MORE ABOUT THE NIGHTWALKER

I have been entranced with Princess Mononoke (1997) since I was about seven, and the Nightwalker has always been at the center of my focus on it. Despite only being on screen for about a minute (spoiler alert: unless you count his mutated appearance towards the end of the film), I have been absolutely captivated by his design. And I've always wanted to be him — I don't know why — I guess he was my first dream cosplay before I even knew what dream cosplays were! He is such an eerie figure and so awe inspiring I get chills rewatching his scene to this day. In early 2025 I finally got the chance to see Princess Mononoke in theaters and it did not disappoint!

At the end of 2017, I found myself trying to come up with a costume that would make my first time competing in the Master Category an unforgettable experience for me regardless of contest outcomes. I chose to create this long held dream of mine, and I'm so glad I did because when I walked on to that competition stage, even as nervous as I was after going through the ups and downs of the creative process for months and getting all up in my head about this being the first time in Masters, it was a dream come true.

This costume is an original interpretation of this character as I cannot turn my body to Jell-o on command — I know, it's a shortcoming on my part. I created the pattern myself and it's loosely inspired by kimino and pajamas as that inspiration both apt for the character and let me construct the garments in a way that would let them move similar to how his goop-y self moves in the film. The garments are made with two layers of organza, the under layer a darker blue organza covered in waves of sequins, and the outer layer a lighter blue organza covered in original hand embroidery, Swarovski Crystals, and faux plant life. The antlers are created with custom dyed Worbla's TranspArt, Worbla's Crystal Art, are embedded with lights, and are attached to a Worbla's Black Art base. The wig is an Ororo in Dark Blue from Arda Wigs (a style they tragically no long carry) ripped apart and reattached with velcro to the antler head cage. I did this so that I could make the antlers appear to be a part of me, and the creature I wanted to fully embody, rather than be mistaken for a headpiece I was wearing. The wig pieces remain detachable so that I can maintain the lights and the wig in case and fibers get particularly tangled or a battery needs replacing. Follow along the creation process for this build in this highlight video: