Curiosities of Cosplay: Firagafox

(Originally published Winter 2020)

When I’m preparing an interview, I tend to get lost scrolling through the Instagrams and Twitters and Facebooks of cosplayers. And these days, I think we could all use a little “getting lost” energy. Thankfully, Firagafox – known as Kali’iani Se’oriana on Siren – has a wonderful portfolio of costumes to get lost in. If you scroll through her work, you’re sure to find at least one character you recognize (and that’s excluding the obvious of Final Fantasy XIV!). If you’re looking for someone who exudes joy for every character they cosplay, look no further than Firagafox. Her love for cosplaying as her favorite characters is infectious, and anyone looking for inspiration to cosplay their Warrior of Light shouldn’t miss out on this interview!

Tell us a little about yourself! How did you get your start cosplaying?

Firagafox: I started casually cosplaying back around 2011 when a group of friends invited me to my first big convention. I mostly just thrifted some clothes together to match our group cosplay but it was so much fun it stuck! I started crafting my cosplays in 2013 and I’d hand sew fleece together (yikes!) until my older sister who was studying fashion design taught me how to use a sewing machine. My mom gave me her old Singer machine and it was all downhill from there!

You’ve cosplayed from a wide variety of games and shows, from Fire Emblem to RWBY to Blazblue to Disney. What drives you to create certain costumes? Do you just embrace whatever character you’re really enjoying at the time when the cosplay bug bites?

Firagafox: Oh yes, I mostly consume video games and therefore cosplay video game characters, but I’ll make anything that grasps my attention – either due to the design or the character themselves. Usually the cosplays I make are my favorite characters and design takes a back seat to favoritism, but occasionally a design will make or break if I actually craft it, which is usually the case with Fire Emblem characters.

I believe ARR Y’shtola was your first FFXIV cosplay back in 2016, so you’ve been involved in the FFXIV cosplay community for four years now! Was there any particular experience as Y’shtola that made you think, “I don’t want to stop here, I want to keep cosplaying from this game”?

Firagafox: Y’shtola is kind of my main driving point when it comes to FFXIV cosplays. When I made her ARR outfit, her HW design was already out! I hadn’t seen many other XIV cosplays or cosplayers at the time and thought the game had a relatively small playerbase. Since Y’shtola was the designated XIV representative in Dissidia and Final Fantasy Theatrhythm, I wanted to start with her classic design. When I debuted her I actually ran into an Ardbert cosplayer in the classic Warrior outfit and I was like, “Wait, I could actually make in-game gear too.” Kamui Cosplay furthered this thought process with her SMN and MNK cosplays. I figured yes, okay, I can justify making these more elaborate costumes AND actually find other fans to talk about FFXIV with.

I really love the shaping of your Y’shtola cosplay; the in-game outfit is rather baggy and bulky, but you obviously took great pains to shape the round sleeves and body of the outfit more realistically. How do you approach translating the designs of in-game outfits to real life?

Firagafox: Square Enix is especially unkind in XIV when it comes to mysterious floating armor pieces and hidden embroidery on pockets that are covered up by a gratuitous robe, but I feel that there’s charm and challenge in that. With my cosplays I always sketch them out visually three to five times before I even start patterning because I want it to flow naturally when I start on making the costume. The proportions are the biggest part in translating these designs, and sometimes I have to change the shape or a seam placement at the very end of completion. It’s a huge trial and error process altogether!

Although you started cosplaying FFXIV in 2016, you’ve been cosplaying earlier than that and with plenty of costumes in between! What are some skills you’ve picked up throughout the course of your cosplay career that have influenced how you approached your first FFXIV cosplay to your most recent one?

Firagafox: Very early into cosplaying I was fortunate to have friends that had been crafting and sewing for years help me along the way; I definitely wouldn’t be where I was without them. I think the biggest thing I’ve used in almost every cosplay since Y’shtola is embellishment. The fabric for her tunic has the most subtle shaved white velvet design that added just the smallest amount of depth to an otherwise plain white outfit. With my most recent FFXIV, the Bonewicca set, I searched tirelessly for gold filigree pieces to use for all the small “armor” clasps. This extra touch makes the cosplay uniquely mine, without delving from the source material too much, and adds a bit of my personality into everything that I make.

In your Moonfire yukata and Bonewicca sets, you mix in a few glamour pieces to match your character’s glamour in the game rather than making the entire matching outfit. Does that enable you to add a bit of your own personal touch to the cosplay?

Firagafox: To be 100% transparent, I usually add the glamour pieces in my cosplays for the same reasons they are glamoured in game – I don’t like the base design all that much, haha. It isn’t often that this happens, but even changing just the bottoms can make the costume much more flattering. Sometimes I do change the outfit as I’m making it to be something I know I will have better mobility in. The Moonfire Yukata comes with Japanese geta sandals and even the Bonewicca set has armored high heel boots. I do want to make an un-glamoured version of the Bonewicca set or even a few other gear sets in-game but so far most things come with elaborate pants and I do not like making pants.

I also have to ask about the plethora of wigs that complete each of your outfits. Even though many of your FFXIV cosplays are your Warrior of Light, most – if not all – of them have a different hairstyle, when of course it would be easier just to use the same wig and ears! When you’re designing a cosplay, are you consciously factoring in how the wig color and style will tie the outfit together, or do you just generally enjoy shaking it up?

Firagafox: I have probably over fifty wigs in my possession, with three dedicated to FFXIV specifically. Sometimes I really like being my WoL, who has bright auburn hair, but her hair doesn’t necessarily match with some of the costumes I want to make. Usually, if the gear I’m making can be dyed, I choose what color I want the costume to be and then I design which wig I’d wear it with. For example my Songbird Jacket was a cool pastel teal so I wore a white wig to compliment the costume. Choosing the color first also gives me an opportunity to look nothing like my miqo’te WoL and instead be an elezen or even an au ra – I just want to be everything!

Any future FFXIV cosplay plans?

Firagafox: So many I can’t even think where to start! I wanted to make the starting gear for Hyur females next, it’s so cute and it’d be a comfy outfit to wear at a ren faire without too much hassle. I’ve never properly cosplayed my Au Ra, so I’d like to make maybe a seasonal outfit for her, Valentione’s or even [the] Little Ladies Day dresses. Big build wise? I would love to make the Qitana Ravel gear for Fan Fest 2020, specifically as my Viera WoL, as the design is gorgeous with a lot of small details and most importantly, looks very comfy.

Tell us a bit about your character in-game! What is your main class, and what is your favorite way to spend your time in Eorzea?

Firagafox: My main is a Keeper of the Moon Miqo’te named Kali’iani Se’oriana. Her father is a Helion Hrothgar which explains her more feral, brash nature. I main summoner and occasionally assist my FC as a white mage (or if I want faster queues) and while I used to raid with my static, I took a break from endgame prog recently to focus on running old content with my sproutling friends for fun. I play daily throughout the morning and afternoons, and can usually be found in Il Mheg.

Thank you so much for taking the time to let us peek behind the curtain into your workshop! Is there anywhere our readers could find you online if they’d like to see more of your work?

Firagafox: I am predominantly active on Twitter, which is where you’ll find my WIPs but I do still make frequent updates to my Instagram and much less frequently, my Facebook. Feel free to donate to my Ko-fi where 100% of donations go towards cosplay supplies entirely! Take care and stand tall my friends!