Wednesday 15 July 2015

Holy Schmidt, my Kimmy cosplay went viral!

So I went to my first MCM London Comic Con in October last year and loved it so much I've decided to make it a regular part of my calendar.

Lara Croft cosplay
My Lara Croft Cosplay
Back in October, I cosplayed as Lara Croft, but this time I had a more comedic character in mind.

I'm a massive fan of Tina Fey's work, so when Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt appeared on Netflix, I KNEW I was going to love it, and love it I did. And whilst I was watching the first episode, I found I had a great affinity for Kimmy and her happy upbeat nature. I also noticed something.  "Hey," I thought to myself. "I have half of that outfit already, and I've still not decided what to wear to MCM this May..."

Kimmy Schmidt
Kimmy in New York
And that's when I decided to be Kimmy for London Comic Con. Before I'd even finished the series, I knew I HAD to be her. I trawled shops and the Internet for the items I didn't already have: a ginger wig (I'm brunette, yo), a yellow cardigan (and butterflies to sew on), a flowery shirt (which are surprisingly hard to find in women's sizes...!) and a purple backpack. I was so excited...!

Kimmy Schmidt cosplay
Before I left for MCM (yes I went on public transport like this)

Kimmy Schmidt cosplay
Kimmy enjoying Comic Con!
Then something occured to me.

I was going to a convention FILLED with wonderful cosplaying geeks. Iron Man is a thing geeks like. And this is a thing that happens in episode 1:

Kimmy Schmidt and Metal Hero Friend
"THE CIIIIRRRRRCLE OF LIIIIIFE!"
Kimmy has a best friend. His name is Titus and in episode one, he has a job where he dresses up as Iron Man knock-off "Metal Hero Friend", handing out fliers in Times Square. Kimmy sings the Circle of Life with Titus to encourage them to grab life with both hands, resulting in the above frame, used for much of the show's advertising on Netflix.

I knew there would be Iron Man cosplayers at MCM. I made it my mission to recreate that frame.

So I went to MCM London Comic Con dressed as Kimmy Schmidt, and my wonderful friends helped me to get photos with two incredibly accommodating Iron Men to get two fabulous photos:

Iron Man and Kimmy Schmidt Cosplay
This is Matt - he was so confused
Iron Man and Kimmy Schmidt cosplay
This is Ashley - he was also confused, but totally got into it
On the Monday after MCM I put up a tweet sharing these photos and an actual frame of Kimmy Schmidt for reference. It did pretty well but then blew up a couple of days later (after I'd just come out of hospital after an operation! I wondered if I was just dreaming it up on the anaesthetic!!!).

I have no idea what sparked the sudden flux of retweets (I have a feeling it was a combination of tweeters with large followers and Reddit), but it was a wonderful and bizarre experience, and I ended up getting featured on several websites!

Some ee Cards
http://happyplace.someecards.com/superheroes/a-woman-dressed-up-as-the-unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-in-order-to-confuse-iron-man-fans/

Reddit
https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/comments/37kvqn/fan_art_cosplayer_goes_to_con_dressed_as_kimmy/

TheMarySue
http://www.themarysue.com/things-we-saw-today-845/

Fashionably Geek
http://fashionablygeek.com/costumes/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-cosplay/

Kotaku
http://cosplay.kotaku.com/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-cosplay-1708370672

Cheezeburger
http://cheezburger.com/504581/geeky-cosplay-kimmy-schmidt-confuses-iron-man-at-mcm-london

TenEighty
http://teneightymagazine.com/2015/05/30/vidfest-uk-may-2015-recap/

Quick mention on the Cape Crisis podcast (about 45 mins in!)
http://www.lasertimepodcast.com/2015/06/05/cape-crisis-140-faces-of-doom/

The one I am most proud of, however, is actually getting featured on Wired's weekly round up of the Internet:
http://www.wired.com/2015/05/internet-week-charlie-charlie/

They thought I was an unmissable part of the Internet for that week! They called me "the Unbreakable Ellen Rose"! Eep...!

Anyway, it was all weird and wonderful, so thank you, Internet. You're really awesome sometimes.

Go check out the awesome Iron Man Cosplayers who played along and were generally lovely people:

Matt:
MB CustomDesign on Twitter
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/devilishcosplay

Ashley:
Ashley Piper on Twitter
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amgpiper-props/733512820052336

...and I will leave you with my vlog from the day I WAS Kimmy Schmidt.