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Tutorials & Techniques The History of Costuming All About Masquerades The International Costumers' Guild (ICG) Community Forums Useful Sites Contact Us	What is a Masquerade? A Masquerade is the costume contest held at many fandom conventions (sci-fi, fantasy, media, anime, etc.) in which costumers show off their hard work to an audience. They may do this via a short performance such as a skit, dance number, or simple walk-on. The purpose of entering a Masquerade is to display your costume and to put on an entertaining and pleasing presentation. With the recent upsurge of cosplay, however, the original meaning of the Masquerade has become murky. A Masquerade is not a talent show, nor is it simply an opportunity to get onstage and be goofy. Entrants in the Masquerade should have something to show off, be it a costume they have put time and effort into, a well-rehearsed presentation, or (ideally) both. Entrants in the Masquerade should consider the audience - will their presentation be understood and/or appreciated by your average congoer? Will it bore the audience? These issues MUST be considered. Here are some time-honoured rules to follow when planning a Masquerade presentation: Rostler's Rules How Masquerades Are Run Through trial and error over many years, the costumers of the ICG have developed a system for running fair, enjoyable Masquerades. It is a set of guidelines to be applied at the individual Masquerade Director's discretion, and divides entrants up into separate categories according to levels of expertise in order to create a more even playing field. In this way you won't have somebody in their first-ever costume competing against a professional costume-maker, for example. Below is a brief explanation of The ICG Masquerade System: Costume Division System The division of costumes into separate groups-based on skill and prior experience-was originally proposed in 1980 by Peggy Kennedy, the Grande Dame of Costuming, and has helped improve the art tremendously. Basically, her system (which has become known as the Skills Division System) makes masquerade competitions more fair. It permits costumers to compete according to their experience level, and is designed to encourage participtation by first-timers as well as old pros. Novice: A costumer who has never before entered a costume competition (i.e. at a Worldcon, Costume Con, or regional) and/or has not won an award at a major con. Journeyman: A costumer who has taken at least one major convention award, but has not yet advanced to the next level. Craftsman (a.k.a. Artisan): A costumer who has won three or more awards at a major regional convention, but not yet three awards at a Worldcon. Master: A costumer who has won at least three major Worldcon awards or has won at least one Master level award at a Worldcon or other designated competition (Costume Con, for example). The concept of separating the less experienced costumers from multiple winners has been generally well received. Costumers find the system fair, and many first-time costumers have stated that without the system, they never would have had a chance. Within the structure of the Skills Division System, costumes are further designated into three distinct categories: Original, Re-creation and Historic. The rationale behind these classifications recognizes the unique skills and talents behind each costuming style and gives like costumes the chance to compete against like costumes. Please note that anyone can enter into a division higher than their current level; the system is only designed to prevent higher-level costumers from competing against inexperienced costumers. So, for example, if you've been sewing for years and are very experienced, even if you've never entered a Masquerade before, you might consider entering in the Journeyman or Artisan category instead of Novice. Types of Costume *Original* costumes are those with designs that are a product of the costumer's imagination or are taken from a fictional description. They reflect the designer's outlook on science fiction or fantasy, and are often drawn from the creator's favorite literary works. Since they are original, the choice of design, construction, materials, and props are left entirely to the costumer's discretion. *Recreation, or media, costumes are those costumes whose design is copied, reproduced or derived from film, television, comic books, paintings, etc. They are the most common choices by costumers, but are also the most difficult to construct. Since recreation costumes are not the maker's original designs, they require precision and the demanding skills of reproduction. Design, colors, construction techniques, and textures of fabrics must all be considered in order to duplicate a costume that 10 million people may have seen (and loved) in a movie. Historic* costumes are those costumes whose design and construction must be carefully documented and researched from history. The proliferation of time travel stories has made historic costumes among the most popular at SF conventions; they are also very difficult to construct. Since they represent living history, the need for authenticity and exactness - much like Re-creation costumes - is very important. Many historic costumers spend hours researching the designs and time period before they ever begin making a costume. If you have specific questions about masquerades, or would like advice on how to run one, there are a number of experienced Masquerade Directors who frequent our forums, in particular Kaijugal. Feel free to ask questions!

What is a Masquerade?

A Masquerade is the costume contest held at many fandom conventions (sci-fi, fantasy, media, anime, etc.) in which costumers show off their hard work to an audience. They may do this via a short performance such as a skit, dance number, or simple walk-on. The purpose of entering a Masquerade is to display your costume and to put on an entertaining and pleasing presentation. With the recent upsurge of cosplay, however, the original meaning of the Masquerade has become murky. A Masquerade is not a talent show, nor is it simply an opportunity to get onstage and be goofy. Entrants in the Masquerade should have something to show off, be it a costume they have put time and effort into, a well-rehearsed presentation, or (ideally) both. Entrants in the Masquerade should consider the audience - will their presentation be understood and/or appreciated by your average congoer? Will it bore the audience? These issues MUST be considered.

Here are some time-honoured rules to follow when planning a Masquerade presentation: Rostler's Rules

How Masquerades Are Run

Through trial and error over many years, the costumers of the ICG have developed a system for running fair, enjoyable Masquerades. It is a set of guidelines to be applied at the individual Masquerade Director's discretion, and divides entrants up into separate categories according to levels of expertise in order to create a more even playing field. In this way you won't have somebody in their first-ever costume competing against a professional costume-maker, for example. Below is a brief explanation of The ICG Masquerade System:

Costume Division System

The division of costumes into separate groups-based on skill and prior experience-was originally proposed in 1980 by Peggy Kennedy, the Grande Dame of Costuming, and has helped improve the art tremendously. Basically, her system (which has become known as the Skills Division System) makes masquerade competitions more fair. It permits costumers to compete according to their experience level, and is designed to encourage participtation by first-timers as well as old pros.

Novice: A costumer who has never before entered a costume competition (i.e. at a Worldcon, Costume Con, or regional) and/or has not won an award at a major con.

Journeyman: A costumer who has taken at least one major convention award, but has not yet advanced to the next level.

Craftsman (a.k.a. Artisan): A costumer who has won three or more awards at a major regional convention, but not yet three awards at a Worldcon.

Master: A costumer who has won at least three major Worldcon awards or has won at least one Master level award at a Worldcon or other designated competition (Costume Con, for example).

The concept of separating the less experienced costumers from multiple winners has been generally well received. Costumers find the system fair, and many first-time costumers have stated that without the system, they never would have had a chance. Within the structure of the Skills Division System, costumes are further designated into three distinct categories: Original, Re-creation and Historic. The rationale behind these classifications recognizes the unique skills and talents behind each costuming style and gives like costumes the chance to compete against like costumes.

Please note that anyone can enter into a division higher than their current level; the system is only designed to prevent higher-level costumers from competing against inexperienced costumers. So, for example, if you've been sewing for years and are very experienced, even if you've never entered a Masquerade before, you might consider entering in the Journeyman or Artisan category instead of Novice.

Types of Costume

Original costumes are those with designs that are a product of the costumer's imagination or are taken from a fictional description. They reflect the designer's outlook on science fiction or fantasy, and are often drawn from the creator's favorite literary works. Since they are original, the choice of design, construction, materials, and props are left entirely to the costumer's discretion.

Recreation, or media, costumes are those costumes whose design is copied, reproduced or derived from film, television, comic books, paintings, etc. They are the most common choices by costumers, but are also the most difficult to construct. Since recreation costumes are not the maker's original designs, they require precision and the demanding skills of reproduction. Design, colors, construction techniques, and textures of fabrics must all be considered in order to duplicate a costume that 10 million people may have seen (and loved) in a movie.

Historic costumes are those costumes whose design and construction must be carefully documented and researched from history. The proliferation of time travel stories has made historic costumes among the most popular at SF conventions; they are also very difficult to construct. Since they represent living history, the need for authenticity and exactness - much like Re-creation costumes - is very important. Many historic costumers spend hours researching the designs and time period before they ever begin making a costume.

If you have specific questions about masquerades, or would like advice on how to run one, there are a number of experienced Masquerade Directors who frequent our forums, in particular Kaijugal. Feel free to ask questions!