Rebecca Koga, also known as Final Fantasy MaMa on Twitter, has been sewing and cosplaying for two decades, so when the first work in progress photos of her Rococo White Mage cosplay graced my timeline, I waited patiently before reaching out for an interview. And when the gown was complete and my inquiry sent, our interview was everything I hoped for. The unapologetic explosion of ribbons and frills and frockery in Rebecca’s White Mage gown reflects her own unapologetic love of sewing and cosplay as a whole: to embrace what you love, no matter your age, and to pursue that passion fearlessly, both for the joy of the challenges along the way and for the pride of finally holding in your own hands what you have created.
Tell us a little about yourself! How did you get your start cosplaying?
Rebecca: Hello everyone! I am a 38-year-old mom/wife/English teacher/cosplayer now living in Japan. I come from Seattle and got my start in the world of cosplay at Sakuracon, our local state anime convention. I started sewing because I was very interested in period-based costumes (medieval, renaissance, etc.) for the Gig Harbor Renaissance Faire all the way back in 1999. I took a few classes in sewing during my high school days just to learn how to use the sewing machine and do basic hand stitches. I never stopped from there. I started by sewing easy things like skirts and capes, then full dresses, now plushies and toddler costumes!
Why did you choose Black Mage and White Mage to re-imagine in a Rococo style, and what are some of the inspirations behind your original designs?
Rebecca: Black and White Mage are very flexible characters and their looks change a lot through the series and yet they always go by the same color schemes. It’s easy to identify them no matter how they look just based on common elements such as the color, hat and cape designs. So no matter how you design them they are almost always immediately recognizable. I love Rococo style dresses so just felt it would be fun to play up White Mage and Black Mage trying to make them as big as possible! I think those styles fit into the fantasy type worlds that FF offers. It’s a way for me to flex my creative muscles and have fun with the characters while still keeping some elements of them that people would recognize so you’re not walking around a con wearing a costume nobody can tell what/who it is!
Many of your gown cosplays feature skirts that require significant amounts of structure, such as the exaggerated panniers of your Rococo Black Mage and White Mage and the wide skirts of your XIV Red Mage and Glorybringer (from Granblue Fantasy). Does working with structured undergarments like crinolines to achieve those exaggerated shapes change how you approach constructing a cosplay?
Rebecca: Crinolines are a must for any bell-shaped dresses, especially if layers of fabrics are involved. It honestly gives me an advantage when making costumes that big because you have something sturdy to mount skirts, ruffles, etc. on and you can see how the costume is coming along in real time without having to resew anything afterwards. I often hand-sew ornaments and ribbons directly into place this way without having to take the costume on and off the dummy. It saves me time and lets me see exactly the shape of the dress as it will look on me and I can easily make adjustments. Some people might find working with crinolines and bum rolls intimidating but honestly they are not heavy and pretty easy to get around in; most are very flexible so you can squeeze through doorways and use the restroom with no trouble!
From projects in high school to crafting your own original designs, what have been your inspirations that have motivated you over the years to continue building on your skills, particularly in the direction of dressmaking?
Rebecca: I get inspiration from many different mediums. I love seeing red carpet dress designs, magazines, TV shows, social media, anime, etc. Basically if I see something I like my first inclination is to see if I can make it! Sewing is incredibly useful outside of cosplay so I think its a valuable skill to have and improve. My drive to get better and better is simply because I’m happiest when I’m working with my hands; it’s kind of like meditation for me. I can sew and not have to focus on anything else but what’s right in front of me. It’s always nice to hit a milestone and then push a little further on the next project. Like, “Oh yay, I was able to successfully make a pannier! OK, so next let’s try doing hand embroidery,” etc.
Does living on an island affect the availability of resources compared to living in mainland America and Tokyo? Do you think your experience cosplaying has helped you adapt your process depending on what tools and resources you have access to?
Rebecca: Oh definitely! The closest fabric store to me is a 1.5 hour drive into the nearest city so it’s not something I can do all the time and I have to really plan ahead if I’m going to make that trip. I often order fabrics from online shops and have it sent directly to my home or even get some things off Amazon/Ebay/AliExpress. But it usually takes a number of weeks for things to reach me so I have to really list out what I need and be careful with what I get so I don’t order the wrong items or get fabric that’s the wrong type. One thing I’ve gotten really good at as a result of living in the countryside is using things that are available at the hardware store and dollar store. We luckily have a big Daiso in town. It’s amazing what you can make with plastic Tupperware, chopsticks, gardening items, etc.! I definitely have to think outside the box sometimes!
With your experience having to order many of your resources online, and needing to exercise a lot of care doing so, how do you determine if a material or item is exactly what you need? Are there specific things you look for so you can be reasonably confident you’re getting what a listing appears to be? Have you had any bad experiences with ordering materials online, and if so, how did you work with or work around those materials in your cosplay?
Rebecca: Some of it is trial and error and some of it is being knowledgeable about cloth and textures from experience. For example, knowing what fabrics are smooth and shiny by nature like satin, casa, special wear fabrics, evening gown fabrics, bridal, etc. and then paying attention to what online listings say for size of the items. I’m guilty of sometimes forgetting to check [item size] and I end up getting less than what I needed. The good news is that most, like 90%, of online vendors are pretty honest and what you see in the photo is what you get so I haven’t had too much trouble finding what I need. If I have any bad experiences it’s usually for premade things like stockings, socks, gloves and not for actual textiles or trims thankfully.
How has your relationship to cosplay evolved throughout the stages of your life, from living in America to working in Tokyo and now raising a family on Suo-Oshima?
Rebecca: Living in Japan made me more serious about cosplay in general because the level is so high here. Cosplayers really take themselves and their craft seriously and will gladly spend lots of money either making or commissioning their characters to perfection. While fast fashion cosplay exists it’s not as common and cosplayers really go all-out here to cosplay their favorite characters. I think this is also a cultural thing; in Japan whatever it is you choose to do you are expected to devote yourself to it. I also like USA cosplay culture for its easygoing-ness, especially at cons, where it’s easy to walk around and talk to strangers and there seems to be more of an emphasis on socializing. I think that at this stage in my life, I tend to approach cosplay through a more Japanese view so every costume is a big investment and I either should be serious about the character or stop doing it entirely because I have my family to think about and life obligations.
You’re very open about your age and outspoken about ageism in the cosplay community. Was there ever a time in your years cosplaying that you questioned if you should keep creating, or have you always been adamant that age should never limit what and how you cosplay?
Rebecca: I’ve never really felt like my age or the age of anyone ever mattered for cosplay as there are so many characters of varying age ranges you can choose from! I think the only time I ever questioned it was after the birth of my daughter because raising a child is so time consuming and Japan usually expects women to give up a lot of things in order to raise a family. Luckily my spouse, parents, and in-laws are very supportive of my sewing and always encourage me to do what makes me happy. Of course I still have to deal with some off-handed nasty comments by people from time to time but I have enough support in my life to not get offended by that kind of stuff. I will happily tell someone off though =P
Along with your own cosplays, you’ve also created costumes for your daughter to wear with you—such as her adorable Moogle onesie and her little White Mage robe. What sort of impressions do you want your daughter to take away from seeing your cosplays and sharing those experiences with you?
Rebecca: I would like her to just see how much joy it brings me and the people who see my costumes. I want her to see how fun it can be to make something with your own two hands and have people appreciate the hard work you put into it. And even if other people don’t appreciate it, you can still be proud of yourself for completing it. As for her and I cosplaying together, it’s a chance for us to make good lasting memories and it’s something funny we can maybe talk about when I’m old and reminiscing.
It looks like you take some of your cosplay photography locally. You’re passionate about sharing the beauty of Suo-Oshima on your Youtube channel American Wifu Oshima Lifu; would you like to do more cosplay photography on Suo-Oshima to highlight the beauty of your home through your cosplay as well as your videos?
Rebecca: Of course! There are still so many places in my Island I haven’t done any photoshoots at and plan to in the future! It’s always a matter of timing and season though; the weather patterns can be pretty gnarly here during the year so I have to really plan ahead if there’s a place I want to shoot at and then I have to also be aware of national holidays because it gets VERY busy with tourists at other times. I don’t mind cosplaying around strangers but I also don’t want to poke anyone’s eyes out with some of my costumes! Cough, Dragoon, cough.
You make a variety of cosplays, but you often trend towards elegant and graceful costumes, sometimes of your own design (we can’t forget about lady Emet-Selch Victorian ball gown!). Do you have a dream cosplay (or a current cosplay) that you feel is outside your usual style? Why did (or do) you feel drawn to that outfit even if it is fairly unique in your cosplay lineup?
Rebecca: Oh my this is a difficult question! I’ve always been drawn to big elegant dresses because of my childhood with the Renaissance fairs in my home state, but also because big poofy dresses are always eye-catching. Ball gowns are also generally flattering on all body types so I’m not having to do any crazy diets or weight loss stuff to make it look good on me. Corsets and panniers do most of the shaping work. My dream cosplay though would have to be Siren from FFXIV and that is definitely outside my comfort zone. She’s very voluptuous and shows a lot of mid section which is something I’ve never really been comfortable with showing, and then there’s how to make her wings, etc. She would be a very big project! It would be a challenge and that makes it appealing to me.
Do you have any future FFXIV cosplay plans?
Rebecca: Sometime this year, probably in fall I will make chocobos for my daughter and I to ride on! We have a yearly shoot at the Akiyoshidai National Park and it would be so fun for her and I to race chocobos across the plateau! Next year I plan to make Machinist cosplay based on Stephanivien de Haillenarte, maybe a genderbend of his character! I love the steampunk aspects of the Machinist! Perhaps my daughter could be Joye! XD
Tell us a bit about yourself in-game and how you got into FFXIV!
Rebecca: My in-game avatar is Epsilon Asmita; she is quite literally just me in an apron. Sorry I’m not very imaginative with my WoL. I have my friends to thank for getting me into FFXIV, [though] unfortunately they didn’t stick around past Heavensward and moved onto other games while I stayed the course and completed everything to Endwalker! Epsilon, my WoL, as I said, is just me in game form, so how she acts, the choices she makes, how I play her and her job class is all based on who I am in real life. I hope that everyone has a positive interaction with her and don’t hesitate to say hi or friend me should you see me around!
You can find Rebecca Koga, aka Finalfantasymama, in-game on Typhon (Elemental) as Epsilon Asmita or her Twitter. Be sure to also check out her Youtube channel American Wifu Oshima Lifu, and her Etsy where she designs and sells FFXIV character plushies!
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