Lei Fang - Dead or Alive

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Costume made and modeled by me
Photography by Stewart Townsend

Construction notes:
Since I became a fan of the game Dead or Alive and Lei Fang, I have wanted to make one of her regular Chinese dresses. When it came to deciding which color dress to choose, well, I have not seen the blue dress cosplayed personally, and thought that blue and gold would be a wonderful color combination.
Plus, I can not believe I had all the materials needed for this costume! All I had to get were the gold closures and bias tape for the trim.

I made the dress using a rich blue brocade and pale yellow bridal satin for the lining.
I created two Phoenix designs for this costume and they are painstakingly appliquéd on the front and back. With gold thread I satin stitched the outlines and all the feathers over the period of two days.
I also added hundreds of iridescent and gold sequins as well as rhinestones for glamor and depth.
The dress is fully lined and boned for structure, and was tailored to fit me like a glove. The high cut slits made me a little nervous at first but they really are necessary for those crouching poses lol.
The arm cuffs snap on and I already styled a Lei Fang wig for another version of her. I plan on sharing the wig between the costumes so the hair ties will remain gold to match!