Black Feathers

A good look at the wing from the back.

For those wandering, here's how the thing works: the skeleton is made of thin aluminum pipes, carefully imitating the actual shape and movements of a real bird's wing. On my back, along the spine, there is the folding mechanism. By pulling a string hidden under my coat, the wing can unfold and open, with quite an impressive 'whoosh!' - it felt damn awesome to do that on stage, I thought the people in the front row would pee their pants! The wing is secured by a harness that goes around my shoulders and under the armpits, with two straps around my waist reinforced by a metal corset that serves to raise the wing and keep it in that position. With only one wing (and damn that sadistic designer who thought that a "one winged angel" would look oh so cool) there's no balance, so it can easily get crooked and fall down - hence, we had to use the corset to keep it straight. I almost laughed my ass off when Dragan, the talented crafting jack of all trades who designed the mechanism, worriedly asked if I'd be able to put up with a tightly laced corset for several hours - many years of rocking Goth high fashion left me well trained for corsets, as tight as they come. Finally, the harness continues down my left leg, with straps that serve as a counterbalance to the wing located on the right shoulder.

The feathers are made of lacquered cardboard and garbage bags. The garbage bags were pure win, as they give that ruffled, realistic look to the wing - not to mention they were dirt cheap.

However, with all my corsetry expertise and the harness that served as the support system, the wing was pretty difficult to wear - as time passed, every atom of my willpower was invested into not standing weirdly or crooked, and behaving as if I can move around with grace and ease. When I finally took the wing off - after a couple of long hours on stage - my shoulders were red and sore from the harness, and my waist so squeezed by the corset it was a shock to feel the internal organs going back to their right places again. In short - yes, the wing is a sweet little torture device from hell.

But dammit, every moment of wearing it was worth it. And I cannot wait to wear it again.

Make sure to check out Dragan's page - there's a lot of awesome stuff there! 

My Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ferashacospla…

Credits:
Main project supporter and chief crafter: Endymion
www.facebook.com/AnimemanijaVl…
Wing designed and constructed by Dragan Lisica
www.facebook.com/craftmaster.l…
Shoulder armor by Shunak and yours truly
Coat by Ana&Marina
www.facebook.com/sheandshedesi…
Makeup by Ljubica Mirković
www.facebook.com/ljubamakeup
Masamune by Ender
Pic by Aleksandar Jovković, edited by Tenshi
www.facebook.com/tenshicosplay…