Since its inception, New York Comic Con has always been a must-visit location for anyone interested in pop culture in almost any sphere, from studio executives, television producers, movie makers, and creatives from every industry to fans, cosplayers, and collectors alike. For four days every year, New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is transformed into a place where new fandoms can be created, new voices can be discovered, and new connections made — and the future of the entertainment industry begins to come together, as a result.

One company playing a significant role in that future — and which made its NYCC debut this past October — is international costuming and prop house Parallel Life Studios. In fact, NYCC 2024 wasn’t simply a New York debut for the company, but its U.S. convention debut as a whole, arriving after having already made quite a name for itself with a client base that would turn other studios green with envy, including Marvel, Coca-Cola, Netflix, and more.

From international heroes to the MCU

The studio, currently based in Montreal, describes itself as a costumier and prop creator that specializes in superheroes, sci-fi, fantasy, and monsters. In 2015, the company started out in France as Replica Industries, a collective of cosplayers and fellow enthusiasts working alongside each other in a shared space with the goal of helping each other build their skills and learn from one another’s experiences. Two years later, having achieved that goal, the group took things to the next level by formally creating what would eventually become Parallel Life Studios as it’s known today: a successful company with an ever-growing presence in multiple areas of the entertainment industry, including film, television and in-person events, with a baptism of fire: the company’s first project ended up being a big-budget Indonesian super-hero movie.

Fittingly for a company that just debuted at New York Comic Con, superheroes actually play a large part in Parallel Life’s portfolio. The company has designed and created super-hero costumes for both a French action-comedy (2021’s Superwho?), as well as a 20-episode Turkish television series (Akinci, also initially released in 2021). Additionally, Parallel Life Studios was responsible for the costumes for two brawling super-heroes in an acclaimed Coca-Cola ad conceived by leading ad agency Wieden+Kennedy — you can watch it here — and… well, I mentioned Marvel before, didn’t I…? Turns out, Parallel Life Studios has a lot of experience with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and the rest of the MCU, and many people reading this will have had first-hand experience of their work.

In 2022, the company was brought in to be part of Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N., the global traveling exhibition featuring replicas of iconic MCU costumes and props, providing its high-end fabrics to the project to replicate the on-screen looks, from the Avengers themselves through supporting heroes and villains from movies like Black Panther, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more. It’s not the only live-event work the company has been involved in, with Parallel Life Studios also enjoying an ongoing relationship with another company which shall remain unnamed, but could certainly be considered to be responsible for some of the Happiest Places on Earth. Countless fans worldwide have had the chance to see Parallel Life Studios’ work for themselves, and come away impressed.

The next next level: North America and beyond

So, what next? The answer to that question, from the point of view of Parallel Life Studios itself, was more recognition and more opportunity — which was why the company decided to move from its native France to Canada last year, in what is clearly the next step of its continual drive towards the next frontier, and the next level. “Our move to North America was the next natural step in our expansion,” explained Parallel Life’s Gilles Mareschal via email. “We’ve been working with clients based in the area for quite some time, and we recognize our services are better suited for the American entertainment landscape. Coming over gets us closer to them, and in so doing, we’re hoping to strengthen our connections in the North American entertainment industry.”

To this end, Parallel Life Studios exhibited at a U.S. convention for the first time, with its extensive New York Comic Con presence. Tabling inside the show’s popular Cosplay Central area, the company will be displaying examples of its costumes and prop creations for people to see in person, with members of the studio on-hand to talk about the company’s process, history, and future plans. Additionally, the company intends to host a number of talks for fans and cosplayers inside the Cosplay Central space.

“Parallel Life Studios’ attendance to New York Comic Con is the perfect opportunity for us to interact and reconnect with our community, as well as meet the people who, hopefully, will want to work with us now that we’re right next door,” Mareschal said about what the company hopes to achieve at the show. “We invite the Comic Con community to come say hi, come see our work on display, and to come geek out about all these wonderful costumes.”

Bringing the entertainment industry to fandom

Although Mareschal specifically mentions potential future collaborators inside the entertainment industry, that isn’t the only target demographic for Parallel Life Studios’ NYCC 2024 appearance… or even the company’s offerings beyond the mid-October event. While Parallel Life’s primary focus is undoubtedly on the entertainment industry, whether onscreen or in the live event space, it’s also a company that cosplayers should be paying a lot of attention to, as — in a nod to the company’s own origins — it also offers pre-fabricated movie-quality fabrics and accessories to help enthusiasts, fans, and others create their ideal look.

The thinking behind this secondary offering is particularly straightforward: thanks to their own experience before they entered the industry, the Parallel Life staff know all too well just how difficult it can be to find or create the sorts of looks that are so easily achieved onscreen. “We knew we couldn’t find this stuff in stores, and that it was a really specific niche, so we set out to make and provide these materials to the wider cosplay community,” said Mareschal, “thereby making accurate replica not only possible, but also accessible.”

In this respect, Parallel Life Studios might be the ultimate embodiment of the New York Comic Con attitude: building a bridge between the fan and professional communities, celebrating the connection between them — and, in fact, being an example of the pathway and continuity between the two. Those who made a point to visit the company inside the Cosplay Central area got a chance not only to get a sneak peek at what the next generation of pop culture is going to look like… but also their own chance to be part of it.

Thank you to Parallel Life Studios for sponsoring this article. Popverse was paid for our time in creating this article.