Croft Couture #34: Lilia
The Tomb Raider community is full of talented artists, entertainers, and phenomenal cosplay talent. “Croft Couture” aims to showcase these dedicated fans, and give Lara costumers a spot to share their experiences while paying tribute to gaming’s leading lady.
Hailing from Argentina, Lilia first became a fan of Tomb Raider after the 2013 reboot,seeing a bit of herself reflected in Lara. A love for adventure (and the ability to survive unexpected storms!) is one of the many similarities she shares with Lara Croft. Lilia also loves the outdoors, exploration, and is willing to travel miles and miles in costume to scout the perfect location for a photo. Check out her photos above and her interview below!
Fast Stats
- Name: Lilia Lemoine (Lady Lemon)
- Country: Argentina
- Occupation: Actress, model, cosplayer.
- Fan Since: 2013
- Favorite Tomb Raider Game: Reborn
- Favorite Tomb Raider Character (Non-Lara): Conrad Roth
- First Lara Croft Cosplay: Reborn
- Favorite Lara Croft Cosplay: Reborn
- Number of Lara Croft Cosplays: 2
- Future Lara Croft Cosplay: I’m waiting for new artwork to come out!
Q&A
What first drew you to the Tomb Raider franchise, and what initially inspired you to cosplay as Lara Croft?
I wasn’t a fan of the Tomb Raider series at first. I missed the PlayStation era, and then I didn’t like her overall look. I was more into RPGs. So when I saw the new Reborn Lara, it called my attention since they made her more natural, more “real”.
What was your very first Lara Croft costume?
Tomb Raider Reborn
What’s been your favorite Lara Croft costume?
After making the Reborn costume I had to take a look to every outfit, and my favorite is the one from Underworld. It’s not comfortable to go on adventure with your belly free, but well… it looks good.
Do you plan to make any additional Lara Croft costumes in the future?
Yes I will! But I’m waiting for the right one. I might do the one from Underworld, but only for the looks! I’ve done one also from an artwork that never came true, in fact, I used it in our session in the pyramids; it’s similar to the one in Reborn, but with some color and equipment differences.
Which Lara costume or prop was the most difficult to construct? Any lessons learned you’d like to share?
It seems easy, because it’s only “a shirt and trousers”, but it’s very difficult because of that! If you don’t pay attention to details, the final outcome will not look like the real thing! And one advice, even if you have brown hair, still wear a wig, because real hair will never behave the same way the 3D of a game does. ;)
And if you’re shooting photos in the wild (as I did) you need to have it always looking more-or-less always the same. Humidity, wind and dirt will change your real hair in a second.
Lara Croft’s lifestyle is full of intrigue and adventure. Do you have any memorable photoshoots or convention appearances that pay tribute to Lara’s lifestyle? Have you traveled anywhere exotic that made you feel like a fellow adventurer?
Well… yes. I’m some kind of an adventurer myself, I even got lost into a mountain during a storm… in the middle of the night. And I survived. I love camping, hiking, and simply following rivers. I like climbing rocks and spend the night in a tent. It’s hard to find companions for those kinds of adventures, and it could be dangerous to do it on your own, so I couldn’t do it as much as I wanted. Even the photoshoots with Photographes Sans Frontieres were a challenge. We walked several miles to find every spot, and I had to wear my costume all the time. We went to parks, climbed wet rocks and… pyramids! One time I even threw myself to the Pacific Ocean to get a nice shot. Fernando (my bf and photographer) got scared and made me come out since it was all full of rocks XD
We did several sessions, the first one was in Mexico, in the beach and then in the middle of the jungle. The second time in Mexico we went to several archaeological sites. And the third one was in Argentina, in the mountain region of Mendoza, and we went on the dry season. I even found a horse to do some shoots, but it didn’t turn out really well since the horse didn’t have really nice colors. It was also missing an ear and…the owner added an awful green strap that… well, the poses were nice, but it didn’t look really fierce! XD
What about Lara’s physical strength or mental prowess most inspires you? Has this, or your desire to cosplay Lara, influenced your daily life?
I love the kind of women that survives against all odds and becomes stronger (that’s why I loved Reborn). I also like physical challenges, I’m into martial arts as well, so I feel identified with all bad ass characters around, and Lara represents that very well. Besides she is smart, she might be a nerd. I wanted to be like “Indiana Jones” when I was a little girl :)
