[Ellen Joe Cosplay] Zenless Zone Zero Victoria Housekeeping's Tactical Maid Outfit

I spent almost a whole day in the studio shooting this tactical maid outfit of Zenless Zone Zero's Ellen Joe, and I've finally organized the final photos. Before the shoot, I was actually torn about the ratio of the hairstyle and props, because the crisp short hair with red and black highlights from the original art requires high accuracy in reality, even needing adjustments to the head shape at any time depending on the frizziness of the wig. This time, the wig was specially thinned on the inner layer so the upturned hair ends wouldn't look heavy.

The details of the costume are truly too numerous. The upper body is a semi-translucent black ruffle collar with a white edge, with a layer of stiff black leather straps added outside, creating the crispness unique to combat maids. Fully loaded mechanical dark armor pieces are added to the shoulders and the ends of the sleeves; these small items reflect light beautifully when taking photos, but they indeed heavily affect the arm's range of motion. That white serrated-edge apron at the waist is genuinely the heavy-craft area of the entire outfit; the multi-layered stacking fabrics combined with precise hollowed-out tailoring make the physical item look exceptionally rich in layers. The lower body's black skirt hem is printed with light cyan cross star patterns, with several functional tactical buckles and hanging pouches beside it. Under the studio shoot overhead lights, these details can be captured very clearly.

However, the detail that made my eyes light up most in this look is actually the leg decoration. Black semi-translucent stockings are paired with two black diamond-shaped scale-textured metal greaves on the thighs; the stiffness of this material forms a wonderful visual contrast with the smooth silkiness of the stockings. The shoes are classic black Mary Jane thick-heeled buckled shoes; as a basic model, it both maintains the texture of the character's original setting and keeps my footing steady on the studio's anti-slip floor, so I won't be dragged down by the heavy props. The white-edged black-base mechanical tail behind me is also a very interesting point; soft material wraps around the internal support, allowing it to swing naturally when walking around.

Let's talk about this giant mechanical scythe. When the prop master created this composite form weapon, I was genuinely amazed. The long pole section is built very solidly, with a black metallic paint surface combined with red active joints, looking exceptionally cool. The blade adopts a color-clashing design; the spine of the blade is grey-silver with a bit of metallic matte, and the cutting edge underwent a heavy black treatment, with some painted characters stamped on the red-and-white interwoven mechanical block at the connection. Crucially, this weapon is actually quite heavy. To shoot the feeling of carrying it single-handed effortlessly, the wrists and shoulders had to bear a lot of tension during the actual shoot, especially that posture in Photo 2 where the blade tip points diagonally at the ground, requiring highly precise balance to stabilize.

Special thanks this time go to the live scheduling of photographer @吴邪. The pure light grey background looks simple but actually puts high demands on the lighting. Because the clothes are mainly black and white, interspersed with a small amount of red and cyan embellishments, the black sections can easily eat up details if the light is not accurate enough. Mr. Wu Xie used several sets of soft light combined with highlight reflections to bring out the glossiness of both the metal armor parts and the weapon, making the entire figure look three-dimensional in the frame without being overly greasy. The atmosphere of the final photos is actually a cool-toned cold texture, very fitting for the character's cold yet reliable tone in the setting.

Although the process of repeatedly striking poses in the studio while wearing heavy props and hard armor was truly a bit of a test of physical stamina, seeing the visual effect of combining classic maid elements with a tactical mecha feel on the final images makes me feel all the effort was quite worth it. This kind of maid outfit with combat attributes counts as a highly unique aesthetic direction, and I indeed enjoyed the immersive feeling of character integration during the shoot.