My goal was to create a more challenging, garment-based project for the first time; additionally, I wanted to find out how to replicate FFXIV’s signature “gold layered” details, as well as bring Exarch to life in a more realistic way with his crystal arm. I wanted to play with textures and drape especially for this.

This entire project was a “stash buster”, thus using fabric already in hand: black cotton velvet, red cotton sateen, white woven cotton. Gold pleather was purchased for all applique work, as well as a long search for the glove fabric—ending in utilizing a four way tie-dye stretch velvet. HTV vinyl was used for the skirt trim as well as embroidery thread for the back applique. Accessories were resin casts purchased, gems were re-cast from masters purchased, and staff was a purchased 3D printed kit but modified and finished by myself.

The black robes are a combination of a self-drafted pleated skirt, a heavily altered blouse with custom butterfly sleeves, and a modified hood pattern. All golden applique parts were created by vectoring textures taken from in-game assets, overlaying on mockups, and trimming and adjusting to size. The skirt trim and belt vectors were pre-existing, shared by another cosplayer, but had to be scaled and adjusted for my smaller size and costume.

Additionally, the whole costume was designed with logistics from the beginning: all “draping” cloths are sewn in one spot and snap in another, allowing for layering adjustments mid-day, as well as disassembly for packing.

The hood consists of four layers of gold pleather, each individually aligned and layered for assembly. Every layer was airbrushed for extra depth before being topstitched together and attached to the hood.

The skirt was constructed similarly, but only two layers due to weight. There was an additional challenge of the curved shape. so the design was drafted in a C shape, to accommodate it before being stitched onto the skirt.

The belt used the previous techniques but introduced Kobracast as an inner layer in order to be pre-heated and curved prior to assembly. The 3 pieces come apart with snaps for transport and snap onto the costume.

The glove followed all techniques listed prior, including Kobracast for a tight fit, with the added logistical challenge of requiring movement. I used velcro to be able to take it off myself, as well as elastic for the hand and finger areas for comfort.

The arm had several iterations before a heavily altered and re-fitted Yaya Han glove pattern was used as the base and tailored to fit. Each gem was shattered with a hammer to create the “organic” look before being glued with E6000. The gold veins are Worbla Crystal Art mixed with metallic acrylics before heating, which keeps the “crystal” effect when cooled and shaped to form the veins, then glued with E6000. A matching undershirt was created, as well as a facial prosthetic, and the arm hooks to the shirt underneath the sleeve with a snap to hold it taut.

The fur was custom dyed from white to match the wig’s dye job (which was done by a friend). Four different dyes were used to achieve the same color, and the ears are wired and poseable; they were also designed to “hold” the hood up and in place to prevent my face being obscured. The tail (not pictured) is also wired and poseable with the same custom dye job.

All accessories were provided by Dangerous Ladies as raw resin kits.

The gems were made by replacing the masters and re-cast in transparent resin, tinted with blue, then glued to blue cellophane to get the “foggy” effect.

The staff was a raw 3D print, finished smooth and assembled; adjustments had to be made to make it collapsible, including splitting a PVC pipe and drilling a hole into the bottom base. It was finished with hammered gold paint and hand-weathered with a black oil wash.

This was my first time dealing with HTV, embroidery, and more complex garment techniques, including custom drafting, draping, and finishing (all edges, even the inside, are overlocked or finished to some degree). Additionally, it was my first time casting and tinting my own gems, working with thermoplastics, and dyeing fur. It was also my first time designing a costume from the start to be able to be disassembled into a suitcase.

A build book is currently in development, but this entire build thread was logged for community sharing and questions here.