Sparxie changed her outfit from Gothic Lolita to Goth Punk
[crosspost from Hoyolab]
Yeah it's a reference to Junko Enoshima, although Junko's outfit is also in the Goth Punk style as well.
I mentioned in my Himeko Nova design analysis post that Sparxie's outfit is a fusion of Japanese and Western elements, a nod to how the Gothic Lolita fashion subculture combined Victorian frilly dresses with the aesthetic of Japanese punk rock. However Gothic Lolita started becoming too commercialized for people's tastes, and so a new counterculture was born: Goth Punk.
The whole Gothic fashion movement was in response to the pervasive "kawaii" culture in Japan. In a way, this makes Sparxie a great contrast to Evanescia. Evanescia infantilizes herself by claiming she's a "high school girl" and loves to accessorize such as owning a Labubu Tamagotchi. Both the Japanese and Korean dubs make the choice of having Sparxie's voice more high-pitched, suggesting that she's also putting up an infantile act. Her standard outfit is inspired by Alice in Wonderland, which became popular in Japan because its heroine is pure, independent, and honest in a refreshing way for a little girl. Girl adolescence is romantized because it's the stage before women become objectified as housewives or domestic workers as adults. This sentiment isn't exclusive to Japan, as there was a Chinese influencer who became viral a few years back for saying: "I just turned 18" in a high-pitched, cutesy voice.
At a time, to deliberately act "girly" instead of like a "proper lady" was considered rebellious. This suits Evanescia given her age. But Goth Punk feels "kawaii" has become too consumerist, so a darker aesthetic became a form of rebellion against the new conformity. As a streamer, Sparxie is adapting to new trends as her audience's tastes change.
