Tokaya Saunders | Featured Portfolio

High School Student Tokaya Saunders first came into The Photo Studio Australia wanting to channel the British street style she had picked up from her time living in London.

Tokaya’s personal look is an eclectic mix of different decades. Taking the best styles from the last 40+ years, she really let her panache shine through the photos.

“I think my personal style is kind of a mix of all different aspects of the 70s, 80s, 90s, and sometimes even a little bit of the 2000s.” Says Takaya.

For the styling for the shoot, Tokaya took a massive amount of inspiration from model Aerin Creer, whose style mixes together Streetwear with bright hues. Tokaya says Aerin’s heavily 1990s inspired outfits really drove the styling.

“She’s so beautiful and I found her on Instagram. I really wanted that 90s aesthetic, but also some simple shots, which is why we went with the nude dress and fur coat.”

When it comes to general creative inspiration, Tokaya frequently scrolls through Instagram to find an abundance of different accounts to give her a creative kick.

“It’s such a great platform for creative people to connect and discover each other. Some people I love include Sarah Feingold, who has a great aesthetic, and melovemealot, who has such cool pictures on her page. Wuzg00d and alvssa_ also have amazing style.”

“I also love PAQ, which is a style channel on YouTube, and they’re gods! I love them all and it would be amazing to work with them one day.”

Tokaya does not expect much when people react to her photos, knowing her own opinion is ultimately more important. However, she does hope people will think she is someone who is fun to hang around.

“I hope they feel like they want to be my friend. I hope they think I look cool too, but I think the photos are cool and that’s what matters most!”