Kyla Ren on her passion – Interview with a cosplayer

Overwatch 2
August 14, 2019
Mel Hawthorne

Swiss cosplayer and Twitch affiliate Kyla Ren is one of the more talented cosplayers out there. She frequently posts amazing content of herself in various outfits and getups, as well as the occasional bit of pole dancing – a very talented woman! We spoke to her about what she does and asked some questions about her work!

Roadhog Overwatch Cosplay by Kyla Ren

© Kyla Ren

When did you start doing cosplay, and what sparked your passion?

Hello! So, I started doing cosplay two years and a half ago. I started with a big armour saying that it was “just for fun” but when I saw myself for the first time in the costume I just thought “I want to do this for the rest of my life!”!

Do you build/sew your own costumes all by yourself? 

Yes! I build all of my outfits! But for the sewing part, I always go to my amazing grandmother and we work on these parts together, since I’m not all that good at sewing.

How long did it take you to prepare your Doomfist outfit for Riminicomix? 

I spent more than 2 months just to do the hand, and everything else took me another month! The fist was much more difficult than I thought!

Where did you learn how to build your own costumes and how long did it take for you to master the required techniques?

I just spent many years watching crafting videos and tutorials, and when I decided to try it, it was difficult but at least I knew pretty much how to do the basics! But I have soooo many things I still have to improve on!

On several occasions, you’ve taken male characters such as Roadhog, Doomfist, Dr. Junkenstein, and transformed them into females – How do you choose which characters to play and what inspires you?

I have no particular reason on why I often choose male characters, maybe mainly because I love to re-design the costume in a female version! I also love to take mainly badass characters because I like feeling like a badass too, haha! Anyway, most of the time I choose the character because I like it, but I also look at the design of it! For example, I unfortunately haven’t played a lot of WoW, so I didn’t know Deathwing well, the first character I made, but I loved it so, so much, so I just tried to learn more about him and I absolutely loved it!

Dr Junkrat Cosplay by Kyla Ren

© Kyla Ren

Many of your characters come from games – Are you a gamer yourself? What titles do you like playing?

Yes! I’ve loved playing video games since I was a kid. I like movies/anime/manga too, but I’m not really into them. I love so many games, some of my favourites are Skyrim, The Witcher, Fallout and Halo, but I also really like Overwatch, Battlefield, and many, many others!

You’ve recently attended Riminicomix, how was that experience? 

It was really nice, as always, Riminicomix is one of the most fun conventions in Italy in my opinion. It’s an open-air convention, so you can easily move, go to the sea, have fun with friends and meet new people! It feels more like a vacation to me!

How many conventions do you typically attend every year and what’s your favourite?

Hmm, I would say maybe 5-7 conventions! I can’t choose a favourite at the moment, because I wasn’t able to visit conventions out of Switzerland and Italy. For the moment, I would say that I really like the Gamesweek in Milan, because there is a lot of interesting thing!

In recent years the “Cosplay is not Consent” movement surged from a need to safeguard the well-being of cosplayers at conventions – Have you ever felt hassled by unwanted behaviour at one of these events? – If so, how do you fend off unwanted attention?

Unfortunately yes. The best thing you can do in these situations is immediately go to an info or security point and ask for help. And my suggestion to the convention is to actually have someone especially there for these situations!

Doomfits Cosplay by Kyla Ren

© Kyla Ren

We live in an era where Esports pro players, cosplayers and streamers have maximum exposure from social media networks and video platforms like Twitch, Youtube etc. Do you have any favourite social media or tool that you can’t live without?

Well, I really like Instagram even if lately is a bit annoying for the ones who love to create content. And I can’t live without Youtube because it’s where I find all the tutorials I need!

Esports.net: What do you hope to achieve with your Patreon account?

My goal is to improve myself, so I plan to use my Patreon page to be able to keep buying materials, new tools and to attend some courses to improve and learn new skills. For example, I’m saving money to be able to attend a course on “How to use a 3D printer”.

Do you have any favourite Twitch streamers?

No one in particular, I like to watch videos to learn how to improve my skills in game so I watch different people depending on what I search! I prefer to BE the streamer even if, sadly, lately I really don’t have any time to go back to streaming.

We’ve seen your talent in costume making from some of your Instagram posts – Have you ever thought of posting more content on how you build your costumes? 

I’ve tried to record something, but every time I had some troubles with something different! But I’ll try to make some videos as soon as I can, now that I have some new tools to make them better!

Any advice you want to give to anyone new in the world of cosplaying? 

The thing I would love to say is: There are no rules for what is right or wrong in cosplaying. Do whatever makes you feel good, the important thing is to have fun!

You can find Kyla Ren and her cosplay online on the following pages: Instagram, Facebook, Patreon, Twitter, and Twitch. Check out some of her content – she’s a very talented cosplayer indeed!