Capcom’s Chun Li Cosplayer Yaya Han on the Future of Cosplay – DragonCon 2023
We sat down with the patron saint of cosplay this season to hear her thoughts on industry partnerships, character selection inspiration, and the future of cosplay in this DragonCon 2023 interview.
I attended DragonCon this year for the first time and was pleasantly surprised to be given the opportunity to interview the cosplay guests. I have followed Yaya Han‘s work enthusiastically for decades, and have always considered her an inspiration in blending the artistic side of cosplay with the business savvy and professionalism to partner with the biggest brands in the world and do so successfully. It’s a rare opportunity to speak with one of the most successful cosplayers in the world- but we were thrilled to have the chance!
Interviewing Yaya Han
We sat down for 20 minutes at DragonCon 2023. In a small quiet room set up in traditional press conference style, we waited for her to arrive. Yaya was dressed in her most recent Chun Li cosplay. This was an official collaboration with Capcom which took the internet by storm this year. As we began chatting with Yaya, we got serious quickly. The conversation focused much on the evolution of industry and processes for cosplayers around the world. Yaya talked about what we’ve learned, what’s changed, and what we’re looking forward to.
Throughout the interview, Yaya was kind, eloquent, and thoughtful in each of her answers. She truly demonstrates that she has the growth of the community as a whole at the center of her vision. Yaya wants to see the industry grow and thrive. It’s fantastic to speak to someone who has such an outlook on cosplay. Yaya is sharing her message with others, hoping they will learn from her experience. Here is the first part of our interview with Yaya Han!
How has the cosplay world changed recently?
“I think the pandemic has actually pushed cosplay forward a bit and maybe make things develop a little differently… There are new platforms and avenues for cosplayers and more emphasis on TikToks and recreating the exact look of a character. I really was interested in how cosplay was developing before the pandemic, which was more adding your own spin to things and being able to veer away from accuracy. So now that conventions are back, I think I would have also wanted to talk in (my) book about how it’s been afterwards and how much we, and especially me, appreciate in-person events and how much I didn’t appreciate in-person events as much before the pandemic.”
DragonCon is your “home” convention. What creates the magic of DragonCon?
“I’ve been coming here for 22 years, and I developed as a cosplayer and indeed as a human through this convention and through cosplay. So when I come here, it’s a lot of nostalgia. I feel always lots of gratefulness to still be in this community and be allowed to come back and also now be allowed to partake in programming. I really feel like I’m a part of the convention. As for the fans of Dragon Con, they make the con. They are the heart of the con. And there’s no other convention where 80% of people are dressed up in a costume of some sort. It is so unique and one-of-a-kind, truly.
I travel the world and whenever people ask me what is the one convention I would recommend going to, I always say Dragon Con because there truly is the inventiveness of people at DragonCon. That’s what really gets me every year. I know they’re going to come up with something really clever and really cool and unexpected. Every year it still exceeds my expectations and still surprises me what people do. There is this tongue-in-cheek nature here at DragonCon that is not as vibrant at other events. I’m always humbled when I come here and I’m always just people-watching and letting sort of the atmosphere take me in more than anything. Thank you.
What are your thoughts on the evolution of Cosplay as an industry?
“I think it’s crazy and also very cool how much cosplay has developed as a commercial industry and just how quickly. I think the pandemic definitely accelerated that. You know, all the gaming companies and tech companies being interested in working with cosplayers, that was a very slow climb for several years and then since the pandemic, truly the floodgates have opened. That is very exciting, and I’m also very grateful to create products that are targeted at cosplayers and be able to speak to these corporations that have all the means and all the technology to do things, but have no idea what to make and how to reach the cosplay customer. So I can be that bridge and really help them reach this market in a truly meaningful way.”
How did the partnership with Bernette and Bernina affect you?
“I want the company to be obviously happy with their investment and receive a profit. But I also really want the product to be truly helpful to the community. I spent a lot of time working on those projects. I’ve also spent a lot of sleepless nights worrying about those things. The sewing machine was a very intensive project between me and Burnette, the Swiss company that is under Bernina. It was very nerve-wracking to create a product that has such a high price tag. It was over $2,000 and we put my name on it and hope that people will see the value in it.
For many months I’ve been quite stressed out, but since the launch everyone has had great reactions to the machine and we are demoing it here at DragonCon and we’re also giving away a Yaya Han edition sewing machine to the Best in Show winner at the Friday Night Costuming Contest, which I will host in just a couple hours. So I’m really just excited for people to have the chance to walk home with a machine and be able to discover the huge world of embroidery. Those are the really rewarding things for me. If I can start a trend in more people embroidering and digitizing, that will evolve cosplay further. That will give people even more opportunities to make their dream costumes.”
~Join us next week for more Cosplay Coverage~
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