Maomao is one of the strongest female leads anime has seen this decade, and seeing her Garden Party outfit in promotional pictures sparked my desire to start the process on this beautiful, traditionally-inspired look. Everything we’ve learned through the end of Season 1 drove me to make this cosplay as eye-catching as I knew how while also staying as true to both the anime and the culture it comes from. 

I’m most proud of the custom rhinestone template I made to feature the blue rose from later episodes and the 82 hand-folded pleats in the 裙 (“qun” or skirt).