Illustar Fes 11, held on 23–24 May at KINTEX Hall 2 in Ilsan. For Mystic Muse this one was a little special. We ran an official collaboration booth built with STUDIOBSIDE's Star Savior, and at the same time sent an exclusive cosplayer to the Outerplane booth elsewhere in the same hall. Running two collaborations at once within a single event was a first for us.
A world covered by the Void, and the saviors of the stars descend
The concept for the Star Savior booth was the Lavista Advent Festival. We brought the game's world to life in the booth, designing the space so visitors would feel they had stepped into a scene from it. At the photo zone, "Lavista Gate," they took photos with cosplayers who had descended as characters; at the counter, "Arcana Standard Observation," they drew random photo cards borrowing the game's own gacha element. Infusing every piece of merchandise and every corner of the space with the game's identity — that was the heart of this booth's planning.
Seven cosplayers took part. Five exclusives — Kim Yeonji (Fay), On Yanggaeng (Serpan), Jeong Dabyeol (Gille), Jeong Jenny (Tiria), Jamong (Frey) — plus guest cosplayer Shim Yui (Charle) and global cosplayer Kika (Epindel), who came from Japan. It was also our first attempt at having domestic exclusives, a guest and an overseas cosplayer bring a single shared world to life together in one booth.
Twice a day, the hour of descent
The booth's highlight was "Descent of the Saviors," performed twice a day. As all seven cosplayers gathered in one place to the game's music, visitors crowded in front of the booth and a free photo session followed. Outside those hours the photo zone, cheki and counter events ran without pause on schedule. Photo books and photo card sets by character, and a collaboration-only cheki printed with the joint Mystic Muse and Star Savior logo — the merchandise prepared for this event also met the fans who came.
The weeks spent backstage
All of it was the result of preparation that began weeks before. Once character assignments were fixed, costume production started first. Carrying a game illustration over into a real garment leaves nothing untouched, from choosing fabric and color to attaching a single ornament. Wigs were prepared separately for each character alongside the costumes. For a wig to hold up in close-up shots, its color and silhouette must be cut and styled to match the character.
Same hours, a different booth
While the Star Savior booth was running, exclusive cosplayer Mio was meeting fans as "Demiurgos Luna" at the Outerplane booth in the same hall.
Being sent out doesn't mean only the person travels. The dispatched side prepared just as thoroughly, from character costume production to a studio shoot beforehand.
Planning and running a collaboration booth yourself, and sending a cosplayer to a game company's booth, are entirely different kinds of work. Being able to do both at the same time and in the same place means our operational range has widened that much.
The two days on site ran to schedule without a gap. Through a program that carried on into the photo zone, a signing session and the VIP zone, the front of the booth filled with camera-holding fans at every one of Mio's photo sessions. It was also a chance to see how far a single dispatched cosplayer can energize a game company's booth.
A team that builds booths, and an agency that sends cosplayers. Illustar Fes 11 was the stage where Mystic Muse proved both roles at once.