The Allegiance Assemble!

There is no denying the impact that superhero culture and cosplay has on the world. The ability to dress as a character that you admire can be empowering to an individual, uplifting to those who witness it, and these days, it has the potential to be lucrative. One might say it’s practically heroic. The Allegiance was formed back in May 2017 by a group of friends with a shared love for cosplay. Understanding their unique position to put a smile on children’s faces, they assembled with the desire to realise children’s dreams to meet their favourite fictional heroes from films, animation, TV shows and video games in real life. But what is cosplay without the costumes? The Allegiance has very elaborate costumes that are made by themselves, custom-made by local tailors, or bought online. It isn’t always a simple matter of going online and clicking on the Purchase button; weeks or months before an event, this group of heroes sit down together to share their ideas and work on their costumes. And while superheroes don’t always wear capes, these guys sometimes do. They don their capes and masks and group together to cheer you up. Spreading the joy in what they do, they have worked at keeping the spirits up at events such as the Cancer Awareness event in 2017, the Spiderverse event in 2018 where groups of people of all ages came together to create their own Spiderman-themed costumes, and made a surprise visit to the children’s ward at RIPAS Hospital in 2018. And if a Marvel or DC movie hits the cinema, don’t be surprised to see these guys there, hyping the film up for all the excited movie-goers. But while the job certainly requires superheroes, it’s not to say that these guys can’t have a little fun dressing up as well. As they say, “It’s always fun to cosplay and inspire others, but it’s even more fun to cosplay and inspire others with friends. Creativity has no limits and inspiration comes in any shape and form; with or without the cape.” Hear hear! Need a superhero at your event? You can contact The Allegiance directly on their Instagram account and follow them for updates (@theallegiance.bn).