The queen of cosplay, Yaya Han, will be coming to Holiday Matsuri 2022!

Yaya Han® is one of only few cosplayers in the world to build a business in this hobbyist community, and even after a decade of success, she strives to stay true to what got her into this field originally – fun and creativity. To this day, Yaya has made over 375 costumes, appeared as a Guest at hundreds of events all over the globe, and been featured in two US Network TV Shows. Yaya is the first cosplayer to create a cosplay-focused fabric line for Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores; the first to design a cosplay patterns line for a major pattern company, McCall Patterns; and the first cosplayer to launch a sewing machine with Bernina Sewing Machine Company.

Yaya Han discovered cosplay in 1999, when it was still a small, quirky section of the geek-fandom. Armed with a used $40 sewing machine, Yaya threw herself into making costumes headfirst, and quickly absorbed the heart and soul of costume design and creation. To this day, Yaya has made over 375 personal costumes in every fandom genre imaginable, as well as her own original designs. Her long-standing consistency of creating intricate and lavish costumes has made her a Craftsmanship Icon in the cosplay world, and inspired countless people to get into cosplay. She has been invited to appear as a Guest, Panelist, Judge, Performer and Host to hundreds of conventions and events all over the world.

Over the years, Yaya has played a pivotal role in introducing cosplay to the mainstream audience. She has been a Guest Judge on 3 seasons of TBS TV Network’s “King of the Nerds” competition show, starred in the Syfy TV Network’s Docu-Series “Heroes of Cosplay”, and been interviewed countless times by media outlets about fandom and cosplay. Last year, Yaya lent her image to the comic book series “Wonderous 2: The Yaya Han Saga”, produced by Lionforge Comics, and became a legitimate superhero in the comic book world.

Yaya’s current focus is on making tools and materials more available to the cosplay community, through collaborations with global creative companies. She has been designing a popular line of cosplay sewing patterns with The McCall Pattern Company. Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Stores released the Cosplay by Yaya Han fabric line, making high quality cosplay-centric materials easily accessible to professionals, and amateur users in North America. Most recently, Yaya became a Brand Ambassador for the Bernina Sewing Machine Company and helped them launch the new series of B500 machines.

Commercial ventures aside, Yaya often participates in charitable projects involving cosplay, and strives to be a positive force in the community. Through hard work, unmatched passion and infectious enthusiasm, Yaya has helped cosplay gain respect and integrity as an artform in the fandom world and art communities, and her decade long campaign for creativity has helped raise Cosplay to the standards we know today. Everyday, Yaya continues to pave the path for the beloved art and lifestyle we know as Cosplay.