This shoot features Chocola from NEKOPARA. Although it revolves around a Chinese New Year theme, rather than a strictly traditional festive atmosphere, I wanted to preserve the sweet, playful vibe of this little cat girl. The entire studio set utilized a wealth of red and gilded gold elements, including carved wooden partitions, warm yellow traditional paper lanterns, round fans with auspicious patterns, and artfully arranged peony blooms. In terms of prop arrangements, the photographer specially prepared scattered golden sycees, a red bucket brimming with gold sycees, as well as a thick stack of hundred-yuan bills and red envelopes. These props were particularly vital for delivering the New Year theme—whether held in hand or cradled in front, they quickly immerse the viewer in a lively, pleasing holiday atmosphere.
Great effort went into selecting the costume. To fit the New Year theme, I wore a modified Chinese outfit with a white base accented by striking red borders. The collar features a high-neck design with a delicate small golden bell, which, combined with the halter neck cut, perfectly showcases the collarbones and shoulder lines. The center of the top has a dark fabric cutout design accented with a 3D purple mini rose, creating a lovely visual layer overall. The sleeves feature off-the-shoulder wide ruffled sleeves that flow gracefully when draping down, with pink gradient tones at the cuffs. The hem is a multi-layered pleated skirt paired with white tulle ruffles that bounce wonderfully when walking, echoing the red-and-black cat ears and tassel hair ornaments to form the core of the entire look.
For the legwear and shoe coordination, I chose a pair of dark gray over-the-knee stockings. These stockings not only feature comfortable high-elastic fabric, but also have ruffle trimmings at the thigh tops and exquisite white floral patterns printed along the sides. This design nicely balances the sweetness of the outfit while making legs appear visually slender and long. To unify the red elements across the body, I paired them with glossy red ultra-high platform heels. During the actual shoot, as I needed to frequently switch between sitting, crouching, and standing compositions, these shoes not only highlighted the stylishness of the entire look, but also extended the leg lines beautifully in front of the camera, pairing with the subtle matte shimmer of the stockings to produce photos full of visual impact.
For the hairstyle, I kept Chocola's iconic chestnut-brown long straight hair with straight bangs. To boost recognition, I specially tied high twin tails, letting two long ponytails fall over both sides of my chest, making the gesture of adjusting the ponytails a highlight of the shoot. In terms of makeup, the eye makeup specially deepened the red atmospheric feel to give the eyes a richer, more expressive look. A glossy mirror lip glaze was applied to soften sharpness and boost cuteness.
The team collaborated seamlessly throughout the shoot. The lighting engineer set up two groups of side lights: one group simulating the warm tones of lanterns, and another offering cool rim lighting for the silhouette, resulting in clear outlines and translucent skin tones in the final photos. Shooting in a studio required rich interactions with set props—such as sitting on a long couch while making playful hand gestures, holding a red blessing bucket filled with sycees, or holding a big golden sycee in each hand. Especially as shown in the picture, holding a thick stack of RMB in one hand while holding a red envelope in front of the chest with the other—such lifelike, blessing-filled gestures maxed out the joyful vibe of the photos.
Although there is still some time before the Lunar New Year, this set of photos aims to let everyone feel that warm, vibrant redness in advance. There are truly many fine details worth appreciating in this outfit and styling, especially when blending 2D cat girl elements with our traditional Eastern Chinese New Year motifs, where maintaining balance is key. Throughout this series of photos, the warm indoor lighting shines in harmony with the red props, evoking a cozy feeling. This attempt filled with rich festive atmosphere also allowed me to explore different ways of expression for this character.