Cosplay & Performance

StarsOfCassiopeia (she/her) has been crafting award-winning mixed media cosplays since 2008. Cass graduated from Harvard with a degree in Engineering, worked in the 3D printing field for multiple years, and loves combining that professional design experience with historical design influences and elaborate hand-sewn detailing. In addition to 6+ years of experience teaching panels at cons, she also teaches Intro to Making at MIT, and co-founded the cosplay commission-centric website http://Cosmosii.com .

Jamila aka Black Bettie Cosplay (they/them) is a nonbinary cosplayer and photographer that has been creating costumes, props and content for over fifteen years. They have a background in theatre production/costuming and love to bring characters to life by transforming themself with makeup, wigs, and detailed costumes. They have created numerous cosplays over the years for themself and clients, and have experience with tailoring, building and styling wigs, foam work, resin and using unconventional/recycled materials. They are also known for their expressive character performance and close attention to details, handy skills as a cosplay and lip-sync contest judge for numerous conventions in the Pacific Northwest and online.

As a professional cosplayer, they work hard to spread that message that cosplay is for everyone and encourage more diverse representation within the community and with the various brands they work with as an influencer or brand ambassador.

Mel (he/him) is a cosplayer, content creator, gamer, and esports caster from the Washington DC Metro Area. He has been cosplaying for over 10 years and is known for big armor builds and foam and 3D-printed props. He has cosplayed from various anime, comic, and video gaming series such as Halo, Mass Effect, DC Comics, and Nintendo. Mel has recently expanded his cosplay skills to include sewing, electronics, and makeup to create intricate cosplays that incorporate multiple disciplines and skills. He has won awards in several different cosplay contests, and has even won MarioKart tournaments! Mel is excited to share his experience and knowledge with Tekko and the Pittsburgh community! 

Lady Cels is a Maryland-based cosplayer and costumer who has a passion for teaching. She is an accomplished, award winning maker who creates her own costumes from scratch who has competed, won, and judged at several conventions in the US.

She holds a BFA in Costume Tech and an MA in Puppetry Fabrication and has taught professionally for over a decade in both university and K-12th maker education. She works frequently as a panelist, teacher, and cosplay judge at several conventions on the east coast.

She is also a disabled cosplayer who advises and coaches others with the same disability (ASD and EDS). She strives to help create accessibility as well as acceptance within the cosplay community. Cosplay is for everyone.

Rakumaroo (she/her) has performed at various conventions since 2016, with Tekko being her first. She has won judge's choice, first place, and best in show prizes over the years and performed the masquerade half-time show for Tekko 2022. She loves writing and performing anime themed musicals and hopes everyone will love this year's show!

Lutavia Cosplay (they/them) is a nonbinary award-winning cosplayer and maker from Houston, Texas, who specializes in cosplay craftsmanship education for all, telling a story through costuming, and exploring new techniques through a mix of both armor and fabric designs. Their passion stems from making cosplay accessible at any scale for any design, from managing cost constraints and time to working with chronic illness or a full time job. With years of cosplay experience, paneling, and tons of tutorials and resources created for the community, there's nothing more they love than seeing your amazing costumes and helping with cosplay challenges, especially in their first visit to Pittsburgh and here at Tekko!

AJ (they/them) is a Puerto Rican and Haitian non-binary cosplayer who's been cosplaying for over ten years, and been involved in almost every facet of the western anime fan community. They've worked as a model for companies like Aniplex of America and Funimation, co-founded an independent news outlet called The Cartoon Cipher, are a freelance writer for websites like Anime News Network, and have even started Vtubing! They can't wait to create even more memories at Tekko through this medium of self expression they love so much.

Cirque du Soleil. Celebrities. One Piece. EDC. Red Carpets. School of Cosplay.

After many years of competing at anime convention masquerades, winning Best in Show 17 times with tailored costumes and heavily choreographed skits, he moved to Las Vegas to work for The Venetian designing the Opera Gowns. Eventually he landed at Cirque du Soleil’s water spectacular O building costumes.

Since leaving Cirque, he has worked freelance out of his own studio – creating everything from mermaids that shoot water, to Mirrorball Men, and Golden Fairies that contort through the air. Jez has designed for events with A-list celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Eva Langoria, Snoop Dogg, and DJs such as Benny Benassi, and Dash Berlin; his jewelry has even been worn on the red carpet at the Billboard Awards.

He has represented the United States at the IOEA Otaku Expo in Japan as a Cosplay Guest, and also helped choose the Canadian World Cosplay Summit representative for 2016. He believes that the world of costuming is an endlessly fascinating pursuit-from armor to gowns, giant puppetry to monsters. He shares unique events that educate and involve the community (such as Lip Sync For Your Cosplay and PROJECT: Cosplay!) and has restructured and organized cosplay events for conventions in his goal to make the competition scene more streamlined. His artistic journey came full circle in 2015 when he was hired as an Artistic Consultant for the One Piece: Gold film, working with Toei Animation to give their film a fully realized Las Vegas feel. In 2018 he was hired by Right Stuf Anime to create the Official Brand Costumes for animes Aria, Dirty Pair, and Emma.

In Winter 2019 he launched CosplayVegas/GamerVsTailor, the School of Cosplay in Las Vegas. It has grown to offer classes in all disciplines of costume arts as well as support the community through outreach, education, and pass along the universal message that Cosplay is for everyone!