Fashion designer Nephi Garcia uses his immense talents to create incredible cosplay outfits for his young family. The California-based creative started his career producing high-fashion frocks, but that focus shifted once he had kids. “It started to feel like the industry wasn’t really working for me,” Garcia explained to Buzzfeed. Last year, after planning a family trip to Disney World, his 6-year-old daughter Lili asked him to make her a costume that she could wear while there.
For the occasion, Garcia sewed a Fairy Godmother dress using scrap fabric. As the little girl wore it around the park, the response was enthusiastic—some people even asked for her autograph! “The following day, I got an order for 10 costumes.” A new career path was born, and he applies the same high-fashion mentality to his character-based designs. Garcia uses quality materials in their construction, like organic silk and imports from Europe. It takes between four and six hours of work to make one of these detailed costumes, which range from Disney princess dresses to furry animals to Star Wars-themed ensembles.
With each design, Garia tries to make costumes that “go outside of the box,” and incorporate transformative elements or things that move—one dress, for instance, featured a veil that looked as though it was being held up by birds and “flew” with every movement made.
Garcia’s dream is to share these awe-inspiring garments with people outside of the fashion world. “I will never give up making pieces for people who are not in the industry—I like to give them quality outfits that they can’t get anywhere else.”
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h/t: [Buzzfeed]