Zyphie Friday 2.0: Cosplay and Fashion Show Event

Last Friday, May 29, 2009, a cosplay and fashion show event was held at the Prince of Jaipur at the Fort.  The event was called Zyphie Friday 2.0 and probably the first of its kind.  For those who don't know, Prince of Jaipur is a night club with dancing and drinks.  The event was organized by Jabtitude Productions, Team Eventistas and the UE Red Shieldz.

The entrance for the event was suppose to be PhP100.00.  It was even advertised on their website.  But when I got there, I was asked if I was either on the guest list or a cosplayer.  When I said I was neither, they charged me PhP500.00.  You know, that's a lot of money.  It was as if I was paying for a regular entrance.  It appeared to me that only guest listers and cosplayers paid PhP100.00.  I wish they made that clearer because what they said on the website is that it would be PhP100.00 for the entrance plus PhP50.00 if you are joining the Cosplay Competition. 

Ticket prices clearly stated above but was not followed

The night started with a fashion show from Sugar Free and Blue.  They had two themes.  One was inspired by Japanese street fashion and the other was anime inspired with a cutesy feel to it.  I personally like the items they sell because they're different and not something you would usually see in department stores.  And the stuff they sell seem to appeal to the general anime community.   They also featured two dance groups performances from Krumpinoy and ADT (Ama Dance Troupe) before the cosplay contest actually started.

There was quite a number of cosplayers and costrippers at the event.  Some of them joined the cosplay catwalk.  My favorite is probably War Machine because probably it was the most complicated (and bulkiest too) costume there.  The judges for the event included members of the cosplay community and the marketing manager for of Prince of Jaipur.  The cosplay went by so quickly that I barely noticed it and was only able to get a few shots from the cosplayers. In fact, they didn't even announce the winners.  I just heard later on that it was Lyron Aquino who won in contest.  He cosplayed Asagiri Priss from Bubblegum Crisis.  He deserves it, as he's really good when it comes to costume design.  I just hoped they announced it on stage.  Because right after the cosplay, they just dimmed the lights and played the music so I didn't know what happened. 

Well the night ended off with some drinking and dancing.  I have to say, most of the community is not used to the night club scene.  Just an observation as no one from the community started dancing till we started dancing.  But as the night progressed more people were dancing.  The night was enjoyable though.  From what I understand, they wanted to bring cosplay and anime culture into the mainstream and where one could embrace cosplay as regular fashion.  I like the concept to be honest, they just need to execute it better.  Since this is the first time the organizers produced an anime/cosplay related event, I will forgive them as I did enjoy myself.  I just hope that if they have another similar event they would work on the logistics better.

You can view some of the pictures from the event on the slideshow below.