This work was inspired by one of my favorite alternative subgenres Gyaru. It is a Japanese fashion meant to reject the beauty norms of Japan. Gyaru began in the 1970s but was the biggest in the 90s and 2000s. I wanted to show a more late 2000s style of Gyaru. While this piece does represent the subculture, especially the make up, I wished I put her in a different top later on and I regret making her so stationary.

My second piece was meant to be based of the 70s and express the fashion styles of the time. My idea was to make her look like a retro photo shoot. Similar to the rest of mine I did historical research and found inspiration photos. This piece is also very stattionary but I think it has more of a concept behind it than the last. 

In this piece I wanted to create a more dynamic scene, I think bridal fashion can truly develop a time period or cultural setting. I wanted to play around with bright colors and tradition, so I went with Nigerian wedding culture. The scene created in the image is a tradition, called Money Dance, where the wife is showered in money by fellow family members 

This is where my pieces fully develop, I dive into clothing in the context of culture, period, and social issues. The piece takes place in the 20s and tells the story of a woman at a speakeasy with a man at her feat begging. The man is colored in red to symbolize the societal misogyny and cultural acceptance of it. I had been really in post-impressionism at the time as well and so the art style is inspired by it. 

This piece was inspired by the artist Degas and the dark history behind ballerinas. Ballerinas often would be sought out by older men backstage and ballerinas would essentially sell themselves to get farther in their career, better equipment, and overall to continue their training. This is done in the same style as the last with the red that symbolizes the evil of these men.