Cosplay (Daily Life 2014, by Desiree Good) - Swiss Press Award

Magazin Transhelvetica

Desiree Good

Cosplay: In spring 2012, around 1,800 fans of Japanese pop culture in German-speaking Switzerland met at JAN (JapAniManga Night) in Winterthur. We were there too and mingled with the crowd for the magazine Transhelvetica. We met individual members of the Facebook group Cosplay meets Zurich, an association of around 100 cosplayers spread across Switzerland who meet regularly in Zurich, take each other's photos, and exchange ideas about the latest video games. Various music styles were sampled, and the diverse clothing styles were striking: a waitress in handcuffs, a futuristic troll with a neon-pink punk hairstyle, and a few hippies in baby doll costumes. On average, they are between 15 and 25 years old; they love playing with changing identities and travel as extensively, both virtually and in real life. Are they capitalist hippies? Mainstream or subculture? There's a great longing for recognition and a desire to be different. There is the separation and belonging and above all the great search for oneself. Text: Susanne Ruckstuhl , Image: Désirée Good