FUNDAMENTALS

Terms

Competition names may vary by event and venue (including names such as “Cosplay Competition” and “Costume Contest”). For consistency’s sake, in these Guidelines we will refer to all staged competitions as “Masquerades.”

Masquerade

A Masquerade is a staged show where costume entries are presented before an audience and a panel of judges. These presentations may take the form of fashion walks or short time-limited theatrical vignettes. The judges deliberate and then announce awards for the winning entries. Awards may be made for a variety of criteria.

As described in these Guidelines, it is expected that most of the costume entrants in a Masquerade are amateurs, hobbyists, or other enthusiasts of varying skill levels rather than professional costumers.

Masquerade Director

The Masquerade Director is the person or persons in charge of the competition.

Master of Ceremonies

The Master of Ceremonies (MC) is the public face of the Masquerade during the event; some Masquerade Directors may prefer to use the term Host, Announcer, or some other term for this role. The MC is responsible for managing the smooth flow of the Masquerade in real time on-site during the show itself, announcing each entry in turn to the audience, making any necessary other announcements, and filling time with banter if there must be a delay before proceeding with an entry.

The Masquerade Director may also choose to have the Awards announced by the MC once the judges’ deliberations are complete.

Some Masquerade Directors serve this role as well as the backstage management during the Masquerade. Others may choose an additional party as MC to present the event, working in combination with the Masquerade Director and Technical Director/Stage Manager.

Awards/Judging Categories

Most Masquerades announce awards for Presentation, based on how the costumes appear when presented on stage, and Workmanship, based on close examination of the costumes backstage.

Awards for Research and/or Documentation may also be appropriate, particularly for historical and culturally significant costumes, or for visual media-based reproductions.

Some Masquerades also make awards for theatrical components of the presentation itself, such as choreography.

Costume

A Costume is an ensemble of clothing, accessories, props, and wearable art that is. typically, not everyday street wear for the person wearing them on stage, or for the audience viewing them.^[*] The Director may specify what types of costumes are appropriate for their Masquerade.

Original vs Re-creation Costumes

Costumes may be original designs, or re-creations — of an extant costume, or one represented in one of the visual arts.

Note that creating a costume based on a textual description with no visual representation is considered an original design based on or inspired by a literary work, not a re-creation, as there is no visual reference to re-create.

Methods of Costume Creation

Costumes may be created in a variety of ways:

• Constructedfrom raw materials by any number of techniques including sewing. Constructed costumes are usually eligible for both workman­ship and presentation awards.
• Modifiedfrom extant objects and garments. Modified costumes are usually eligible for both workmanship and presentation awards, depending on the degree of modification.
• Assembledfrom “found” or purchased items, where no craftsmanship/construction was involved. Assembled Costumes are usually eligible for Presentation awards, but not for Workmanship.
• Purchasedor Commissioned costumes are purchased outright by the wearer. These costumes are typically not eligible for awards, but may be included in the show as Exhibition Only entries.

Note: A constructed costume made by someone other than the person presenting it on stage may still qualify for competition if the maker is also present at the event and credited as part of the entry. The maker’s skills and experience should be considered when selecting the appropriate Skill Division for the entry.

The Masquerade Director may choose to make exceptions for costumes constructed by family members, especially in the case of Youth entrants.

Alternatively, if a Masquerade is part of an event which offers limited or supporting (non-attending) memberships, the Director may elect to only require that the maker have that more limited membership to qualify a costume for entry.

The Masquerade Director ultimately determines which costumes are allowed in their Masquerade.

Documentation

Documentation is reference material (physical or electronic) that the costumer provides to judges that explain aspects of their entry which may not be immediately apparent on visual inspection. Most often required for re-creation costumes, documentation serves as a visual reference to an existing artwork or garment.

Documentation may be as simple as copies of photos or artwork that illustrate the source of the costume design, whether for re-creation or as inspiration.

Documentation may also demonstrate the research done while designing/creating/assembling the costume, or to explain the techniques used in its creation.

The Masquerade Director determines the require­ments and any limits on documentation for their masquerade, which should be clearly stated in the rules.

Registration

Registration is the process by which costumers enter a masquerade. It may be as simple as a paper signup sheet, or as elaborate as an online form and database system. The Masquerade Director determines the process they will use for their event.

General Respect for Participants

Anyone interacting directly with costumers should do so in a fair and considerate manner. It’s not unusual for costumers to be held in close quarters during the Masquerade process, so respecting personal space and awareness of a person’s comfort should always be paramount. Err on the side of caution when working in the Masquerade environment.

Always ask for permission before getting up close or touching a costumer and/or costume.

This attitude of mutual respect should be encouraged generally, for crew, judges, staff, and all participants.

The ICG encourages the implementation of a robust and well-thought-out Code of Conduct for events as one means to encourage respectful behavior.

The Masquerade Director’s Role

The Masquerade Director Is in Charge

In any Masquerade, the Director’s word is law. Their rules and judgement calls set the tone for the entire Masquerade. A Masquerade Director should be considerate and fair in their interactions with staff and entrants. An important step in this direction is to write down all Masquerade rules and make them available to all entrants and staff members before the event, on the event website and/or through social media, as well as in hard copy at the event.

Creating Rules

These Guidelines can form the basis of a fair and equitable set of Masquerade rules. Many of these Guidelines (such as the definition of “professional costumer”) are intentionally vague. A Masquerade Director should cultivate a sense of good judgment and fairness when developing and applying their particular event’s rules. We encourage Directors to adapt and interpret these Guidelines in the manner that best fits their venue, participants, and community.

Implementing Skill Divisions

If the competition is using Skill Divisions to split the field of entrants, the Masquerade Director is the ultimate arbiter of who enters in which Division. This includes assisting entrants with selecting the appropriate Division for themselves, and handling questions from the judges if they believe an entrant has entered in an inappropriate Division.

Ensuring Fair Judging

A fair competition requires respectable and impartial judges. The Masquerade Director must take care when selecting judges to ensure they are knowledgeable in the field and have appropriate skills to judge craftsmanship and performance aspects. The Director should write instructions for judges and include them in the published rules. This is an important step in establishing a standard of impartiality and transparency.

While judging systems vary, it is good practice to state the judging system being used in an event. For example, if a Masquerade will use a points system, the categories for which points will be awarded and total number of possible points should be standard across all Skill Divisions.

Good judges bring their experience and opinions to the table. Judges should be given the freedom to recognize excellence and achievement in the way they see fit. In general, the Masquerade Director should not mandate award names and quotas, but should leave these decisions to the judges’ discretion. (There may, however, be special awards with specific criteria as determined by the Masquerade Director, the convention, or sponsors.)

The Judges’ Role

So, You’ve Been Asked to Judge a Masquerade. Now What?

Judging a Masquerade is, at minimum, a commitment of at least a few hours during an evening at a convention. On the plus side, judges will see all Masquerade entries from the best possible vantage point. On the minus side, the deliberation process can go quite late, especially if there is a large entry count. It is not unusual for Masquerade Directors to thank judges for this extended commitment by providing amenities such as snacks, water, or food, (especially if the judging process lasts all day, as with a Costume-Con Historical Masquerade).

Workmanship judges have the task of selecting aspects of a costume entry that might be worth noting above other entries, for choice of material, skill of construction or embellishment, or for any other reason. Presentation judges view the complete costume and how it moves or changes across the stage during the Masquerade.

Ideally, Workmanship judges will also have the opportunity to view costumes as they are presented on stage during the Masquerade.

This commitment is to be taken seriously. Most Masquerade entrants have invested time, materials, the cost of travel, and many hours of work to display their artworks. It is the responsibility of the judges’ panel to award that work in appropriate ways. The following recommendations are specifically addressed to judges, whether new or with years of experience.

Each Competition is Unique

Judges should base their opinion of an entry only on what they see on stage or in the workmanship judging area during the Masquerade. Other influences, including comments from the MC, should be disregarded. (If, however, an entry evokes a particularly strong response from the audience on its own merit, that is worth noting by a presentation judge.)

Performance of an entrant or entry in past competitions should not affect judges’ consideration in the event at hand, unless it is directly relevant to the rules of the current competition. Such concerns should be raised with the Masquerade Director.

Judge the Field of Entries Before You

Judging should be based on the quality of entries’ technical workmanship and stage presentation.

Replay/Reset of an Entry

If an entry is replayed due to technical problems or crew error, judges should do their best to disregard the first appearance.

Bias/Conflict of Interest

We recognize that judges selected from the community frequently know and have relationships with entrants who may appear before them.

Judges are expected to avoid conflicts of interest. Judges should inform the Masquerade Director if they may be influenced by a personal or business relationship. This is known as a bias or nepotism clause, and can be exercised by the judge, or required by the Masquerade Director if they know about the relationship prior to judging.

In the event of such a conflict, it is the Masquerade Director’s responsibility to consult with the judging panel to find an appropriate solution. Solutions may include a judge’s recusal from deliberations where the costumer in question is involved, retiring from the judging panel, or being removed entirely. In a situation requiring that a judge be removed from the panel, replacing the judge, or continuing the Masquerade with fewer judges is at the Masquerade Director’s discretion.

Deliberation, Not Discrimination

Masquerade costuming as we practice it is an inclusive art and art is open to interpretation. Judges should be impartial. Discrimination based on race, color, creed, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, body type, (either regarding the costumer or the costumed character) or for any other reason is a detriment to the Masquerade’s inclusive environment. Abuse stifles interpretation, creates a toxic environment, and should not be tolerated or permitted. In the case of protected classes, such as those listed above, there may be legal ramifications as well.

We recommend that a zero-tolerance policy for such discrimination be communicated to Masquerade staff, judges, and participants.

Practice Unimpaired Judging

If a judge is found to be incapacitated due to illness, inebriation, or intoxication, the Masquerade Director should retire or remove the judge from the panel.

Practice Respectful Judging

When interacting directly with costumers (whether in‐person during workmanship judging or after the competition), judges, like Masquerade Directors, are asked to be fair and considerate.

Workmanship Judges must take care when inspecting a costumer’s work. Always ask for permission before getting up close or touching a costumer or costume.

Be Prepared to Move to the Entry for Workmanship Judging

Large costumes, or costumes with limited mobility/visibility, may have difficulty coming to a workmanship judging area. Accommodate those entries by moving to them where they have been placed.

The Masquerade Director may opt to have Workmanship judges move through the Green Room rather than designate a judging area.

Special Considerations for Judging

Costume Re‐creation

Some Masquerade competitions and venues lend themselves to or actively promote the re-creation of costumes from media and art. Sources may include but are not by any means limited to costumes depicted in television or film (whether live‐action or animated), two‐dimensional art (illustrations, cover‐art, or photographs), or three‐dimensional art (sculpture, existing garments, or even such esoteric sources as toys).

Judges are not expected to recognize every re-creation costume and source. Entrants should be encouraged to provide documentation showing or describing the costumes they are re-creating, to aid the judges in evaluating the merits of their entries. (See the Documentation section below.)

Because costume re-creation can draw on skills that differ from those used when creating original designs, judges should consider offering separate competitive awards for re-creation and original designs.

Historical Competitions

There are several ways in which historical competition is different from the Masquerades presented at science fiction, fantasy, anime, and other media‐focused conventions. The recommendations described in this section are based on current practices for the Costume-Con Historical Masquerade.

All entries in a historical competition are expected to have a basis in period costume or design; documentation that supports an entry’s historical origin is suggested or may be required in the Masquerade rules for all entries.  (See the Documentation section below.)

To help the judges evaluate each entry on its own merit, entries may be categorized as either Historical Re-creation (i.e. a faithful reproduction of a period garment) or Historical Interpretation (i.e. a design based on a period garment or style that may intentionally depart from the style of the period).

Re-creation and Interpretation categories may be judged separately at the discretion of the Masquerade Director.

Judging criteria are often very different in historical competitions. An entrant’s Skill Division placement in historical competition is not directly linked to their placement in other Masquerades. For example, a costumer may enter in the Novice Division in the Historical Masquerade at a Costume-Con and in the Journeyman Division elsewhere. As always, placement is at the discretion of the Masquerade Director.

Historical re-creation and living history organizations often grant awards for costuming. These awards may be weighed in considering Skill Division placement (again, at the discretion of the costumer and the Masquerade Director).

Other organizations offer their own international awards. International historical costume awards (for example, the SCA’s Laurel in Costuming) should definitely be considered in placement. It is suggested that when entering a historical competition, the recipient of such an international award compete in the Master Division.

Technical Workmanship

Masquerade entries often include a wide variety of workmanship techniques, including but not limited to sewing, armor crafting, 3D printing, electronic fabrication, and embellishment of all sorts. Judges should be aware that bigger and flashier does not always mean better and more impressive, nor does the use of more advanced and niche technological advancements give a costumer an unfair advantage. Every technique presents its own unique challenges and each entry should be judged by how well those challenges are met.

For example, a fabric arts-based costume may be judged by the quality of seam finishing, lining technique, and pattern drafting or alterations, while a 3D printed prop can be judged by the print quality, layer smoothing and finishing techniques, and whether or not the entrant did their own digital 3D modeling design.

With the constant advancement in technology and its use in costuming, it is not unusual to come across costumes made with materials or techniques with which a judge may be unfamiliar. It is good practice to select judges who specialize in different areas of costuming so that they can field questions from other judges regarding the nature of the materials used.

For example, a judge whose primary focus is fiber arts may not be familiar with thermoplastics or foam crafting, whereas an armor crafter may have little knowledge of fiber arts but be well versed in metal work, chainmail, and other armor styles including thermoplastics and foam. It is essential to ensure that judging remains fair and unbiased regarding workmanship, no matter whether the judge is familiar with the material and technique or not. When in doubt, judges should base awards on the workmanship and appearance or presentation of the costume as appropriate.

Workmanship Judges are encouraged to offer major and competitive awards such as Best Armor or Best Seamster in Division as best fit the entries. (See the section on Awards and Award Naming.)

Large Costumes

A large costume is defined as a costume that exceeds or extends past the size of the costumer’s normal body. Large costumes include designs such as form-fitted costumes with wings, a large suit of foam or thermoplastic armor, a mechanized battle mech or robot, or an immense dragon with puppetry. The Masquerade Director will need to make careful logistical decisions before the Masquerade and take potential risks, navigation, staging, and judging requirements into careful consideration.

Judging of large costumes can be a daunting task; however, it is essential that all costumes be considered on their own individual merits and awarded appropriately. It is imperative that judges take care to weigh the merits of large costumes as they would with costumes made in any other method or specialty.

Documentation

Documentation Requirements

Appropriate documentation can help the judges understand the nature of an entry and influence the judges’ decisions. Entrants should always be encouraged to provide documentation for the judges.

Documentation may be as simple as a single reference photo, a more complete packet of references and progress photos, or even a thesis project providing justification and documentation for each creative decision along the way.

It is the Masquerade Director’s responsibility to ensure that any submitted documentation is given to the judging panels. To provide a level playing field, it is best to specify in the rules the minimum required documentation and maximum recommended documentation, as well as the number of copies required for an entry.

Research and Documentation Awards

It is appropriate for a judge to verify documentation and references, especially those involving costumes from a fandom, culture, or other category with which they are not familiar.

For example, if a judge is unfamiliar with the character that the entrant is portraying, it is acceptable to ask for documentation that may not have been provided, including a photo or visual reference, and it is appropriate for judges to use their own electronic devices to find reference to that character or check citations. They should, however, make absolutely certain any such searches yield correct references (For example: are they looking up the correct incarnation of Doctor Who – which has had over a dozen different actors portray the character?)

Judges must take great care to do the due diligence required to ensure that documentation is carefully reviewed and awarded on its merits.

Costumers presenting large costumes should be encouraged to provide documentation of their fabrication process, including samples of materials so that the judges can accurately form an opinion on the workmanship aspects.

The Masquerade Director may specify that general awards for Research and/or Documentation will be made; in that event, an awards policy like that for workmanship and presentation judging should be implemented. Note that this may entail additional judges or separate judging time from the on-stage competition.

Even in the absence of general documentation awards, Judges may offer special awards for research and documentation as they see fit.

Awards and Award Naming

General Award Philosophy

A consistent award scheme is essential in promoting fairness and equity between different competitions. “Excellence deserves recognition” should be the guiding principle for any judging panel: If an entry shows merit, the costumer(s) should receive an award.

We recommend not having pre-set awards or award quotas for the judging panels (with the exception of special themed or sponsored awards).

In our experience, a rough target where no more than half of the entries receive recognition, including minor awards, works well for most competitions. This is not, however, a hard and fast benchmark.

If a Masquerade has a small contingent of Youth or Young Fan entries, there is a tradition of recognizing all those entries with at least an Honorable Mention award, in the interest of encouraging enthusiasm for entering future competitions. There absolutely can be Competitive and Major awards in the Youth Division, and entries from that Division can and should be considered eligible for Best in Show if they merit such consideration.

Division Reassignment

A competition may have a significantly larger number of entries in a single Skill Division, or perhaps a Division with only a single entry.

Judges may not arbitrarily assign an entry to a higher or lower Skill Division to “even out” the Divisions; any such reassignments should only be made by the Masquerade Director. Rather than arbitrarily “bumping” entries to a higher Skill Division, the judges and Director should consider being more generous with awards in the large Division.

Judges might also suggest to the Masquerade Director that a single-entry division be collapsed together with another Division.

Classes of Awards

The ICG recommends three classes of awards: Competitive Awards (within one or across Divisions), and Major and Minor Awards within each Skill Division, and a standard naming convention for such awards to make it easier for costumers to choose their Skill Division in future competitions. Whether an entry is given an award is at the discretion of the judging panel.

Competitive Awards

Competitive Awards using such titles as “Best in Division” and “Best in Show” are the only awards given to one entry relative to other entries. These awards have the greatest weight when considering an entrant’s Skill Division placement.

Judges should not be obliged to present a competitive award if there is no consensus on a winner. For instance: if they cannot agree on Best in Show, they may state so and decline to specify one. If there is only a single entry in a Skill Division, they may decline to award Best in Division, as there are no entries to compare for that Division.

Major awards

Major Awards do affect future Skill Division placement. We suggest that judging panels use “Best [Descriptor],” “Award for [Descriptor]” or “Excellence in/for [Descriptor],” to clearly identify major awards.

Judge’s Choice or Judges’ Choice may be used as a major award name to recognize an entry without calling out specific characteristics of the costume.

Note: It is generally advised to avoid using a “Best” or “Most” descriptor if the entry is the only one of its type. For example: instead of a “Best Historical Dress” award when there is only a single Historical Dress entry, the award would be better acknowledged as “Excellence in Historical Dress.

Minor Awards

Minor Awards need not be considered for Skill Division placement.

We suggest that judging panels use “Honorable Mention” as part of their name to clearly identify minor awards.

Humor in Award Names

There is a tradition of wordplay in the naming of Masquerade awards, particularly in the case of particularly humorous or evocative entries. We support that tradition, with the proviso that the name also makes clear the nature of the award.

In other words, a serious award with a humorous title is still an award, but an award should not be made as a joke and especially not at the expense of the entrant (or others).

Prizes and Award Presentation

Awards vs Prizes

Awards are the recognition of excellence that the judging panel makes for the field of entries in a Masquerade.

Prizes are whatever physical or monetary acknowledgement a Masquerade presents as a token of that recognition.

Prizes can be as simple as a certificate, ribbon, or trophy. Sometimes they may be items of significant value, whether services, goods, memberships, gift certificates or even money.

A sponsored “special award for xxx” with a prize is generally a reasonable request from its sponsor. A restriction barring possible awards for something in return for funding a competitive cash prize (for instance “no Best Sailor Moon award”) is more problematic. It’s important that the value of prizes not derange the judging process.

Budgetary constraints may limit the number of trophies, ribbons, or other tokens available for prizes. If there are insufficient tokens for all awards, we recommend assigning them to award winners hierarchically, starting with Competitive Awards, then working down through Major and then Minor awards. (For instance, if there are not enough award ribbons for all winners, give them to the “Best in Show” and “Best in Division” entries, then to the Major Award winners.)

Presentation of Awards

It is preferable to announce award results in front of the audience. If possible, each award recipient should be brought back on stage to be acknowledged and presented with the token, if any, of their award.

If time and/or space limitations prevent this, we suggest that:

• Competitive and Major Awards should be given on stage during the awards ceremony and acknowledged with a certificate, trophy, ribbon or other token, in-kind prize goods, or monetary remuneration.
• Minor awards be acknowledged on stage during the awards ceremony, with or without a certificate or other token.
• Certificates, if desired, should be created for all awards. This may not be possible within the time constraints of the Masquerade itself. If it isn’t possible to deliver the certificates with the awards immediately after the Masquerade, arrange for entrants to collect them the next day, or send them to entrants once they are created and signed.
• If a Masquerade includes any particularly young entrants, it is wise to arrange for quick judging of those entries and announcement of any awards earlier in the evening, so that the youngest entrants and their parents/guardians can leave for an earlier bedtime.

Scope of Competition

Masquerades draw a wide variety of entrants. The ICG recognizes four general scopes of competition, based on the geographical range from which they draw. To help determine a costumer’s appropriate Skill Division, the scope of each competition may be taken into consideration when weighing the awards a costumer has received in previous competitions.

Local

Local events may be hosted by libraries, clubs, or conventions with attendees and entrants from a narrow area.

Regional

Costumers and audience members come from the wider region or multiple metropolitan areas participate in the convention.

National

Large events which draw participants and audience from around the country.

International

Any event that draws both entrants and audience from around the country and outside the host country.

Masquerade Directors may determine the scope of their competition based on their attendees and entrants, and advertise the scope as they see fit.

ICG Accredited International Competitions

ICG Accredited International Competitions are International-scope competitions which the ICG has determined are peer events, not only in the range and skill of entries they garner, but in their technical quality of production and entrant support. As of 1 January, 2020, three conventions had their Masquerades so accredited: WorldCon, Costume-Con, and Anime North.

The original version of these Guidelines was developed with those competitions in mind.

More information on this policy is available at https:// www.costume.org/wp/standards-of-practice-for-costume-competitions-requesting-icg-recognition-as-international/

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* This is a deliberately vague generalization. What constitutes a costume for a competition essentially comes down to what the Director accepts as an entry.