GOTH LOLITA & STEAMPUNK ARTISTS AT TOKYO DESIGN FESTA. CYBERPUNK BAND PSYDOLL, ZOESTYLES KERA ARENA, TAMA KAWAII GIRLS.
You’ll often run into cyperpunk band Psydoll at Midnight Mess. Lead singer Nekoi told me that they were performing at Tokyo Design Festa — so I went to see them (as well as write a CNNGo article about the modern art convention). What a show! As I wrote: “Drummer Loveless hopped like a Chinese zombie as he toyed with digital drums and a Theremin. Lead singer Nekoi wielded a red keytar that matched her hair’s cyber falls.” Taishow’s raucous band, N.S.D.P, took away the day’s award for the biggest hair.
Press passes are the golden ticket to having a good time. Free entry and lots of perks, as you’ll see in this post… I’m wearing my new Algonquins skirt and a La Carmina & Basil T-shirt from my collection.
I met Zoestyles designer Eigo Takada last year at the Kera Shop Arena event. He was pleased to see us again, and insisted on buttoning us into his mod-meets-punk asymmetrical jackets. Yukiro looks positively Draculean in the bottom right photo. (See more of the Zoestyles collection here.)
There was a lovely Lolita presence at Design Festa this year. Indie dresses. Pastel princess cakes. And the not-so-kawaii art of Tama, whose work has graced the cover of Gothic & Lolita Bible. “She’s known for her cute nymphs, watercolored with round faces and glistening eyes. But when you look closer, you’ll notice these innocent girls are bound and bruised. Or about to be eaten for dinner.”
With 2800 booths, our eyes were boggling out of their sockets. So many anime cosplay girls and mascots to pose with!
Here are some of our favorites from Design Festa. I enjoyed the Steampunk art and accessories, and the Pierrot-inspired outfits.
What are some of the benefits of carrying a press pass?
† Free entry to everything
† Total permission to take photos and videos
† You’re obligated to speak to participants, in order to write a story. It means asking questions, meeting new people and being involved in the action — rather than a passive spectator.
But what’s single-handedly the greatest perk? The free food in the media room! And that’s not all… we each received 1000 yen ($10) worth of food coupons, which we spent on Ghana curry and Taiwanese shaved ice cream. Success!
Come read my CNNGo article about the highlights of Tokyo Design Festa 2010 here. I reported on the show in 2008 as well; you can see photos of Yukiro in a body-painting performance here.
PS: “It’s not emo and it’s not Goth.” A news report about packs of teen werewolves haunting the high schools and malls of San Antonio! MUST watch. Is this lame… or do I want the teen boy leader with a howling soul? Hmm… I think Inspector Basil and I need to do some first-hand research!
Japanese Word of the Day: Azawarau (嘲笑う) = Ridicule, laugh at.
Song of the Day: 101A – Miranda Lethal Weapon
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47 Comments
Nekoi is so cute!!! <3 Yukiro and you look fabulous as always, and I adore that asymmetrical jacket.
As far as those teen werewolf people go, I honestly don't see anything bad about it other than being a furry… but they don't take it to a sick level. Heh, I wouldn't mind hanging out with them or being part of their "pack" either because they seem cool as hell
Nekoi is super sweet. <3 A great performer too…
The little tails are cute.
vanished empire, 101A & Psydoll ! arigato !
sexy guitar!!xD
I enjoyed the artwork by Tama at her website.
She was one of my favorites at Design Festa. I was tempted to buy one of her books.
I plan on buying something… I can’t afford Mark Ryden, yet, but I would love to get something that goes with my unconventional tastes…
Nekoi is so cute!!! <3 Yukiro and you look fabulous as always, and I adore that asymmetrical jacket.
As far as those teen werewolf people go, I honestly don't see anything bad about it other than being a furry… but they don't take it to a sick level. Heh, I wouldn't mind hanging out with them or being part of their “pack” either because they seem cool as hell
This teenage wolf pack thing has been on most of the sites I frequent… sigh.
I honestly think it’s a stupid way to attract attention (contrary to that girl’s… eloquent remarks, it is attention-seeking – otherwise, they shouldn’t have accepted local television/international Youtube exposure).
Stylistically, they look no different from typical mall emo kids. Except the tail.
The contacts, fangs, and leash things have all been done long before these kids knew what Hot Topic was.
I also don’t appreciate how they’re making people generalize and ridicule subculture fashion. (If you’ve see South Park’s The Ungroundable, you’ll know what I mean.)
@Seiran
You call these kids who can hardly enunciate anything “cool as hell”? By the way, one of them beheaded a neighbor’s dog, and (this isn’t mentioned in the news) she apparently was disciplined for taking a machete to school with the intent of harming another girl – and you say they haven’t taken anything to a sick level?
:/
I think the media chose to blow it up… the teens probably didn’t know how they would be portrayed. Makes me feel bad for them. Wow, those teens seriously did those things? I didn’t realize – must investigate further…
That’s what mainstream media does, especially when it comes to alternative students. Do any of these kids know about the backlash towards goths (and Manson) after Columbine thanks to the media? And whenever another student killer goes on the loose, whether it be VTech or recently in the UK, Stephen Griffith (Bradford Ripper), the media always finds a reason to mention that the student was interested in macabre things and dressed in black, wore trench coats, etc. besides the fact that none of that is actually causative. ._.
From what I can tell, these kids are just making “normal” people more adverse to alternative dressers. If you look at comments around the web, people are becoming further entrenched in their beliefs that all these high school kids are emo and self-expression is a joke. Of course, we goths are getting pooled together with them.
The beheading is mentioned briefly in the news segment, but the second bit came from someone who goes to the same school as them. Otherwise, I think they’re harmless (albeit pretty useless, just spending their days at the mall), but the beheading of the dog part just angered me to no end!
The little tails are cute.
The little tails are cute.
vanished empire, 101A & Psydoll ! arigato !
sexy guitar!!xD
I enjoyed the artwork by Tama at her website.
This teenage wolf pack thing has been on most of the sites I frequent… sigh.
I honestly think it's a stupid way to attract attention (contrary to that girl's… eloquent remarks, it is attention-seeking – otherwise, they shouldn't have accepted local television/international Youtube exposure).
Stylistically, they look no different from typical mall emo kids. Except the tail.
The contacts, fangs, and leash things have all been done long before these kids knew what Hot Topic was.
I also don't appreciate how they're making people generalize and ridicule subculture fashion. (If you've see South Park's The Ungroundable, you'll know what I mean.)
@Seiran
You call these kids who can hardly enunciate anything “cool as hell”? By the way, one of them beheaded a neighbor's dog, and (this isn't mentioned in the news) she apparently was disciplined for taking a machete to school with the intent of harming another girl – and you say they haven't taken anything to a sick level?
:/
a Super event!!!
also I see nothin wrong with the teen werewolve thing, it’s just expression. seems alright by me.
but I don’t get the whole dog skull thing, did he really have the neighbors missing dogs skull? & why?…
That part was very random… I have no idea! I am guessing that it was a misunderstanding… the teens seem pretty harmless O.O
tama! O: :D <3
zoestyles looks pretty good too.
that "pack" however seem more like a bundle of puppies really. but whatever floats their boats i guess. hey! i have a beanie with kitty ears, anyone wanna join my club? lmao.
The Zoestyles designer is so nice and quirky… love him!
Hahah Basil Farrow will join that club…
I can’t say how fucking awesome is that ._.
do werewolves haunt? Or do they prowl?
a Super event!!!
also I see nothin wrong with the teen werewolve thing, it's just expression. seems alright by me.
but I don't get the whole dog skull thing, did he really have the neighbors missing dogs skull? & why?…
That part was very random… I have no idea! I am guessing that it was a misunderstanding… the teens seem pretty harmless O.O
Nekoi is super sweet. <3 A great performer too…
She was one of my favorites at Design Festa. I was tempted to buy one of her books.
I think the media chose to blow it up… the teens probably didn't know how they would be portrayed. Makes me feel bad for them. Wow, those teens seriously did those things? I didn't realize – must investigate further…
tama! O: :D <3
zoestyles looks pretty good too.
that “pack” however seem more like a bundle of puppies really. but whatever floats their boats i guess. hey! i have a beanie with kitty ears, anyone wanna join my club? lmao.
The Zoestyles designer is so nice and quirky… love him!
Hahah Basil Farrow will join that club…
I can't say how fucking awesome is that ._.
do werewolves haunt? Or do they prowl?
Those teens seem pretty cool. I wouldn’t mind hanging around them xD
That performance seemed pretty awesome… Nekoi is so cute!
That's what mainstream media does, especially when it comes to alternative students. Do any of these kids know about the backlash towards goths (and Manson) after Columbine thanks to the media? And whenever another student killer goes on the loose, whether it be VTech or recently in the UK, Stephen Griffith (Bradford Ripper), the media always finds a reason to mention that the student was interested in macabre things and dressed in black, wore trench coats, etc. besides the fact that none of that is actually causative. ._.
From what I can tell, these kids are just making “normal” people more adverse to alternative dressers. If you look at comments around the web, people are becoming further entrenched in their beliefs that all these high school kids are emo and self-expression is a joke. Of course, we goths are getting pooled together with them.
The beheading is mentioned briefly in the news segment, but the second bit came from someone who goes to the same school as them. Otherwise, I think they're harmless (albeit pretty useless, just spending their days at the mall), but the beheading of the dog part just angered me to no end!
Those teens seem pretty cool. I wouldn't mind hanging around them xD
That performance seemed pretty awesome… Nekoi is so cute!
I just looked at the website, this stuff is amazing! I love the color schemes and the asymmetrical patterns. Also the straight-jacket long sleeves. Very cool. I especially like the red and red-checked one you are wearing!
I just looked at the website, this stuff is amazing! I love the color schemes and the asymmetrical patterns. Also the straight-jacket long sleeves. Very cool. I especially like the red and red-checked one you are wearing!
The news segment impressed me, considering how Texas makes a big fuss out of everything. I’m glad the school has been so accepting. With the exception of that one incident (a little strange that the report glossed over it), they seem like good kids. Yes, they are seeking attention, but all teenagers and many adults do that in their own way. Seeing them makes me wish I had a group like that back in high school (at a time when liking vampires and werewolves made you the class freak).
I went to a private school that made us wear uniforms…. >___> Also wished I had a “wolf pack” back then!
I plan on buying something… I can't afford Mark Ryden, yet, but I would love to get something that goes with my unconventional tastes…
The news segment impressed me, considering how Texas makes a big fuss out of everything. I'm glad the school has been so accepting. With the exception of that one incident (a little strange that the report glossed over it), they seem like good kids. Yes, they are seeking attention, but all teenagers and many adults do that in their own way. Seeing them makes me wish I had a group like that back in high school (at a time when liking vampires and werewolves made you the class freak).
Tokyo Design Festa looks like such a good time! That sailor girl with the long hair and long bangs sitting on those balls (?) is a cutie and your tall friend is darling also.
Have you seen these darlings? <3 http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&ved=0CBQQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lacarmina.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F02%2Fpretty-visual-kei-boys-in-nature-la-carmina-x-akumu-ink-fashion-line-photoshoot-in-hollywood-hills%2F&ei=uMcDTPnQNYfOM6-b5Ts&usg=AFQjCNHKOh-MuXHMN1Gli1IokSdBgbLfQw
Tokyo Design Festa looks like such a good time! That sailor girl with the long hair and long bangs sitting on those balls (?) is a cutie and your tall friend is darling also.
I went to a private school that made us wear uniforms…. >___> Also wished I had a “wolf pack” back then!
Have you seen these darlings? <3 http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res…