Publication in Marie Claire

The magazine is reporting on the spring edition of Hyper Japan, which I visited with Ash earlier this year. I still have to write my own report, but it’s okay because apparently magazines also take months. Haha. At least now I feel a little more inspired to hurry up ;)

Let’s take a look at the pages of the magazine!

Page 90: Girls’  World

“Performer Ruth and J-pop fan Lizzie at the UK’s biggest celebration of Japanese culture”

Page 91: Living Dolls

“British girls obsessed with Harajuku style travelled from across the UK to attend Hyper Japan in London”

Page 92:

Mel: “Today, I’m sweet Lolita, which is pastel colours. I was a tomboy when I was younger, but this is a way of enjoy being feminine and girlie.”

Felicity: “I imported my dress from Japan for about £150. I’m inspired by London street style and designers like Mary Katrantzou, too, but I think there are so many trends now that people can feel overwhelmed. With Lolita fashion, you can invest in iconic key pieces and wear them for years.”

Page 93: Kairi

Kairi: “I’ve been into Japanese fashion for about seven years. Initially, I was searching for fashion styles to inspire my illustrations. In real life, I look similar to this but dressed down – old people tend to think I look adorable. They’re always like, ‘I want to pinch your cheeks!’“

Page 94: Ash, Emer, Vief

Note: they swapped Ash’s and my face around with our text. So note that the names and text make sense, just not the pictures xD 

Vief: “Other students at Leeds love my look and my family thinks the dresses are feminine and unique. Now, when I go back home, my dad is like, ‘Look, she’s a living artwork!’“

Emer: “I look totally different to this in my everyday life – I don’t wear make-up and my hair is extremely short, like a boy. I used to wear Lolita, but now I’m older I just like the dresses, which I wear casually, without the petticoat or wig.”

Ash: “My mother and sisters think [Lolita fashion] is immature and expensive, but my boyfriend really likes it and occasionally he dresses up too, in the male, aristocratic style.”

So, what do you think? I find it quite awesome to see so many gorgeous people from around here in such a big publication! And I find it really cool that people like Emer and Ash travelled to get there, and are not excluded from the report.

The big text on page 93 is very positive about Lolita fashion and the whole event, calling us “human cupcakes” (in my opinion a good kind of compliment!). They go on to explain there are different styles and even make sure to note that there are no sexual connotations, as well as include a brief history of the fashion. I like that they included a parallel of British and Japanese fashion and subculture, saying it originated as a reaction to older generations. All in all, I think it’s an interesting read, nothing eye-opening for me but hopefully informative for the rest of the Marie Claire readers!

It’s always a bit nerve-wrecking when you pose for photos or give information to people. What do you say? What are they going to use? In the case of this happening at a convention this is extra stressful because you’re not in your comfort zone. People will approach when you are in the middle of a conversation with friends you only see once a year, when you are trying to buy something from a stall, or, in our case, when you are eating! Haha.

There are also a few cases where we get photographed and we will never see the publication, so I’m really glad to see this now! It’s funny because even in such small bits of text you still get a sense of a person. For example I agree completely with Mel, I used to be a bit of a tomboy as well.

I personally find it interesting that they took that quote about my dad. I guess they couldn’t really explain the whole situation, that my dad lives in the Netherlands, that I used to dress horribly and now I’ve, fortunately, changed… haha.

It’s sad that I did not manage to meet Emer in real life again, I’ve met her before when I visited Dublin, but at least our photos are close together? XD

Ah, there is so much I still want to say on the topic of Hyper Japan because it was so much fun…! But I’ll leave that to another post. I hope you enjoyed my scans and words and if you can, buy it in real!

NOTE: This appeared on my old blog, in August 2012 – but I really wanted to keep it, so, here it is again. :P