Meet Cinderys – the Parisian cosplay queen behind that stunning WoW Shadowlands' Sylvanas

January 03, 2023

French cosplayer Cinderys has spent years honing her craft, creating some of the most spectacular World of Warcraft, Diablo and League of Legends cosplays we’ve ever seen.

Few artists have seen a triumphant rise in popularity in the same vein of Parisian cosplayer, Cinderys. Blasting onto the cosplay scene all the way back in 2014, her spectacular outfits have left us all awestruck.

We’ve seen her take to World of Warcraft’s Shadowlands as a stunning version of notorious Forsaken Banshee, Sylvanas, as well as causing chaos on Summoner’s Rift as armor-clad League of Legends support, Leona.

In an exclusive interview with Dexerto, the queen of cosplay delved into all things cosplay and WoW Shadowlands, whilst giving us a snapshot into what the future holds.

Cinderys’ iconic Sylvanas took the world by storm, but her origins are rooted in League of Legends.

Cinderys: Origins

Beginning her gaming career as a rebellious eight-year-old, Cinderys’ first ever experience with Blizzard titles was Warcraft 3. “It’s a PEGI 12, but I was a pretty clever child. So, knowing my mother didn’t want me playing games beyond my age, I hid the PEGI 12 on the box in the shop.

“”Look at him, he’s Arthas, he’s the Lich King, and I love him! I’m in love, mom!'” she recalls with a giggle. “And she said yes!” It’s safe to say that neither her mother or young Cinderys herself could have known the creative talent this purchase would unleash on the world.

It all began in 2013. “I went to a convention and I saw people doing cosplay,” she told Dexerto. “I was like ‘oh gosh, that looks so cool!’ I wanted to be part of that. So I remember I bought some cat ears just to be in the mood of the convention and be a bit in cosplay too!”

A year later, the iconic League of Legends “Get Jinxed” cinematic dropped for the wild yet wonderful ADC, and Cinderys knew that was her moment. “I saw Jinx and I was like ‘I’ll go back to that convention with a real costume.’ By doing this cosplay I discovered that I like to do huge armor parts, weapons and stuff like that – not the sewing! I want to be a badass crazy lady; not just a cute girl in a dress!”

Cinderys has a long history with Blizzard cosplays, including this stunning Frost Lich Jaina.

What is Cinderys favorite ever cosplay?

Asking a cosplayer their favorite ever design is a difficult question, but Cinderys beautifully explains how different cosplays can be perfect for different events.

“When you do photoshooting, it’s near your home, it’s in a comfortable situation, you only wear the costume for a few hours. At conventions it’s so different.” Referring to her award-winning Diablo costume, she recalls, “I did Blizzcon, I won Blizzcon with that costume, it was so awesome to wear that costume because of the convention – but not the costume itself. The costume was such a pain!”

“To answer this question I’d say my Sylvanas. All of them because they are a bit more comfortable. I enjoyed this costume during conventions, during photoshooting, also during some closed events.”

With her Legion Sylvanas being her favorite of the pack, her World of Warcraft cosplays have stunned viewers across the globe. But, has there ever been a cosplay that got the best of her?

Of all her Sylvanas cosplays, Legion is her favorite.

The one that got away

Of all of her spectacular cosplays, there’s only one that never got finished. “There was one costume that was my nightmare, but I never finished it. You’ve never seen a picture of that costume, it does not exist at all! I guess I have a curse with some of my costumes.”

Harkening back to her LoL days, she recalls “I wanted to do another costume from League of Legends, and I wanted to do Kayle with the huge wings! I was going to do that costume for a contest, but in France, it’s not only a catwalk. You have to do reels showing all different scenarios, all of the voice lines, as well as have to prepare all the props for the stage.”

As the competition drew ever closer, things started to get more complex. “It was the last day before the contest, and at the last minute I had to choose whether to not sleep but finish my costume, or to sleep a few hours but go to the contest with missing props. To rush a costume, through all the work and all the pain, to be missing a prop and fail… I said no. It wasn’t worth it.

“It broke my heart, it broke all my love of cosplay. All that money, all that work… But I can say today that I’m really strong. When people say ‘oh my cosplay is crap, I did my cosplay wrong, I failed’ – it’s okay to fail! I fail too! It’s fine, don’t worry!”

Cinderys’ “cursed” Ashe cosplay also turned out to be quite the task.

Cinderys’ advice for budding cosplayers

If that burst of inspiration didn’t want to make you jump into cosplay and strut your stuff, then Cinderys has some more advice for those who seek to dip their toes into the wonderful world of character impersonation.

“Cosplay is really expensive, and I was a student,” she states. “Most of my money was going to pay for my studies and my tiny apartment. Aside from my studies I was working all of the holidays to get money to pay for everything. With the leftover money, I wasn’t buying clothes, or expensive shoes. I was buying stuff for my cosplay!

“My friends were always saying ‘look at your bag,’ because when I was on the subway people were looking because it was a bunch of scrap. People looked at me with my bag and they told me it must be a ‘lucky bag’ because you’re still keeping it. I sacrificed everything for cosplay.”

Despite her hilarious analogy, her message to new cosplayers is simple: “you’re doing it for yourself, if you like your costume that the most important thing.”

Of all her disguises, her Diablo is our favorite!

A glimpse into Cinderys’ cosplay future

As the WoW universe continues to expand, and Diablo IV lurks upon the horizon, Cinderys has plans to keep pushing her cosplays to new heights – literally.

“Before global restrictions were put in place, I wanted to do all the contests. I want to be that girl who won all of the contests in the world! I will build all of the biggest costumes, I’ll ruin my health and it’ll be fine!”

With Monster Hunter and Diablo IV cosplays already in the pipeline, her main focus is her “masterpiece.” While she can’t quite reveal exactly what it is yet, she notes that it’s “the biggest one” she’s ever created.

Excited? We are too. Keep an eagle eye on her Instagram and Twitter for a snapshot of her future endeavors, but until then, tune into her Twitch for all of your cosplay needs!

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