Behind the Scenes: Creating Evandra's Costume (Patreon)

Hey everyone! It’s Eva here, better known as Evandra, the sword-wielding half-elf Fighter in One For All. You may have noticed that our characters had a bit of an outfit update in our ‘Shopping Episode” (definitely unrelated to a certain emporium burning down, and several unconscious bodies in an alleyway.) The behind-the-scenes process of the costume update is far more complicated than a bit of theft and arson though, as we had to create some fresh new looks for our characters, while still keeping the iconic looks that each character has.

When we started out with One For All, I don’t think any of us knew what to expect. Each actor made their own costume, as all three of the party members come from either a cosplay or costuming background. I myself studied theatrical costuming at college, and since then have been working in the theatre creating stage costumes. Naturally, once we got down to filming, little issues started to pop up with our costumes that made things less than comfortable. For me, Evandra’s costume was basically a heat trap! The combination of the heavy, quilted velvet bodice, and the thick foam neck piece meant that I was covered up completely from the neck down. Combine that with a 35-degree-celsius summer day in Australia, and you’ve got yourself one very sweaty elf! Not to mention the risk of heat stroke on those long, sunny film days. 

When it came time to design Evandra’s new look, I wanted to make something that would be a little more comfortable in all seasons, while still remaining practical for the always battle-ready fighter. I took a lot of inspiration from 15th century men’s clothing, with details like quilting and the slashed sleeves. I was also really inspired by the costumes in the Witcher 3, especially Yennefer’s outfit - I really liked how it looked practical, yet still feminine. We decided to remove the large neck piece (called a gorget) and have a more open neckline, so that the costume would breathe a little more. To ensure that our elven Fighter remained appropriately armoured, we decided on some armoured boots to complete the look.

The bodice itself is made from a rich velvet fabric in teal, with a contrasting burn-out velvet panel in front. I replaced the lace-up sleeves of the first version with slashed sleeves, with a cream brocade peeking through. It’s a fairly lightweight garment and made from natural fibres, which means it will be much more comfortable on hot days, but also able to be layered with thermals for cold days (like our recent 11 degree shoot day!)

 The armour is actually made from EVA foam, so that it is lightweight, flexible and not too noisy for the camera. Learning to make foam armour was a new skill for me but Goldie, our Director of Photography, is also a master (foam) armourer! We created the leg pieces with an elvish-inspired design to match the existing pauldrons, which got a fresh paint job. I then created some covers for a pair of cheap boots to create the tall thigh-high boots Evandra wears. 

For the details, I added a silver flask to Evandra’s belt, with a leather oak leaf that I actually purchased from Weta Workshop in New Zealand. I also added an amazing chainmail necklace and earrings by local Sydney artist, Fleur Du Maille. The gloves and fox fur stayed the same, although my fox scarf has unfortunately lost his head! (Too many rough days on set.) I love raiding antique stores and thrift shops for fabulous finds, and the fox, gloves and flask are all antique treasures I was lucky to come across. The devil is in the details!

 What do you think of our character’s fresh looks? Let me know in the comments below, and if you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them!