5. Gold Peach
Cosplayer: Danon
Photographer: Joe Tomasone
Peach needs no introduction. The powerful pink princess has been around since the 1980s and she recently got another game as the headliner: Princess Peach: Showtime. Peach was another of the eight original Mario Kart characters and has featured in every Mario Kart game since.
Danon has been playing Mario Kart 8 for many years, preferring to choose fast, unlockable heavy characters such as the shiny gold version of Princess Peach. Having not seen this version of Peach cosplayed before, she eventually found a suitable fabric and pattern.
Instead of going down the traditional wig route, feeling the fibres of a wig wouldn’t give the right sheen of gold needed, Danon made a structured wig from fabric, stuffing the ponytail and bangs. The suit has since had an upgrade with a spandex rose-gold table and is still one of Danon’s favourite cosplays.
4. Blue Shell
Cosplayer and photographer: Mary O’Kart
The most notorious 'villain' of the Mario Kart franchise is not one of the many available characters, but perhaps the most lethal item in gaming history. Homing in on the leader, there are very few ways to escape it. Many a friendship has come to a head over a Blue Shell destroying a pole position. The spiny shell even appeared in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Mary O’Kart is a Drag Queen from Brighton whose name is inspired by her love for the series of games. Nintendo heavily influences many of her video game drag-inspired looks. O’Kart wanted to bring the Blue Shell to life specifically as she thinks it is an iconic piece of Mario Kart history and wanted to honour the item in her own special way.
Mary designed the idea, and the outfit was then made by Brighton designer Dannie Aston, with wig styled by Wig_bakery.
3. Rainbow Road
Cosplayer: Mythril-Arts
Photographer: dtjaaam
Mario Kart’s infamously hard circuits, these sparkly, sharp-cornered tracks are so well known that Rainbow Road made an appearance in the 2023 Mario Movie. It's Mythril-Arts’s favourite race track in the series, so she decided to bring the road to life in her own stunning design.
A graphic designer by trade, she loves to design cosplays based on outfits that aren’t actual characters. The dress design incorporates all the colours, textures, and feeling of Rainbow Road, after she played through older versions of the games and studied videos of the tumultuous track. It took Mythril-Arts three months to make.
2. Cat Peach and Tanooki Mario
Cosplayers: Cat Peach: Majensta, Tanooki Mario: Sirfightmilk
Photographer: rhealityphotography
Mario and Peach have paired ever since the first Super Mario Bros. game, so they perfectly pair as cosplays. Throughout the series, both Mario and Peach have had multiple unlockable variations, and both Cat Peach and Tanooki Mario appeared in Mario Kart 8 as downloadable characters in the game.
Cat Peach and Tanooki Mario were Majensta’s first handmade cosplays. A lot of skills went into making both outfits, with Majensta spending a year researching resources from various communities on how to make the feet, gloves, tails, and ears.
She also learnt how to style wigs and put everything together through trial and error. The suits themselves are not the only impressive part. The karts were also modified from Halloween costumes by being ripped open, stuffed, and structured with added cardboard and lining.
1. Bowser
Cosplayer and photographer: Hdstiffler
And finally, the big bad Bowser is the number one on this list. Alongside Donkey Kong Jr., Bowser is one of the original heavyweight Mario Kart racers and has been in every main Mario Kart game.
After the success of Cat Peach and Tanooki Mario, Majensta was commissioned to make a Bowser cosplay for Hdstiffler. The costume took an impressive 300 hours to make and you can see why. Not only does Bowser look picture-perfect, but the kart itself has some impressive features. Bowser is a fire-breathing king of the Koopas, so naturally his kart has moving, light-up flames which perfectly add to the character.
Bowser is yet to make it to a convention, but there are plans for this to happen later in the year. So keep an eye out for him on the circuit!