Under the Magical Spell of Comic Characters

Bringing cartoon characters into fashion pieces, we immediately think of ‘cosplay or ‘costume-play’. But it’s more of a performance art, to play pretend to be some characters. At LPTB (Lembaga Pengajaran Tata Busana) Susan Budihardjo annual fashion show 2012 last week, the word ‘comic’ was all in the air; the soul and the common theme beneath all collections were presented. Fashion is comical. We can choose to be whoever we want. But then again, referring to the word ‘comic’, we’re expecting a completely imaginative world, where heroes and villains have superpower, and people can fly. And with those imaginative things, dressing ‘normally’ is unexpected.

 

Imaginative, yet quite literal interpretations of comic characters are visualized in 11 designs from 11 students and alumni. These are the masterpieces of the show from Avatar to mother of villain Cruella de Vil, Queen of Hearts, and the wicked Jack Sparrow. Some characters sound strange to my ears, for instance, have you ever heard of the Japanese Xenoxaga?

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