I made a Sephiroth costume to compliment a friend who was cosplaying Aerith at a convention in DC.
This costume was surprisingly low-stress, even though it took a ton of work. I used an old trench coat as a pattern to make a wholly new coat out of artificial leather (“pleather”/vinyl).
I made the buckles from dowels, which I cut, glued, and painted.
The shoulder pauldrons are foam, with steel washers for the eyelets.
The sword has a poplar core, and is coated in foam (the convention wouldn’t allow a wood blade).
I sewed the wig to keep the styling static.
I later reused the costume at RavenCon 13, where I won Lenore’s Choice award (their Edgar Allen Poe version of Judge’s Choice). See video of my performance below!