Aerith (Monster Hunter) - Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis
- Why this costume:
While I absolutely adore Aerith and Capcom games, I'd never dived into a Monster Hunter costume. With all the armor, I was a little intimidated. Well, when I saw this design I thought it was the perfect start to dip my feet into a Monster Hunter design without making too much armor! Plus, I really wanted to wear this with my friends! - Details:
Hakama:
While I love the traditional design of Hakama pants, the design that Aerith wears in this costume is not traditional. It does not fold with the back pieces being in only one pleat each. Instead, it mirrors the front with multiple pleats. The side actually has a much larger, double, pleat that then has additional grommet details. I measured my pants to ensure a proper fit and the proper amount of pleats in both front and back, ensuring they were even even on the sides. Cut out the Sasahida and added a waist band. Hemmed them and added the bottom details with a use of trim and heat transfer vinyl. Lastly I added the grommets on each side panel and the cording.
Top:
The top is multiple layers. First the purple base Kimono top. Then the next layer is white Kimono done with the same technique, but this one made slightly shorter in the sleeves. This kimono top also had custom trim made to match. This trim was made out of pleather and painted by hand. This trim was also made to be added to the hair bow. The next layer was the cape. I will go over the cape below. Then finally there was the collar. I made the jewelry on the collar out of a mixture of premade beads and Thermal Beads that I then sculpted. I hand painted all the beads to match.
Cape:
The cape I drafted using some scrap fabric of similar weight. Taking it in and correcting it multiple times until I was happy with the look. The design has multiple tails, so I wanted them to all lay correctly apart. The lining was the same purple fabric from the inner most kimono, while the white matched the sleeves/outer kimono top. I sewed them together and used the gold fabric as trim around the edges. Additional details were added using foam to the top. I then hand braided cording which was ran from both the top to the tails adding bows in the appropriate places. I hand sewed the braids and bows down through the top layer only, to hold it in place. The ending of the cord included a bell which I also hand attached. I brushed out the cording at the end with a pet brush to give it the same fluffy tassel effect as Aerith's.
Sleeves:
I drafted out the sleeve pattern with parchment and sewed it together using the same red and purple fabric from both the Hakama pants and the inner most Kimono on the lining. Then using the white Kimono fabric I made the outer most portion. I added her gold details with heat and bond/gold fabric. The sleeves attach to the top portion of the purple kimono. Concealed by the arm armor!
Shoes:
Shoes I started with a base which were old shoes I used for my Midna costume. They were clear, and the proper structure, so I knew they would give me the right base. I used expanding foam to fill the heel. Carved the foam once dry and covered it in fabric. I drafted the pattern for the shoe cover and added grommets. Then, using Quick Grip, I attached the pattern to the entire shoe. I added lace to the grommets and cording I braided to the heel/front of the shoe.
Bow:
Hand sewn I added details using the same trim from the top. I also used the gold fabric with heat and bond for details. Additionally I took white tassels and hand dyed them to match the red gradient effect. On of Aerith's iconic flowers was them hand sewn onto the bow.
Armor:
All the armor was made using various width of EVA foam. It was a lot of trial and error for figuring out the final size, but I started big and took it in. I used contact cement when attaching the foam to itself, however, tried a new technique with this costume. I used a process taught to me by my friend Indra, which has you cover foam with fabric. I used this technique on all the trim portions as well as the bases which needed fabric coverage. Here is a link to the technique:
www.instagram.com/p/DQ9f28hDXO8/?hl=en&img_index=1
I made ankle armor, waist armor, and wrist armor featuring scales that I cut from 1mm EVA foam. I glued them to the base EVA foam pieces and did a top coat. I then painted them with Angelus Walk on Black paint for texture. The waist piece closes in the back with Velcro, but is additionally held in place with both top belts. The first the black belt made of fabric covered eva foam with silver trim and the second a traditional belt which I made using Nylon strapping.
Other details:
I made all the belts seen on top of the armor. This included both the waist as well as the sleeve belts. All made of red Nylon. I also hand braided my large waist belt using the Japanese braiding technique called Kimihimo. The gloves were also made for this project, using the tracing method.
The Staff
The staff was used following a tutorial by AtelierHeidi.
Last the wig:
This was a base lace front wig purchased from WigisFashion. It was styled as part of my Aerith Garnet costume!
