ARCHITECTURE - NEW SKY BUILDING N. 3, THE GHOST BATTLESHIP UFO

Pictures by Valerie Fujita
Written by Alexandre Martinazzo

There’s something about your average Tokyo UFO. Most of the time it’s huge, and flashy, and seems dedicated to the sole purpose of being noticed, but even in the brightest day, it just stays incognito. Maybe because that “something” is pretty much the same thing even a child would understand by entering the city for the first time of his life. But yet there is nothing like boredom in Tokyo scenario. As consensus rules outdoors and perversion indoors in Japanese culture, one can expect the worse when it comes to enclosed spaces. Beneath the “happy midgets wonderland” exterior often lie some unthinkable secrets…

100 LOLITAS & GOTHIC LOLITAS TESTIMONIES - AUDREY ANNE FROM QUEBEC, CANADA

We're beginning the "100 and more Lolitas and Gothic Lolitas testimonies" by Audrey Anne from Canada because she was the first one to answer and because if people are still wondering if Lolita fashion has really crossed the oceans, then they shouldn't have any doubt ... Enjoy the interview!

How and when did you discover Lolita and Gothic Lolita fashion?

I discover Lolita about 3 years ago by the Internet, while I was looking for information about visual kei music. I found a forum related to Harajuku (music and fashion). The first Lolita I saw was a Lolita from my own country.

Could you tell us what are your favorite brands and why? Can you find them easily?

Atelier Pierrot. They have their own way to bring EGL (Elegant Gothic Lolita) and more traditional Gothic Lolita outfit together. There's also a Victorian atmosphere that I love. Unfortunately, this brand is pretty hard to get: I have to use shopping services. Sometime I can find some on Tokyo Rebel website (a New-York store with an online shop)

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY - CECILE BEATON - "BE DARING, BE DIFFERENT, BE IMPRACTICABLE"

Pictures by Cecil Beaton

Let’s go back in time and return to Europe again to talk about one of the great name of fashion photography, the British photographer and portraitist, Cecil Beaton (1904-1980).

It seems that Vogue back in the old days was already quite fond of genius photographers, having a crush for young ones. Like Tim Walker, Cecil Beaton begins his career as a great fashion photographer quite early. He was only 27 years old when the famous fashion magazine hired him (he worked for Vogue for nearly thirty years).

LOLITA & GOTHIC LOLITA FASHION - LADIES OF HABSBURG INSPIRED STYLING

Pictures from Gothic and Gothic Lolita Bible

In their research for European inspirations rather than the eternal Victorian and Rococo periods, Japanese stylists from Lolita and Gothic Lolita Bible went to search other symbols of beauty and tragedy. And in a special file simply named “Lady of Habsburg”, Lolita and Gothic Lolita Bible magazine tried to give some education to their Gothic Lolitas readers on European history.

The first “Lady of Habsburg” quoted was surprisingly Elisabeth Amelie Eugenie of Wittelsbach (1937-1998), mostly know under her nick name Sissi, Empress of Austria and Hungary, the one incarnated by the wonderful and regretted actress Romy Schneider. The second quoted was again, the unassailable Marie-Antoinette (1755–1793), as for some many reasons, and Sofia Coppola’s movie as the latest of all. Then surprisingly, they also quoted Anne of Brittany, Queen of France (1477–1514) which was the biggest surprise.

 

100 AND MORE LOLITAS & GOTHIC LOLITAS TESTIMONIES WANTED

Picture by Valerie Fujita for Chantilly

For Alice & Peter Punk's blog and to produce a statistics

This is made to know more about worldwide Lolita community. I also want it to be a tool for one of my editors, and its readers to see that there is a market for Lolita fashion and to hope that Japanese Lolita brands would be distributed (as they are right now very rare). Some of the questions are only for statistics so answer freely. Only the first part (about Lolita fashion) would be published on my blog.

Please answer carefully and fully to these questions below and send back the answers to alice_et_peter_punk@live.fr. Also join 2 or 3 pictures : as you see my blog, I pay a very carefull attention to the quality of the pictures and images appearing on my blog; please send me quality pictures of you or cite THE brand you would want me to post pictures with your profile.

Not everyone testimony would be published on my blog (and if you want to participate but not being published, simply let me know at the beginning of your email) but I'm looking to build statistics so the more testimonies I have the best it is (at least 100 but I'm looking for much more).