“It can be hard to know what to invest in too when you're playing all the parts.”

What were your early influences in costume and styling?

I wasn't fashion focused much until later in my college years, and even then I was much more drawn to costume than retail/brand clothing. I think I was always attracted to odd fantasy garments you could see in film or video games, so when I discovered drag it kind of opened the door to incorporate those interests when learning to sew. I can say the artist that most impacted me at the time was Hungry, an artist in Berlin.

What is your history and relationship with gaming?

Playing a 2D Sonic the Hedgehog is one of my earliest memories. Gaming content can be interesting as a creative reference because everything is a hybrid of imagination and common reality. Outfits can be very wild and unrealistic but they still have to describe someone's role in the world so the player knows what's happening. There's a lot of room for exploration, and commonly, a non-playing-character’s outfit or accessory will grab your extended attention for no other reason than that it's odd but recognizable. You can also play games like the Witcher where the costuming is relatively accurate to a certain period of history, which is also interesting to experience. Playing through the Witcher 3 definitely led to quite a few recent costumes which I now have no idea what to do with, unless I make an appearance at the Irwindale Renaissance Fair.

What would be your Spice Girl name and how does that reflect your personality?

Dazed Spice. Or Spacey Spice? Maybe better, Absent Spice. I would only be there every once and a while.

It feels stressful! Looking at pictures of yourself is rough on its own, let alone 300 of the same shot. Truthfully though I'm so much more comfortable alone creatively. There are so many little factors going into a portrait when I'm trying to both chase a visual concept and document a garment. I would rather spend 6-8 hours trying to do it myself than encumber someone else with modeling or taking the picture. When I think of what would make the job easier it's bigger spaces or better equipment over having helping hands, but maybe I'd be surprised with the latter. It can be hard to know what to invest in too when you're playing all the parts.

Who were your early queer influences?

New Romantics most notably, only because when I started going out wearing makeup around 2015 people would always bring up Boy George so I started referencing him too. That was a good place to start because gender bending and androgyny were large themes of the movement and my interest in clothing is pretty ungendered. I think he specifically captured an ephemeral beauty to his visual, compared to more punk counterparts. There’s also a great video of Leigh Bowery running around London in his garments for The Clothes Show. One of them specifically I tried to copy when I was still in art school in Virginia, and actually I think I wore that outfit to my first party here in Los Angeles!

What is your favorite aspect of real life?

Swimming — beaches or friend’s pools. If I'm swimming it means the day is leisurely and I'm happy.