Ken Tanabe | Halloween 2009: Purple Warrior

Halloween 2009: Purple Warrior

This costume is inspired by warrior aesthetics from multiple cultures including the Lakota Sioux, the Zulu, and Japanese ninjas. I combined elements from each and interpreted them with post industrial materials (mostly plastic). I imagined a post apocalyptic world where tribal warriors dress adorn themselves with industrial materials that are no longer manufactured, yet more available than their organic counterparts.

MATERIALS:
Bought: 20 feet of clear vinyl tubing ($5), 500 purple zip ties ($30 for bag of 1000), one yard of purple shirting fabric ($10). Already owned: black turtleneck, black jeans, black Fessura shoes, one coat hanger, steel wire, scissors.

Halloween Costumes

Halloween Rules

1. Make it yourself.
This is the best way to be original. A store bought costume is better than no costume, but you can do better than that!

2. Use your whole body.
If you wear your usual clothes and throw on a mask, is that really a costume? Go from head to toe.

3. Keep it cheap.
Anybody can spend a zillion dollars on a costume and look cool. The real challenge is making it happen on a budget.

4. Don’t rely on recognition.
Do not dress as a celebrity or a movie character. Standard characters like vampires are off-limits, too.

5. Don’t rely on sex.
Don’t get me wrong – being sexy is great and all. Just don’t rely on it to make your costume work.

6. Don’t rely on horror.
Sure, blood and guts are a Halloween tradition, but don’t feel limited. Take advantage of the day you can wear anything!

Do you make Halloween costumes that follow these rules? If so, contact me.