26/08/2026
At Otamatsuri (Otamatsuri) in Nairobi, cosplay begins long before anyone steps in front of a camera. Some of the costumes are worked out with whatever is available, from cardboard and PVC pipe to fabric, paint and wigs, and the pleasure is in seeing how those materials are pushed into something much more elaborate than they were meant to become.
Around 4,000 people came through the convention this year, but the scale of the crowd is almost beside the point. What stayed with us was the amount of making involved, and the way a global fandom is being interpreted through the hands, budgets and imaginations of people in Nairobi.
Photos: Daiga_Creations
