Amongst the darkness, a little princess retains her bubbly smile as she rules over her insect kingdom. From the small crawling ants to the whimsical butterflies, all bugs are welcome. And if the butterfly collection inside her castle wasn’t enough to tell the player she is a lover of bugs, every aspect of Agitha‘s design incorporates insects. For an NPC where it is possible to go the whole game without ever crossing paths with, Princess Agitha has one of the most highly detailed designs. Bringing said design to life is no easy task, but one professional cosplayer, Layze Michelle, challenged herself to create it.
Layze Michelle has created over 30 highly detailed cosplays for over 15 years and is known for her The Legend of Zelda cosplays. In 2018, Layze Michelle took up the challenge to bring Princess Agitha to life. With the highest difficulty challenge on par with Princess Zelda’s designs from Twilight Princess, Hyrule Warriors and Breath of the Wild, and the details of the Sheikah Impa and Purah, Agitha put Layze Michelle’s skills to the test.
Starting with the dress, Layze Michelle combined green linen with white and blue light Tactel fabrics. The texture details across the skirt were painted with fabric paint, while the petals along the trim were hand sewn. While the painted details are a little flat, the lilac trimming the blue fabric combines satin string and plastic pearls, mirroring the risen texture details in Agitha’s high definition design. The dress is finished off with EVA foam butterflies coated in glitter and sealed with a stained glass varnish to stop the glitter from coming loose and coating everything in its wake—we all know of glitter’s tendency to leave its mark everywhere.
No dress would be complete without accessories to back it up, and Layze Michelle does not leave any detail missed. The wig matches Agitha’s hairstyle down to the pointed fringe. Detailed hairbands and a headband borrow inspiration from both Twilight Princess and Hyrule Warriors. Brown gloves crawl up her arms, trimmed with similar details found in the skirt, and even the white socks reflect the stitching in Agitha’s original design.
If creating the outfit wasnn’t challenging enough, Layze Michelle also created Agitha’s signature parasol and basket of bugs. The parasol’s design is a fusion of the parasol seen in Twilight Princess and its twin in Hyrule Warriors. Unfortunatley the design and choice of fabric doesn’t allow for the parasol to open and close. Luckily, Layze Michelle doesn’t have to fight across the battlefield and can use the parasol for what it was designed to do: protect one from the sun. The basket on the other hand does have a little bit of movement with the ability to manipulate the handle to squeeze in as many jars of bugs as one princess can carry.
The Princess of the Insect Kingdom would not be complete without her collection of bugs. Over 40 bugs of various sizes were created from crystal resin. Many of the bugs are hidden in the accessories from her necklace, headband, and earrings. There is also a collection of bugs sitting in the glass pots safe in Agitha’s basket, all of them handmade by Layze Michelle. After creating so many bugs for the cosplay, you would never know that Layze Michelle has a fear of bugs. Moths and caterpillars in particular unsettle her. Nevertheless, she describes Agitha as a pleasant challenge as bugs aren’t as scary when they’re fake.
After three months of work, Layze Michelle achieved her dream of bringing the little princess to life. When it comes to characters from the Legend of Zelda, Agitha is not one many recognize. Many recognize her from Hyrule Warriors before knowing the bug princess had her debut many years before. And, despite her fear for bugs, Agitha has a very special place in Layze Michelle’s heart—a love that shows in the dedication to details and the smiles in her photographs.
