Guest Teachers for 2023!

Jez Roth

Jez Roth started sewing at the age of 13 on small crafts, and at the local dance studio, before falling in love with the art of cosplay at Katsucon 1998 (Ed.- a cosplay convention). His work covers Cirque du Soleil. Nightclubs. ONE PIECE. Olympians. Red Carpets. Electric Daisy Carnival. Film. Commercials. Music Videos.

After many years of competing at anime convention masquerades, winning Best in Show 15 times with tailored costumes and heavily choreographed skits, he moved to Las Vegas to work for The Venetian designing the Opera Gowns, eventually landing at Cirque du Soleil’s water spectacular, “O”. Cirque's methods have changed from show to show and the result is fascinating. Some of their work is truly couture and/or historically patterned.

Since leaving Cirque, he currently works freelance out of his own studio – creating everything from mermaids that shoot water, Mirrorball Men, and Golden Fairies that contort through the air, designing for events with A-list celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Eva Langoria, Snoop Dogg, and DJs such as Benny Benassi, Dash Berlin.  His jewelry has even been worn on the red carpet at the Billboard Awards. He has represented the United States at the IOEA Otaku Expo in Japan as a Cosplay Guest, and also helped choose the Canadian World Cosplay  Summit representative for 2016. He believes that the world of costuming  is an endlessly fascinating pursuit-from armor to gowns, giant puppetry to monsters. He shares unique events that educate and involve the community (such as Lip Sync For Your Cosplay and PROJECT: Cosplay!) and has restructured and organized cosplay events for conventions in his goal to make the competition scene more streamlined. His artistic journey came full circle in 2015 when he was hired as an Artistic Consultant for the One Piece: Gold film, working with Toei Animation to give their film a fully realized Las Vegas feel.

In Winter 2019 he launched CosplayVegas/GamerVsTailor, the first School of Cosplay in Las Vegas.  It has grown to offer classes in all disciplines of costume arts as well as support the community through outreach, education, and pass along the universal message that Cosplay is for everyone! 

His current obsession is creating costumes that give the illusion of looking like metal, armor, plastic, but are 100% fabric.

Chantal Filson

Chantal Filson is probably well known to many long-time attendees of Costume College, after attending and teaching for many years. After moving back to New York, purchasing an 1866 Victorian house and refurbishing it, she is now the founder & Dean of Costume-On: An Online Conference for Historical Costuming (www.costumeon.com), a virtual symposium founded in 2020, along with a supplemental series of Master Classes.  After 26 years in costume design for film/television (www.cfilson.com), Chantal is now the Costume Supervisor and speaker at Genesee Country Village & Museum in New York state. A love for puzzles and 19th century fashion led to a pattern line of hats, featuring period styles taken from original sources and not found elsewhere. She likes a little danger in her fashion, and is often researching poisoned gloves or female gang bosses delivering knockouts with fingers stacked with diamond rings. She specializes in the mysteries of 19th century pattern diagrams, millinery, and chihuahua parenting.