WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO COSPLAY A STREET FIGHTER CHARACTER?

Cosplay is one of the many ways that fans express their love for Street Fighter, whether they’re long-term fans or relative newcomers. “My first encounter with Street Fighter was probably in 2016 through some friends,” says Starry Marie. “I honestly was drawn to Sakura because I see a lot of myself in her character! We look a bit alike, but aside from that she’s outgoing, determined, free-spirited and kind-hearted.” It’s more than just fancy dress, as Starry made the costume herself. “At the time I was super new to sewing, so it was pretty difficult for me. I hadn’t made very many cosplays myself, and had never made a seifuku or pleated skirt. It probably took me around 40 hours to make.”

That high-level of effort is common. “This costume can take up to a month to make, depending on your free time, mainly because the armour pieces are custom made from thermoplastic that you shape and warp with heat then prime and paint over several sessions,” says M Bison cosplayer Rob Zwetsloot, whose costume is the realisation of a long-held ambition. “I’ve always enjoyed a good hammy villain in fiction, and M Bison in the Nineties was a great example of this. From his ridiculous story in the Alpha games to Raul Julia’s portrayal in the film, he quickly became a favourite. Throw in a good costume design and it became the thing I wanted to make for years.”

There are plenty of famous faces who have donned the costumes of the iconic fighters too, with wrestlers and mixed martial arts fighters seeming particularly drawn to the series. At All Elite Wrestling’s Fyter Fest event in 2019, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks wore ring gear inspired by Akuma, Ryu and Ken, while their colleague Claudio Castagnoli made light of an eye injury in 2014 by comparing his new look to that of Sagat. MMA fighter Angela Hill drew plenty of attention when she showed up to weigh-ins dressed as Sagat and Dhalsim, and also wore a fantastic Elena costume for Comic Con. But it’s not just people in combat sports that join in with the fun – Jamie Lee Curtis remained incognito at Evolution 2015 by hiding under the mask of Vega, and you can see Himari Tsukishiro of the Japanese heavy metal idol group Necronomidol dressed as Chun-li, right.