Who had the best costume at STLV15? Let the judges decide in the official costume contest

costumecover

One of the highlights of the Convention was the costume contest held on Saturday, August 8. Every year convention goers share their creativity and enthusiasm with their costume creations. This year Creation invited participants to compete in three categories: ensign (beginner), lieutenant (intermediate), and captain (expert). Contestants had to submit photos of their costumes ahead of time as well as participate in pre-judging. There were six judges that came from a variety of backgrounds such as actors from Star Trek, costuming professionals, and science fields.

In ensign class, Laura Milroy won first place with her entry as Andrea from Star Trek TOS. She said the costume was the first thing she had sewn since the tie she made for her Dad in 9th grade. She wanted her costume to come from TOS. Overall it took her 75 hours to create.

milroy
Picture of one of the winners, Laura Milroy on stage

In lieutenant class, Renee from Las Vegas, Nevada, won first place with her entry as Deela from Star Trek TOS. Renee shared that it took about 4 weeks to make and involved a lot of hand painting.

deela

In captain class, the expert category, Chad Buffett from Seattle Washington, won first place with his Klingon costume. To create his costume he used leather, upholstery, foam, and latex. He repurposed some pirate costume boots and adorned them with horns from a devil costume. He said he has been improving the outfit for the past 12 years.

winners
Expert winners on stage

The judges also recognized some exceptionally creative costumes with their Judge’s Choice Award. Brooke Wilkins led a group of Starfleet Jedi, mashing together the best of both Star Trek and Star Wars. Shawn O’Halloran’s three children, Hailey (8), Harrison (6), and Hayden (4), were also recognized for their amazing Borg and Tribble costumes. Finally, Denise Gross had an incredible recreation of Species 8472 from Star Trek VOY and was recognized by the judges as “Best in Show.”

jedi
Picture of Starfleet Jedi, photo courtesy of Brooke Wilkins

kids
Picture of O’Halloran family, two Borgs and a tribble, photo credit: Ferdinand Teunisse

8472
Species 8472, photo courtesy of Denise Gross

Ensign-beginner

  1. Laura Milroy-Andrea ST:TOS
  2. Aaron Fleeman-Romulan ST:TNG
  3. Michael Melton-Pike ST:TOS

Lieutenant-intermediate

  1. Renee-Deela ST:TOS
  2. Spenser Babb Biernacki-Rayna ST:TOS
  3. Laura Johnson-Starfleet Officer STO

Captain-expert

  1. Chad Buffett-Klingon ST:1-6
  2. Vard McGuire-Phylosian ST:TAS
  3. Jerry Powell-Armored Renegade Super Warrior Borg

Judge’s Choice:

  • Jedi Starfleet Group
  • Rex Wilkins-Darth Borg
  • Joanie Brosas-Orion Slave Leia
  • Marc Restucci-Cardassian Sith
  • Bill Arucan-Ferengi Sith
  • David Cheng-TWOK Starfleet Jedi
  • Michelle Wells-Vulcan Science Starfleet Jedi
  • Brooke Wilkins-Bajoran Command Starfleet Jedi
  • Two Borg and a Tribble-Shawn O’Halloran
  • Hailey O’Halloran-Tribble
  • Harrison O’Halloran-Borg
  • Hayden O’Halloran-Borg

Best in Show:
Denise gross-Species 8472

Judges

  • Lauren Bregman-Founder and CEO Castle Corsetry
  • John Cooley-ST Division ANOVOS
  • Bobak Ferdowsi-NASA Engineer
  • Terry Farrell-Actor ST:DS9
  • Joseph Gatt-Actor STID
  • Mark Allen Shepherd-Actor ST:DS9
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I admire the dedication of these fans who invested such energy in these amazing costumes. Kudos to all participants, and congrats to the winners!

Well done everyone! Nice work.

I’m always impressed by the effort these people go to………except those who go as Borg. The never look like on screen Borg and seem to think that the trick is just to get old junk and lights and stick it all on a jump suit. I’d love to see someone actually try and replicate, for instance, a First Contact Borg suit.

LOL, that Star Wars #1 Fan shirt is amazing.

Pretty cool stuff this year! Nice work, everyone!!

@4 LOL! I am indeed a fan of both “Star” franchises (the CBS-owned “Trek” and the Disney-owned “Wars”).