We’re spotlighting talent in the cosplay community!
Every month, The Variant showcases cosplayers who display talent, creativity,
and a positive voice within the cosplay community.

It’s June 1st and it’s time for a brand new Cosplay Spotlight!!! 
While we’ve been following zombie.ashes for a hot minute on Instagram, it wasn’t until we saw her last month at Animazment that
we decided to invite her to join the Spotlight. Here’s a little bit about her!!! 

This is Ash, aka zombie.ashes on most social media. I’m a 23 year old cosplayer situated here in North Carolina.
While originally from Iowa I moved to NC with my family back in 2016. I started cosplaying a
short while after that as a way to feel like a kid again since I had to act a
little more responsible while caring for my siblings.

I first started with what is referred to as a closet cosplay to make original characters for some fun tags on Musically,
the app that became TikTok, and just continued to enjoy it. Every time I got to dress up and pretend to be
someone else it made the kid in me so happy. I attended my first con with a friend in a cute OC cosplay and
fell for the cosplay community even more.

Throughout these experiences I also started to find myself and my identity, eventually coming out as gender fluid.
I loved how being someone different just felt comfortable. I hit a tough time in 2018 and stopped cosplaying for a year
to get my mental health back on track but when I returned to cosplay I went all in

I started buying wigs and hand-making cosplays. From thrifting to pattern searching I tried to cosplay on a budget since
as a student, buying pre-made and fancy cosplays was only a dream. As I got a little older and more financially stable
I’ve chosen cosplays, whether bought or handmade, that bring my own fun twists, to cons and to my content. I hope to
continue to bring pure love (and just a little chaos) to my community and all of my friends. 

Two of her shoots, Teen Titans’ Raven and KFC Noelle from Genshin Impact
were shot at Animazement by Sudds and Fox Dream respectively.
We saw her No-Face from Spirited Away at AZ as well but didn’t have time to shoot it. We knew it definitely
needed to be a part of this feature so Tomisina Lynn shot that one at the NC Art Museum, just yesterday in fact,
and they both created some last minute magic. 

WAIT!!…why are you still reading this??
GO CHECK OUT THE PICS!!!!