To be honest, my very first thought upon receiving this Augusta collaboration cheongsam look from Wuthering Waves and Daoxiangcun was "heavy"—not in terms of physical weight, but in the gravitas brought by its design details. Gold foil embroidery sprawled across the black velvet base fabric in an intricately detailed classical pattern, while the diamond cutout at the chest, paired with a star pendant and long red tassel, was visually striking. Yet once I actually wore it, I realized this garment demands exceptional posture control—the collar and shoulder lines are crisp and structured, leaving no room for slouching; the moment you drop your spine, the collar wrinkles and the aura instantly collapses. Throughout the shoot, I engaged my core relentlessly, mentally repeating "keep chest up and spine straight" with every pose.
The plush shawl stood as one of the true souls of this look—far more than a warm or decorative piece, it was the key to projecting authority. White faux fur set against the black and gold Chinese style cheongsam created a vivid color contrast; under studio lights, the furry edges caught a halo of soft rim light that exuded aristocratic elegance. However, because the plush material was so voluminous, the slightest arm movement would brush against the collar tassels, frequently requiring my assistant to help straighten them out before they tangled into my gloves. The custom long black leather gloves featured tapered fingertips that restricted joint dexterity; surprisingly, this limitation aligned perfectly with the character's arrogant yet refined movements—forcing every gesture to be executed with a deliberately slow, unhurried composure.
For the location, we selected a studio decorated in traditional aesthetics, featuring red silk drapes and wooden screens hand-painted with gongbi flowers and birds, echoing the golden textures of the cheongsam. The lighting technician utilized warm yellow side-backlighting from the upper right; under this rim light, my red hair shimmered at the edges while the gold patterns on the cheongsam glinted softly. Ambient dust spray added floating golden specks in the air, creating the illusion of stepping back into an ancient mansion. To capture a flowing skirt hem, I gently lifted the left side of my skirt in the cover shot, revealing leg contours while injecting upward momentum into the gown so it wouldn't look stiff.
The hairstyle was another major highlight. The red wig used high-temperature fibers tuned to an orange-red hue with micro-curled ends—a hassle to maintain daily, but possessing intense color saturation under studio lights. Paired with my red contact lenses, a sharp, fierce glint in my gaze emerged naturally. For makeup, we kept the base light and thin, focusing effort on eye shadow and lip color: gold-brown glitter highlighted the inner eye corners to resonate with the garment's golden accents, while a matte deep red lip color was chosen to prevent glossy lip glazes from stealing the outfit's spotlight.
Whenever I cosplay characters linked to traditional cultural collaborations, I proceed with extra caution—aiming to recreate the character's established aura without letting traditional attire look like generic studio costumes. This cheongsam features modern modified tailoring with a high waistline while preserving traditional mandarin collars and side-slanted plackets; thus, I deliberately minimized exaggerated poses, placing emphasis on eye contact and hand gestures. In the second close-up, for instance, a subtle tilt of my head, a naturally raised right hand, and a direct gaze into the lens created far more visual tension than dramatic postures.
Overall, this collaboration attire struck me as "gorgeous yet restrained"—every element present, yet harmoniously composed without clutter. Though the shooting process was grueling, seeing the finished texture in this Cosplay photoshoot—where black and gold interweave and red and white collide—made waking up early for hair and makeup entirely worthwhile. Selecting the final frames, the first full-body shot felt most complete in composition and atmosphere, with the skirt hem, shawl, gesture, and background screen falling perfectly into place for the cover. That is perhaps the beauty of cosplay: stepping through an outfit and a setting to throw oneself entirely into the atmosphere of another world.