Meet Liam Cs | Costumer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Liam Cs and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Liam, what principle do you value most?
There are two values that act as cornerstones to my work; one is intentional, the other is more inherent.

Firstly, I love learning. I have a strong professional science background and love being able to blend art and science, and especially love the experimentation of “if-thens” in creative spaces. With every piece that I work on, I try to push myself into a new space that I have not been before – that’s anything from expanding my own skill set to trying new materials or finding efficiencies and making my process easier. There’s a lot of risk with that, but that’s just part of the process. I don’t stick the landing every time. The difference between experimentation and fumbling is good note taking and being self aware enough to refer to those notes.

Secondly, costume design and fan costuming is all art therapy for me. It validates kid-me and heals current-me. It’s been incredibly healing to look back at kid-me and say, “look, we made it. We’re doing it. Against all odds, we’re still here and doing the thing we love.” It’s a good escape for current-me as it gives me complete and total control over a goal that I have set out exclusively for myself. I suffer from severe PTSD and this is one of the only outlets I have where I can completely turn off my brain and process while focusing on a paintjob, seven feet of hand stitching, or creative problem solving.

It’s an amazing experience to get to have all of these values and missions coalesce in a creative capacity.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a costume designer and fabricator based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I focus on fan-costumes in numerous IPs, with special attention to the Star Wars costume community. I have jokingly mentioned that I “turn landscapes into Star Wars costumes,” but it’s kind of the truth.

This started for me in 2010 when my parents took me and my siblings to Star Wars Weekends in Disneyworld Orlando. I was a freshman in high school. Star Wars Weekends was my first brush with “fandom” at a near professional scale. Seeing fans in their screen-grade costumes, many of which had been made in their own garages, completely captivated me as a totally fresh concept. I was hooked.

Around the same time, SyFy’s Face-Off and Bravo’s Project Runway were airing simultaneously. Fueled by a rampant need for participatory fandom and watching the incredible creative talents of these respective shows traced a trajectory in costuming that I was completely enthralled by – and ultimately did not follow for many years.

I went to college to study entomology in 2014. It was a field that fascinated me (and still does – I love beekeeping!) but was ultimately not what I wanted to do with myself professionally. I wanted to build costumes, especially those with hard surfaces (read: armor) and rooted in science fiction or fantasy themes.

Despite my arduous studies and waffling financial state I continued to explore costuming where I could. The Repurpose Project, a burgeoning reuse store in Gainesville, Florida, had art supplies on the cheap. I salvaged materials from the art & architecture school dumpsters. I built my first props and armor pieces (a blaster rifle and a Mandalorian helmet) out of basically garbage. I was determined, and against all odds, continued to support this project.

After college I spent a few years away from costuming altogether; I started a career in parks and recreation management, which took me to some really amazing places. As I traveled I took a lot of inspiration from the national parks and forests that I was working on; entire sketchbooks were filled with scribbles and notes of costumes and characters that would fit into these grand, cinematic settings.

In 2021 I moved to Albuquerque, NM on a more permanent basis. As I had done with other parks and forests, I continued to take lots of inspiration from my surroundings. Greater permanence allowed me to take up costuming again and actually build the things that I had designed. I had access to a community makerspace, Quelab, which became an invaluable asset in my process and workflow. The costumes and props that I have built since 2021 have all been deeply rooted in and inspired by the Four Corners region and southwestern ecosystems, plants and animals, and experiences.

The first costume I finished was a broad love letter to the Southwest, incorporating warm colors and earthy greens into a “ranger” build. The props and accessories were deeply inspired by my professional experiences in backcountry mapping and wilderness trails work. Once that costume was “finished,” I began exploring other themes; I’ve finished mannequin builds inspired by the tundra peaks of the Rockies, helmets riffing off of insect species I have worked with extensively, and collaborative builds with other artists that have been rooted in the landscapes here. When building these characters and costumes, I want them to feel lived in and inhabited; I want them to feel real, and as if their armor and uniforms have been informed by their surroundings. I carry color swatches with me almost everywhere so that I can color-match as needed. I take photos of everything, from weathered lamp posts to cracked paint finishes and industrial grime. I have not only become more participatory in the fandoms that I love through costume building, but more participatory in life itself.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
In the context of this interview and my costuming work, I would take them to the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico. They are one of the most captivating landscapes I have ever seen and continue to be a wellspring of inspiration for me and my costuming work.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
A huge shout-out to my parents – self-defined enabling machines who gave me the freedom to explore whatever art or science I wanted without confines or limits. I would not be in this space without the love of learning and of making that they passed down to me.

Instagram: @tfacecowboy

Other: ahdoh4outfitters@gmail.com