She quit 'safe path' of JC for fashion and is now a cosplay influencer on TikTok

Behind every academic result is a young person quietly chasing their dreams, beating the odds, and hoping to make something of themselves. In More than Grades, a monthly series by The Straits Times, we tell the stories of youth who are making waves in school and beyond.

- Sheo Chiong Teng

She was on a conventional path to success, having done well enough at the Primary School Leaving Examination to get into the six-year Integrated Programme (IP), and even gained entry into the Art Elective Programme to pursue her interest in art.

But in her fifth year of the IP at National Junior College, Elise Lim decided to put it all aside – to go into fashion. She had taken an interest in cosplay in the fourth year, and tried her hand at making character wigs and props, and tailoring costumes.

Also feeling demotivated from not doing as well as she had hoped in secondary school, she made a switch to pursue a course in fashion design and management at Temasek Polytechnic (TP), something she had dreamt of exploring since her younger days. Not everyone would have approved of her decision.

"It's not common for people to drop out of the IP, and a lot of parents could be worried that this is an unstable future, which is true, because the design and art field is unstable," Elise said, adding that junior college (JC) is typically seen as the "safe path" for students.

Three years on, the 19-year-old, who is in her third year in polytechnic, has amassed over 94,000 followers on TikTok, where she posts tutorials on how to make wigs, and other cosplay content.

Her most viral video, where she cosplays the 2023 design of a virtual character named "magical mirai miku" with a self-made wig, has more than 12.9 million views. On Instagram, she has a following of 12,200.

She takes commission orders for wigs via her Instagram page on a first-come, first-served basis, and in between juggling schoolwork, she sends out blasts to her followers to say she is free to take up projects.

The prices of her wigs range from US$100 (S$130) to US$700. She has made over 30 character wigs and more than 10 props, some of which are commissioned orders for international customers.