Thinking about adding a classic Croft cosplay to your wardrobe? We’ve created a pair of cosplay guides for outfits from Lara Croft’s first outing, using details from the Core Design archive.

The Classic Outfit

Looking at the classic ensemble, Lara Croft creator Toby Gard explained that he wanted to give her feminine characteristics to highlight the uniqueness of the character at the time. Core gave her long hair, but the only way they could represent that was to give her a braid. The braid was used in marketing material but was transformed into a bun in-game to save on polygons. To make her seem athletic, Gard gave her a leotard. The bottomless backpack was needed to house both Lara’s equipment and any treasures she found along the way. The boots were practical, and her dual pistols necessary for ferocious foes.

The Manor Outfit

Lara’s physical abilities are top-tier and are honed both out in the field and at home. Complete with a gym, swimming pool, and enough empty space to vault around in, lounging in Croft Manor requires a casual, comfy, and athletic outfit.

Comfy or classic – you’ve got options

We will be creating cosplay guides for the entire series throughout 2021. In the meantime, you can check out some of our previous guides for Rise of the Tomb Raider & Shadow of the Tomb Raider on Flickr!

Cosplay

Tomb Raider (1996)