Jessica Rabbit Cosplay

Cosplayer Chiara Scura at Nekocon 2012

I met Chiara Scura at Nekocon 2012. We friended each other on Facebook before the con and we texted ahead of it about meeting up to take pictures. Her Jessica Rabbit cosplay was one that she brought out in the evening. There's a cozy bar in the hotel near the conference center, an easy going atmosphere. I loved Nekocon; it was just the right size. But of all the people I met, Chiara did so much to make me feel at home. One of the greatest things was our photoshoot of her Jessica Rabbit cosplay. Later I asked her more about it, and this is the interview.

Yenra: What drew you to the character of Jessica Rabbit?

Chiara: I always try to do costumes for characters that I think I could pull off visually. I admit, I was a little worried I might not be able to do Jessica justice. But I'm happy to say I'm more pleased with the end result than I thought I'd be. When I was first considering Jessica, I realized that I have some similar facial features to her, such as her round face & big eyes. I realized when I was deciding on how to approach the makeup for her, I had two choices. I could do a more realistic approach, or I could try to mimic her more dramatic, accentuated look in the cartoon. Knowing my features, I decided to go for the more realistic path. One of the biggest differences is that I'm not a tall super-model with legs that go on forever, like she is. I'm pretty short actually. I am also not naturally blessed with Jessica's fantastic, if a bit unrealistic, figure, but I did the best with what I had, lol.

Yenra: What character traits do you admire?

Chiara: I remember when I was 6 or 7, I got a valentine from a friend, from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, with Jessica on it, & I instantly fell in love with her aesthetic. Her style, her cool, calm demeanor, her level of silver screen leading lady classiness, & the great nod that she is to the classic Tex Avery era of cartoons (I'm an animator by profession, so I really admire the influence & skill that Avery brought to the animation community).

Yenra: Tell me something about how you put the costume together.

Chiara: This dress I actually refer to as "Jessica 2.0" as it's my second version of her. I wanted to make the dress from scratch since my first version was an altered halter top gown. I bought the red foil microdot fabric from a Texas pageantry fabric store & all I could think about was Toddlers & Tiaras while I was sewing. JESSICA RABBIT'S ACTUAL GOWN IS PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE. It literally can NOT exist in this world AND stay on her without falling off. I want to yell that to her character designer. Physics & gravity obviously don't apply in Toon Land. I got some tips from a good friend & fellow co worker of mine who is an amazingly talented drag queen, for how to be able to make Jessica's um... "upper assets" work, without the use of a pushup bra. I promised I wouldn't give away the drag secrets, but I can say that it involves about 5 yards of 3 different kinds of tape. LOL

Yenra: What are the reactions of people?

Chiara: The reactions of people is actually what surprised me. I'm so flattered. Dragoncon 2011 I had so many people telling me I was one of the best Jessica's they'd seen (this was before Yaya did her amazingly accurate Jessica which I love), which was really pleasantly surprising & gave me such a sense of accomplishment that my end product was that good and was such a nice boost of self-confidence, because I've always thought out of all the cartoon ladies, Jessica was the epitome of beauty & class.

Yenra: In what settings have you cosplayed her?

Chiara: Dragon*con was the first convention I wore Jessica to. I did a shoot in her in the Hilton Atlanta there, & in one of the Presidential Suites in the Atlanta Hyatt at a friend's room party. I've also worn her to Heroescon in North Carolina, Anime USA when it was at the Crystal City Hyatt, Animazement & then Nekocon (when I shot with you) at the Embassy Suites. It's my dream to be able shoot her in a boudoir, or a classy lounge setting or a theater to mimic her singing scene from Who Framed Roger Rabbit.