“Appearances” explores fashion in Tucson, a city with an eclectic array of fashionistas. Hippie, Punk, Grunge, Western, Cosplay, Indie, Fairy, Skater, Mexicano, Biker, 80’s, 90’s, Y2K, Witch, you can find them all. In pursuing my project I aimed to photograph people whose outward expression of identity caught my attention and made me wonder who they were internally. To me, fashion is a dedication to creativity and personal preference. Identity is embedded in fashion, it sends a message about an individual’s self-conception—the impulse to create a unique uniform and author how the world will view them. My work was guided by two initial questions: What makes Tucson fashion different? And, how do fashion and identity intersect? Through the process of searching, I was able to meet countless genuinely interesting people who had a strong sense of self-expression. I photographed many local artists and people trying to launch fashion brands which felt encouraging, as I validated many people’s art without initially realizing it. One of the people I photographed, Crystal Beltran, is a local seamstress, in her portrait she is wearing one of her designs—an olive green overall dress brushed over a black fishnet undershirt. We had a moving conversation about how the addition of personal touch gives meaning to clothing and her aspirations of pursuing the creation of her art full-time. Another fun interaction came from the Glesers, the father Brian shared a little of his life with me, a story of a young boy who grew up on a commune who is sharing ideals of peace, love, and tie dye through his family-owned business. People like these quickly became the heart of the fashion identity in Tucson.