17 April 2023
Cosplay and Pyrkon have always been like warm apple pie and ice cream to each other – everyone knows they taste best together! With their work, often lasting many months, cosplayers turn the halls of the Poznań fair into a fairy-tale, wonderful world. It is thanks to them that you can fully immerse yourself in your favorite universes, meet your beloved character from the series, game or manga. To their delight and to encourage more people to reach for costumes, a full-size Cosplay Zone was created in Hall 7A!
Strefa Zero na Pyrkonie
Cosplay Contests
Not one, but two cosplay competitions! The Masquerade with qualifiers for the Extreme Cosplay Gathering Championship will take place on Saturday in the Earth Hall. You can watch the Own Design Competition on Friday at the Cosplay Stage in the Cosplay Zone (Hall 7A). All cosplayers are welcome to apply!
Pyrkon 2026 Foto Cosplay contest
If in your cosplay photography you’re looking for something more than just a perfectly recreated costume, this contest is for you. It’s a space for creators who boldly experiment with light, play with emotions, and build stories captured within a single frame.
Attractions at Pyrkon:
OPEN COSPLAY SHOWS
We realize that competitions can be quite a challenge, especially for beginner cosplayers. Therefore, although we encourage everyone to participate in the Masquerade and our Own Design Competition, daily open cosplay shows have been created. Visit the Cosplay Stage in Hall 7A at the scheduled time and walk around the catwalk, getting a well-deserved ovation! We do not conduct any preregistrations!
COSPITAL
We understand perfectly well that it is not possible to sew pockets deep enough to fit glue and a needle with thread in each costume, so here we are entering with a first aid station equipped with the necessary tools and materials. Cospital is free and open to everyone.
Sewing, cutting and design support will be provided by the sewing school team. From basic lessons on how to use the sewing machine to complex tailoring challenges, specialists will guide, explain, help, and, if necessary, repair what needs repairing. In terms of thermoplastics, tools, gluing, grinding and any props that got out of control, free help will be provided by the well-known cosplayer company Cosplay Craft.
COSPLAY MEETS & GREETS
High five, take a picture and get advice on how to make costumes even better! We have invited creators from Poland and abroad, who will be available in the Cosplay Zone every day. Autographs are free, but you can buy signed photos and cosplayers’ posters on-site. Autograph signings are not subject to registration. The schedule for those will appear before Pyrkon.

LIVE DRAWING
During live drawing, comic artists and other fantastic creators will face the challenge of producing an illustration for which guests from the Cosplay Zone and cosplayers awarded in Pyrkon competitions will pose.
All illustrations created during the event will be auctioned after Pyrkon, and the proceeds will be donated to fantastic charitable causes.
Guests of this year’s edition: Goran Sudžuka, Katarzyna Witerscheim, Wonder

WASTED COUTURE COSTUME EXHIBITION
An exhibition opening featuring two spectacular costumes created by the Wasted Couture brand – designs that balance on the edge of art, fashion, and the world of fantasy.
During the event, the audience will be able to see two monumental figures up close – like heroines taken from the pages of science fiction novels and the mythology of the future. Each costume tells its own story, inspired by literature, symbolism, and archetypes of feminine strength.
The exhibition opening has the character of an art installation, designed to capture the attention of festival participants and encourage photography and sharing of the event on social media.
Cosplay Zone Guests:

Kula Cosplay – a cosplayer specializing in outfits inspired by the Assassin’s Creed series. Winner of the Masquerade at Pyrkon 2024. He represented Poland during the World Championships Extreme Cosplay Gathering 2024 with the finals in Paris. At the International Cosplay League 2022 finals in Madrid, he won the vice-championship in the solo category.
Despite his great love for tailoring, he loves to combine various techniques to create a new, original quality. He pays the greatest attention to details as well as to compliance with the reference. He likes to support novice cosplayers, and considers good feedback after the competition to be the most important aspect in a cosplayer’s career.

Yuji Koi – she is a cosplayer, model and costume designer. She comes from Vietnam and currently lives in Switzerland. Since 2014, she has been doing cosplay stage performances and takes part in numerous competitions in which she has won many awards (including the Vietnamese representative at the World Cosplay Summit 2017, 1st place in the anime category at Dubai Comic-Con, Best Coser of the Year in Vietnam for three years in a row: 2014, 2015 and 2016, solo representative of Switzerland at ECG 2023, etc.).
She is known for her ability to bring many popular characters to life and for her huge involvement in cosplay acting. Thanks to this, she travels around the world, participating in conventions as a guest and juror of prestigious international cosplay competitions, such as the ECG qualifiers and the WCS qualifiers and finals. In addition, she had the opportunity to work with companies such as Riot Games, HoYoVerse, Sharkmob, Tencent, Vinagame and Com2uS.

Helper – began his journey in costume making with medieval historical reenactment, and made his cosplay stage debut at the Maskarada 2024. Although he has recently become fascinated with 3D modeling and printing, he feels most at home in the world of fabrics and threads, so high-quality sewing and the right choice of materials are his top priorities.
He is passionate about educating others, so he will be happy to answer many of your questions! He represented Poland at Korea’s GICOF in 2025 and will soon represent it at ECG 2026.

Nadyasonika – a professional cosplayer and content creator, known for her artistic approach to pop-culture, which she’s been implementing since the beginning of her career in 2010. Her influence on the cosplay community knows no bounds. She’s been a guest, panelist and member of the jury in countless events in 150+ cities in over 20 countries around the world.
Nadyasonika has cemented her place as one of the top cosplay artists in the world. Her commitment and skill shine through both her impressive costumes she crafts for herself, as well as the designs she makes for other creators or brands in the industry. Her eye for quality and creativity are second to none, which made her one of the most influential people in the world of cosplay.

Kuba Dobrenko Łagunionok – costume and stage designer with over a decade of experience, working at the intersection of film and game industries with immersive events. His specialty is designing and creating custom outfits – from historical and fantasy, to technically advanced builds prepared to be scanned in 3D. He collaborated on the Polish opening of Netflix in Warsaw, and his creations were presented at such shows like the Osaka Expo. He designed and prepped costumes for 3D scans for the Crimson Desert game. He has also created outfits for CD PROJEKT RED or for the Epic Game Music Show.
His works appeared in Polish movies: Scarborn, Wet Monday, LARP THE MOVIE and in the latest adaptation of a classic Polish novel, The Doll (Lalka). Dobrenko has also designed costumes and sets for the Discovery group for “The Mission” project by G.F. Darwin (Misja – kosmiczna seria Darwina). He has also created the uniforms for Krystalium LARP and he’s been working on Witcher-inspired outfits for over a decade – both for events and commercial productions.

Ayo – a Polish cosplayer and vocalist. You may know her from TikTok, YouTube, many convention stages or her Mam Talent! (Poland’s Got Talent) performance. In cosplay she loves makeup, working with EVA foam, and stage performance, but she likes to expand all the skills needed for costume creation. A winner of multiple cosplay competitions, she represented Poland at GICOF 2025 and will do so again soon – at the upcoming ECG 2026.

Pugoffka – a cosplayer and photographer from Ukraine. Her journey with photography began in 2009 and since then she has done thousands of photoshoots. Thanks to her work, she had a chance to travel around the world and take part in over 70 international events as an invited guest.
Apart from taking pictures, she also loves sharing what she knows. Pugoffka regularly teaches photography classes, driven by her passion for sharing her experience and inspiring others to develop their own creative paths. She loves to create her own costumes, working with materials such as EVA foam while building props and elements of armour. She is also developing her skills in exploring various painting techniques and wig styling.
She owns a photography studio for cosplayers, where she constantly develops new sets and locations to help creators realise their vision in the form of photography. She actively promotes cosplay both in Ukraine and abroad.

Omaru – also known as James, is a Filipino photographer and videographer based in Paris, France. Since discovering his passion for photography in 2008, he has dedicated himself to capturing authentic and dynamic visual stories through both photo and video.
Actively involved in the French cosplay community since 2009, Omaru began producing cosplay videos in 2010, creating a body of work that has reached wide audiences and gained strong recognition over the years.
Throughout his career, he has collaborated with major gaming brands such as Riot Games, Bethesda, Ubisoft, and Activision Blizzard, delivering high-quality visual content that blends creativity with strong brand identity.
Now working as a freelance creative across France and Europe, he continues to partner with brands and artists to produce compelling imagery. Known for his signature use of natural light, his style combines atmosphere, emotion, and realism — bringing each subject to life with a cinematic touch.
Always seeking new inspiration, Omaru regularly attends major European and international conventions to explore and document the ever-evolving global cosplay scene.

Natalia Zahora – a cosplay photographer, for many years involved in the manga and fantasy communities. She began in 2004 as a cosplayer, but over time, she became increasingly interested in photography, and that hobby evolved into taking pictures of other creators. Throughout the years, she was also involved in the fandom: co-organizing manga conventions and judging cosplay and cosplay photography competitions.
In 2008, Zahora with her husband started the first cosplay photostudio in Poland that operates at conventions. Now she is working as a graphic designer and photographer, continuing to take pictures of cosplay, where she combines her experience as a cosplayer with the eye of a visual artist. This allows her to capture not only the costume, but also the atmosphere and story of her subject. Her work can be viewed across social media.

Carolin “Wønder” Mrugała – an exceptionally versatile artist. She has been active in the music and dubbing industries for years, works as a cosplayer, and is also an online content creator. As a vocalist and composer, she creates unique audio-visual works, combining music, gaming, and fantasy into a single, unforgettable narrative.
She has collaborated with industry giants such as Riot Games, Tencent, and CD PROJEKT RED, winning the hearts of fans worldwide. Her voice can be heard in original game-inspired tracks such as Rebel and Morza Gniew, as well as in the Polish dub of Arcane, where she voiced Felicia.
Her experience in LARP and RPG communities further enriches her creative work – she is passionate about experiences that allow people to step into worlds of imagination.
Summary of the Cosplay Zone at Pyrkon 2025
Cosplay Zone in the camera lens: