These photos imagine a hyper-feminine, cyber-fantasy world

“Her castle is cloaked by a towering forest that whispers and creaks with ancient tradition and sorcery. The Princess of the Swamp is trapped by the swirly steel gates, yearning to go outside and play.” 

Let go of reality and enter a world where medieval fantasy and cyberpunk super-futures collapse into one kaleidoscopic reality. Where magic and technology slip over each other, and inhabitants are monstrous, biomechanical humanoids. This hyper-feminine cyber fantasy world is the setting of a new shoot from directors and stylists Kate Kidney Bishop and Mia Violet Leech, which explores innocent escapism in a dreamed-up cosplay kingdom.  

Teaming up with make-up artist Dasha Tavias, hairstylist Mayuko Nakae, nail artist IMANICURED, and photographer Bob Foster, the pair drew inspiration from female characters in anime and graphic novels to bring the world to life: a Medieval Anime Warrior, a Cyborg Go-Karter and the Princess of the Swamp. “I’d been carrying around the stem of these characters for a while before beginning this project. I’m not really sure when or where they came from. Some were slightly in flux but once we started casting and styling, they began to take form,” says Leech.

While these characters may be playful and delicate, they are – crucially – not fragile. This strength is communicated in part through the body paint showing torn cyborg skin, mechanical interiors and bolero armour. At the core of the shoot is a childlike sense of make-believe. As Kidney Bishop says, “Nothing is more iconic than little girls having the time of their lives in a simple princess dress.” Here, the pair tell Dazed more about the joys of cosplaying.

What was the concept of the shoot?

Mia Violet Leech: We had the idea to combine forces to create whole characters like collectable figurines and slot them into a feminine cyber fantasy world. I imagined the body paint as costumes, singling out one piece of clothing that embodied their character and using paint to honour that. Kate then complimented them with physical garments and turned them into IRL complete looks.

I usually play with subtle character LARPing by airbrushing on t-shirts – a tie, or pearls – working on archetypes of someone who can function in society, holding down a job or spending luxuriously. Recently, I’ve started airbrushing soft cosplay sci-fi character pieces. I’d been thinking a lot about these three characters and wanted to somehow bring them into the physical world.

Where did you start when creating the characters? Who did you imagine they were?

Kate Kidney Bishop: Mia brought her template for the characters, and we came together to plan how to dissect these characters. I came on board to translate these character puzzle pieces into a fuller narrative and visual outcome — to bring our otherworldly fantasies into the real world, and quickly capture their fleeting presence in our reality.

Mia Violet Leech: I’d been carrying around the stem of these characters for a while before beginning this project. I’m not really sure when or where they came from. Some were slightly in flux but once we started casting and styling, they began to take form.

After the shoot, I approached my friend Georgia to engineer the lore of these characters. At the centre of the realm is a vortex, guarded by the Medieval Anime Warrior. She’s a cute but strongly feared warrior who maintains the delicate balance between the lands. Armed with her steel-forged, dragon-hilted blade she stands vigilant, ensuring that no malevolent forces cross the threshold unchallenged. An absolute baddie on the battlefield.

The Orc Princess is something I’ve been thinking about for a while. In a way, she’s a little reverse Shrek-core. Last-minute changes meant no prosthetics, so she became a Princess of the Swamp. Her castle is cloaked by a towering forest that whispers and creaks with ancient tradition and sorcery. She is trapped by the swirly steel gates, yearning to go outside and play.

The Cyborg Go-Karter is something Kate and I worked on together. We were musing about what the e-girls and e-boys of today might look like in a cyberpunk future. She developed into a discarded service fembot turned competitive go-kart racer. Her biomechanical body is damaged but thriving. Her mechanics are synced with her go-kart – it’s more like a daemon than a vehicle. It means she can move with extra precision but feels its battle scars as her own. She spends most of her time racing humans for petty cash at the wasteland fairground.

Can you tell us more about the beauty looks? Especially the use of body paint and prosthetics!

Mia Violet Leech: The body paint is used to signify specific elements for each character. The cyborg has her skin torn against metal, exposing her mechanical interior. The warrior is adorned with her cute bolero armour and chic purple cape. Here, I used metallic paint for a more realistic yet sparkly texture. I used UV paint so her cape would glow in the dark. The swamp princess is dressed in a full princess dress, a sketch initially inspired by one I saw in Tesco. 

I’ve always wanted to work in costume, and although I come from a long line of seamstresses, I’m not very in tune with sewing. That’s why body painting has become so fun – I can create these costumes and characters with my airbrush.

Were you inspired by any particular references when it came to the beauty and the characters?

Mia Violet Leech: Casca from Beserk was a big influence on the mediaeval anime warrior. Mainly I’m in awe of bootleg Marvel character-type street entertainers; the performers who make their own costumes and props, who are simply out, bringing good energy and trying to get that bag. 

Co-creative director and stylist Kate Kidney-Bishop; co-creative director, airbrush artist and prop maker Mia Violet Leech; photographer Bob Foster; video editor Brandon Konieczny; lore engineer Georgia Bloom; make-up artist Dasha Tavias; hair stylist Mayuko Nakae; nail artist Imani Naghten; metal fabricator Noah Christie; talent Ebba, Raphaela and Eunju @ Milk; bodypaint assistant Rose Wheeler; styling assistant Qian Ling.