoy most.
Then Came...
The Hood.
Oh my goodness.
That hood.
Whoever designed that pattern certainly wasn't trying to make life easy for sewists.
The construction was surprisingly complicated.
I remember laying all the pieces on the table and thinking,
"This has to fit together somehow..."
After a fair amount of puzzling, it finally made sense.
And I have to say...
It is brilliantly designed.
In fact, I liked it so much that I later made the hood several more times for photographers.
It has such a mysterious shape that it works beautifully in dramatic portraits.
Comic Con
Eventually the costume was finished.
It fitted perfectly.
My nephew proudly wore it to Comic Con and had two wonderful days there.
Before he left, I asked the obvious question.
"You'll take lots of photographs, won't you?"
The answer was...
Apparently not.
Or at least, none that I ever saw.
The only photographs that existed had been taken in the living room where he was staying before leaving for the event. Nothing spectacular. Just a few quick snapshots. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to publish them because of privacy.
So that was the end of the story.
Or so I thought.
(And the two pictures I made in my atelier en me with the Hood for testing...)
Years Later...
Sometimes costumes surprise you.
Many years later, after quite a long search, I found those old photographs again.
They weren't perfect.
Not even close.
The lighting was ordinary.
The background was distracting.
And my nephew was carrying bags over his shoulders with everything he needed for his day at Comic Con.
Not exactly the heroic Assassin look we had in mind.
A Little Help from AI
This time, however, I had something I didn't have all those years ago.
AI.
Together we transformed the photographs. The bags disappeared. The background became worthy of an Assassin.
The atmosphere finally matched the costume. But one thing remained exactly the same.
The costume itself. Every seam. Every panel. Every leather detail. Every carefully constructed piece was still exactly as I had made it all those years ago.
That made me smile.
Where Is It Now?
Some readers may wonder why I didn't simply photograph the costume again on one of my mannequins.
I wish I could have.
But the costume had already been sold.
Which immediately started another little adventure.
I found myself searching the internet.
Surely someone must have photographed it?
Perhaps the new owner wore it to an event.
Perhaps it appeared at another Comic Con.
Perhaps it is still making people smile somewhere.
Who knows?
I still haven't found it.
But I haven't completely given up.
Every costume maker recognises their own work.
Especially a costume that took weeks to create.
Every stitch carries a memory.
More Than Just a Costume
Looking back, I realise this costume marked an important moment in my journey.
It was one of my very first real cosplay commissions.
It taught me that complicated patterns become manageable when you simply take them one step at a time.
It showed me that good design often hides clever construction.
And it reminded me of something I still believe today.
A costume doesn't stop living once it leaves my studio.
It continues its own adventure.
Sometimes at Comic Con.
Sometimes in front of a camera.
Sometimes in someone else's collection.
And every now and then...
Many years later...
It unexpectedly finds its way back to me.
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