Japanese Lolita Subculture

The fashion style of the 'Gothloli' (Gosurori, or Gothic Lolita), a member of the contemporary 'Lolita' movement, is inexorably bound to the archetypal 'Alice'. Members of this subculture dress in garments inspired by the Victorian age, whilst the silhouette is reminiscent, particularly, of Sir John Tenniel’s illustrations for Lewis Carroll’s heroine, and defined by Walt Disney’s Alice. Most often, the design is referential and, other times, the translation is more literal, whereby outfits may be decorated with Alice figures and motifs, or the wearer more consciously mimics Alice’s appearance.

The Alice-Lolita image is prolific, especially in Japan. Here, the relationship between Alice and Lolita also appears in other areas of popular culture; in the art of Nori Tomizaki; shōjo graphic novels and anime; and live-action film. In Nori’s digital paintings and manipulated photographs, which portray doll-like figures and lifelike dolls, there is an emphasis on the Gothic aspect, whereby Alice and the Gothloli are juxtaposed to represent the epitome of a sweet but scary little girl. The leading characters of the manga and animated series, Rozen Maiden Träumend, may appear to be sweeter but also display a macabre edge. These Lolita-type dolls come to life and war against each other in order to win the prize of becoming 'Alice', an ultimate human Gothloli. For this chance to transform into this real little girl, they must fight and beat all other dolls at the 'Alice game'.

However, there may be more than a superficial connection between Alice and Lolita, in that, it may be argued, there is perhaps no coincidence that the author, Lewis Carroll, or Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (his true identity), is believed to have suffered from a syndrome known as the 'Lolita Complex', the condition that takes its name from the female protagonist of Vladimir Nabokov’s notorious novel, and designated as an unhealthy obsession with young girls. Though – whilst Carroll’s Alice stories, Nabokov’s Lolita and Gothloli are similar in the fact that they serve to immortalise the Little Girl – the Lolita fashion style, formed in Alice’s image and bearing the title of the Nabokovian child, is determined to be neither directly, nor circumstantially, related to its namesake.

This paper explores these intertextual relationships between Alice, Lolita and the Lolita fashion-based movement, and investigates the validity of the subculture’s identification with the Lolita Complex.

Если верить Ролану Барту, мода убила дендизм. Никто уже не может в полной мере быть автором собственного облика, так как «проект своеобычности» приобрел форму социального института, превращающего индивидуальное самовыражение в одежде в право и обязанность каждого. «Равномерное распределение» дозированного своеобразия поддерживается как на идеологическом («Мода -это здоровье и нравственность»), так и на материальном уровне -благодаря сложной системе производства и распространения модных изделий, от масс-маркета и дешевых подделок до эксклюзивных дизайнерских причуд, в которых сам «выход за рамки оказывается предметом коммерции» (Барт 2004а: 396-397).

This article investigates the concept of constructing a “Lolita” identity in virtual space. It explores how members of the Japanese fashion-based Lolita subculture use the Internet to formulate images of their desired selves in order to gain acceptance, and establish an “authentic” presence, within worldwide Lolita communities. While members may be geographically separated, they are united in the virtual world. The affinity gained through online forms of interchange, especially social networking sites, is pertinent for Gothloli who live outside Japan, the movement’s place of origin, especially if real-life interactions are made less possible by lack of local congregation. However, a downside of Internet visibility, and a consequence of the ability to hide behind an “anonymous” profile, is the prevalence of cyberbullying, due to pressures to “fit in,” and thus competition and jealousy. This article focuses on these paradoxes and the positive and negative influences on the Lolita subculture in virtual space.
Kathryn Hardy Bernal is an art and design historian and theorist. Currently a PhD candidate at Massey University, Wellington, she has previously held senior academic positions in Contextual and Theoretical Studies in New Zealand and Australia. She is most recognized for her focus on the Japanese fashion-based Lolita movement, on which she has published widely, and presented at public talks and conferences internationally. In 2007, she was invited to curate the exhibition, Loli-Pop (Lolita and Popular Culture), for Auckland War Memorial Museum (15 September - 26 November). She delivered the keynote address, “Gothic & Lolita: A Japanese Subculture and Worldwide Phenomenon,” for Gothic Convergences: VI International Gothic Congress, at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, in 2014.

My thesis investigates complex issues implied by and connected with the Japanese movement known generally as Gothic & Lolita (G&L), focussing specifically on the Lolita fashion-based subculture and psychological motivations behind it. It discusses the transmigration of the movement’s ideas from Eastern to Western to Eastern societies, including differing cultural interpretations of 'Lolita' and their implications in terms of the Lolita phenomenon, while examining ideologies in context with conflicting connotations and paradoxes that arise from a label that combines perceptions about 'Lolita' with the 'Gothic'. It also addresses the 'Lolita Complex', a term that stems from the narrative of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita and is applied to a syndrome affecting older men and their attraction to young girls, and explores its associations with the Lolita subculture. The Lolita Complex, as the title of this thesis, also refers to the problematic complexities connected with and inferred by the movement. This thesis is multi-disciplinary. Although the emphasis is related to Fashion (or Design) History and Theory, my research also spans the fields of Subcultural Theory, Gothic Studies, Gender Studies, Asian Studies and Anthropology. It leans, though, more to the “theoretical” side, while my methodological approach relates closely to Analytic or Psychoanalytic Art History, based on my education and training as an Art and Design theorist. As such, this study is an analysis of the Japanese Lolita subculture. It is my theory or my reading of this cultural phenomenon, supported by evidence to state the overriding argument that the Lolita movement is symbolic of and represents a generation of young women who refuse to enter adulthood and 'grow up'.

Using discourse analysis, I critically investigate the intertextuality of the Japanese subculture of Lolicon and Lolita representations; including the controversy around erotic anime called rorikon, and issues related to virtual child pornography. What was once culturally-bound to Japan, now influences popular culture in the United States and Europe. Inherent in the formation of Lolicon and rorikon are the discursive connections threading throughout the Lolita genre and the subculture of Loli-girls, which I argue serve to tantalize and further promote consumption of sexualized girl imagery.

In this article I will briefly underline the context in which the Lolita subculture has emerged, the reason why young women started to dress in a princess/doll-like way, what common rules about women and mainstream imagery they are trying to fight against, in which way they successfully make " noise " in Japanese society and the way they have escaped from the reality of the time through their characteristic style. I will conclude this essay comparing Goth Lolita in Japan and the Western Goth subculture.

Derived from Vladimir Nabokov’s eponymous 1955 novel and its pre-adolescent heroine, seen by the older male narrator as a ‘nymphet’, the ‘Lolita’ look typical in the United States, for example—generally characterized by highly eroticized adolescent or preadolescent girls—has stirred controversy in many Western societies. Japanese Lolita fashion, on the other hand, is characterized by images of women adorned in elaborate dresses with delicate fabrics inspired by stylistic interpretations of early-modern European clothing such as Rococo and Victorian dresses. The style thus exudes the look of European bisque dolls, yet one senses there is something odd about these Japanese ‘European’ dresses.

Lolita style also references various forms of contemporary popular culture, including Western Goth subculture, manga, anime and Visual-kei (Visual-Rock) music—a Japanese music genre popular in the 1990s, typified by musicians wearing elaborate make-up and hairstyles, with flamboyant, rather androgynous costumes. Although it is practised by a small group of people, Lolita fashion has received substantial media and academic attention, perhaps due to its visually spectacular and eye-catching nature. Moreover, the presence of Lolita fashion has increasingly been noted in locations worldwide. But why do people wish to dress in Lolita fashion?

When discussing cultural flows within a transnational context, often the focus of debate is the issue of whether cultures tend towards unification or. In this chapter however, I am interested in whether flows of culture override or dissolve cultural differences in the places they reach, via an examination of Lolita fashion. The first section focuses on Lolita fashion in the Japanese context. Paying particular attention to its stylistic aspects, I examine one of the ways in which historical European clothing has been appropriated in Japan. The second section looks at the Lolita trend outside Japan by way of a textual analysis of an Anglophone on-line community for Lolita fashion lovers, ‘EGL (Elegant Gothic Lolita) The Gothic & Lolita Fashion Community’. In so doing, I will explore how concepts such as ‘local’ and ‘global’ have been relativized or renegotiated in Lolita fashion.

This paper is a summary of the research conducted as a part of Japan Foundation language program. It concerned modern Harajuku subcultures — their characteristics, meaning and changes that occur within them. Analysis was made on pairs of opposing concepts that create the whole picture of the phenomenon: fashion and music, the West and Japan, tradition and modernity, men and women, fantasy and reality, players and creators, consumption and art, alternative and mainstream culture and subcultures of Harajuku and other areas of Tokyo. Harajuku is character-ised by creativity, self-expression and freedom, what leads to the process of blurring boundaries in order to multiply the range of inspirations (toy box strategy). The aim is to satisfy the feeling of akogare (longing) for the fantasy world. Despite linking and exchanging various external elements, in the end the feeling of belonging to Harajuku preserves what is connected with the fact that nowadays Harajuku is not only a physical space in Tokyo, but also a kind of a symbol and a mental concept.

Published in: "Facing East. International scholars on Japanese culture"

Kamikaze Girls and Loli-Goths
Kathryn Hardy Bernal
Abstract
(2006)

Kamikaze Girls (dir. Tetsuya Nakashima, 2004) is a film that both extracts and informs the Japanese fashion subculture of the Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL, gosuloli or Loli-Goth). Based on a light novel by Novala Takemoto (2002) and spawning Yukio Kanesada’s manga version in 2005, it is an example of shojo (teenage girls’) fiction. Released in Japan as Shimotsuma Monogatari, or Shimotsuma Story, Kamikaze Girls tells of the two unlikely companions, Momoko Ryugasaki (Kyoko Fukada), a 'Sweet' Lolita obsessed with the designer label Baby the Stars Shine Bright, and Ichigo ('Ichiko') Shirayuri (Anna Tsuchiya), a yanki, or biker-punk, member of a rough all-girl bōsōzoku (motorcycle gang). The narrative operates on a somewhat allegorical level and is certainly of a comical nature, weaving the girls’ histories throughout a fantastic multi-media world of anime, music video, and live-action sequences. On the surface, this colourful foray appeals as light entertainment yet on another level represents more topical cultural issues.

Kamikaze Girls interfaces with the realm of the EGL (Elegant Gothic Lolita) and the notion of 'cute gothic'. It has been said that Japan’s obsession with all things cute, or the kawaii phenomenon, represents an 'infantile mentality (Kageyama 2006) and a reluctance to 'grow up' (Shoin 2006). It has also been related in general to post-war Japan’s perpetuating uncertainties about the future (Kayama 2004). In terms of the Lolita, says Kayama, the dressing as frilly babies symbolises still a deeper anxiety, instigated in the 1990s by economic instability and the wish to hang onto childhood security. This is perhaps one reason why the cult translates, for a minority of male followers, to that of the Elegant Gothic Aristocrat (EGA). For Japanese girls, though, this fear of adulthood is more pertinent in the face of the harsher realities of womanhood. This is interesting in terms of the sexual connotations of the Lolita in the West and the sexual ambiguities of the EGL. The focus of this paper, therefore, will be how Kamikaze Girls reflects more complex attitudes related to sexuality, gender and Japanese society via competing images of the 'cute' and the gothic.

Using discourse analysis, I critically investigate the intertextuality of the Japanese subculture of Lolicon and Lolita representations; including the controversy around erotic anime called rorikon, and issues related to virtual child pornography. What was once culturally-bound to Japan, now influences popular culture in the United States and Europe. Inherent in the formation of Lolicon and rorikon are the discursive connections threading throughout the Lolita genre and the subculture of Loli-girls, which I argue serve to tantalize and further promote consumption of sexualized girl imagery.

Using discourse analysis, I critically investigate the intertextuality of the Japanese subculture of Lolicon and Lolita representations; including the controversy around erotic anime called rorikon, and issues related to virtual child pornography. What was once culturally-bound to Japan, now influences popular culture in the United States and Europe. Inherent in the formation of Lolicon and rorikon are the discursive connections threading throughout the Lolita genre and the subculture of Loli-girls, which I argue serve to tantalize and further promote consumption of sexualized girl imagery.

This paper explores the concept of Gothic in relation to the contemporary Japanese Gothic & Lolita movement (G&L). Although it discusses G&L as a whole, it places a specific focus on the Gosurori (Gosu-loli, Gothloli, or Gothic Lolita) by tracing the evolution of the fashion-based Lolita subculture, from its historical, transcultural origins, and the development of its meanings.

The Japanese Lolita subculture, now becoming an increasingly worldwide preoccupation, is represented by women who dress as doll-like children. The image of this “Lolita,” which may either be categorized as “Gothic” or “Sweet,” or both, is inspired by traditional European clothing from the French Rococo and Victorian periods. Whilst it emerged from “little-girl” Japanese street styles of the 1970s, it transitioned through the New Romantic 1980s, picking up more frills, lace and ribbons on the way. For the Gothic Lolita, these influences were also fused with Neo-Victorian characteristics of gothic subcultural fashions, including elements of mourning dress, and accessories such as cameos, crosses, crucifixes, and rosary beads.

The transmigration and translation of ideas that have contributed to the G&L phenomenon are examined in context with the formulation of the gothic aspects of the Gosurori identity. In doing so, the following question will be raised and investigated, “What is gothic about Lolita?”

Whilst the Gothic and Lolita subcultural movement arose in Japan, it represents a transmigration and collaboration of ideas between Japanese and Euro-American cultures, especially pertaining to the Gothic. It, therefore, initially shifted towards sites that shared similar interests regarding these gothic roots, such as the United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Australia and Canada. In more recent years, however, growing “hotspots” have included Latin-American nations, with none more conspicuous than Mexico.
The transition of the Japanese Gothic and Lolita movement into Mexico poses new and pertinent questions associated with differing socio-politics and cultural understandings and meanings, particularly regarding gender, sexuality, and even religion. Why is this movement becoming prevalent in Mexico? Why does it resonate with participants there? How does it operate? What relationships does it have with local and historical traditions, rituals, practices, and superstitions? And, what does it say about the concept of Subculture, itself? Is the notion of a resistant subculture really dead? How is it transformed?
As both an “insider” (participant) and “outsider” (critical observer) researcher of the increasingly globalising Gothic and Lolita subculture, my most recent ethnographic studies, comprised of surveys, interviews and personal communications, have been concentrated on answering these questions in regard to Latin-American Lolita communities, with a focus on, or major case study being, Mexico. This paper reveals some of these findings, which will go towards my PhD: Doctor of Philosophy in Visual and Material Culture thesis, and subsequent publications.

Kathryn A. Hardy Bernal
Kathryn A. Hardy Bernal is an art and design historian and subcultural fashion theorist. She is currently a PhD candidate at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand. Her latest research explores the translation and transmigration of complex socio-political ideas associated with the Lolita subcultural movement across Japanese, Euro-American, and into Hispanic cultures.

- kawaii is one of the most frequently used words by Japanese today
- kawaii is one of the most culturally pervasive aesthetics of the new millennium
- the popularity of kawaii culture can be traced to the cornerstones of Japanese culture and society (cf. Japan as "Kingdom of Cute")
- kawaii became a significant economic driver in manga, anime, fashion, television, magazines, pop-music, etc.
- Japanese consumers are apt to ignore political messages and advertisements without kawaii characters

'Identity is a performance of fantasy and desire – a pursuit of being and becoming the image of this desire' (Butler 1999: 5). This notion of performance is often elevated via the media of cyberspace, as one’s identity becomes segregated from the corporeal self.
This paper investigates the concept of constructing, or manufacturing, a 'Lolita' identity in the virtual world. It explores how Gothloli (members of the fashion-based Lolita movement) formulate online images of their desired selves in order to perform, and thereby establish, an 'authentic' presence within the subculture and an acceptance by leaders, and peer participants, of worldwide Lolita communities.
The existence of digital technologies, particularly social networking sites and blogs, has created a globalising effect for many subcultural movements, which may have remained insular and underground, otherwise. It has also encouraged a sense of belonging: Whilst members may be geographically separated, they are also united in virtual space. The affinity gained through online forms of interchange is notably pertinent for Gothloli who live outside Japan, the movement’s place of origin, especially if real-life interactions are made impossible by lack of local congregation. However, a downside of internet visibility, and a major consequence of the ability to hide behind an 'avatar', is the prevalence of cyberbullying, due to the immense pressure to 'fit in', and thus competition and jealousy. This paper focusses on these paradoxes; the positive and negative influences of the Lolita subculture in cyberspace.
Reference
Butler, J. (1999), Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, New York: Routledge.

Elegant Gothic Lolita, or simply Lolita, is a fashion subculture that began as a street fashion among the youth in Harajuku Japan. Lolita fashion is characterized by the modest and Victorian era inspired clothing that often features knee length skirts and dresses that are supported by petticoats, blouses with ruffles and pintucks, and legs covered by either stockings or socks. The Lolita fashion subculture has spread to outside of Japan and communities are now found in almost every US State. The purpose of this project is to explore the rituals, practices, and conflicts, in Lolita Communities of the United States, especially in the realms of behavior, dress, and sexuality. As with many cultures, there are a set of punishments and rewards for following or failing to follow the protocols that are set in place. I explore what these rules, behavioral protocols, rites of passage, and dress codes are, while also examining the punishment and reward systems that are in place. Participant observation, interviews, and auto-ethnography have been used. The Lolita fashion subculture is complex and hierarchical. An emphasis is not just placed on the clothing involved in the subculture, but also on the personalities and merits of each individual member and how they interact with the community as a whole.

We aim to consider the links between youth subcultures and young people’s sexual cultures and particularly how the concept of youth
subcultures has had an impact upon the study of young people’s sexual cultures, leaving a distinguished legacy of ideas and methods that have had agenerative impact upon the fields of education and childhood studies.

From its inception, the subcultural movement known as Gothic and Lolita has displayed an exchange of ideas between Japan and Euro-American cultures. More recently, however, the subculture has shifted, not only in regard to traditional meanings, and the way that it operates, but also geographically, into communities on the periphery of its original sites of major interest. In the past few years, Latin-American nations, particularly Mexico, have become conspicuous “hotspots” for participation in the movement. This transition raises questions about differing socio-politics and cultural understandings, particularly regarding gender.
As a girls’ subculture, Gothic and Lolita broke with historical, stereotypical frameworks that positioned subcultural movements from a male-dominated perspective. In Japan, it also demonstrated a resistance to established roles for, and expectations of, women. As such, it has been argued that the original Japanese Gothic and Lolita movement represented a new type of feminism. Over time, as the subculture transmigrated into other sites, especially the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and North-Western Europe, this context became less pertinent. However, the relatively recent growth of Gothic and Lolita communities in Mexico exhibits a new phase of the movement, which shakes up past meanings and understandings, yet again, especially in terms of gender politics.
How is gender understood within the Gothic and Lolita movement in a Mexican environment? What does this context mean to, and for, Mexican participants? How is the movement observed by friends, family, and outsiders? Why is this movement becoming prevalent in Mexico? How does it operate? Why does it resonate with participants? How is it relevant? And how is it transformed from its Japanese origins? As both an “insider” and “outsider” researcher of the Gothic and Lolita subcultural movement, this paper reveals some of the outcomes to these questions via a critical analysis of ethnographic studies undertaken with members of the movement in Mexico.

Contemporary Japanese culture and music has not only continued to evolve at home, but has also attracted a broad following overseas  Japanese pop-power gives the country a new cultural impact, which complements Japan's economic progress, and informs official political agenda (cf. the Cool Japan strategy)

This thesis, completed for the award of Doctor of Philosophy in Visual and Material Culture, Ph.D., examines the development of the fashion-based Mexican Gothic and Lolita movement, and its evolution from its subcultural Japanese roots. It asks, “What are the cultural conditions that encourage this movement to flourish in the Mexican environment?” In turn, “What does Mexican culture contribute to Mexican Gothic and Lolita style?” And, “What does Mexican Gothic and Lolita style say about Mexican culture, society, and beliefs?”
The Gothic and Lolita movement is currently thriving in Mexico as an authentic, independent, creative, handmade fashion industry, yet to be co-opted into mainstream culture. With the do-it-yourself aspect of the movement comes its own, unique, cultural flavour. As such, it transforms and rearranges meanings of the original subcultural style in order to make new statements, which subvert the meanings, and understandings, of the Japanese Lolita identity. Analyses of Mexican Gothic and Lolita styles, in context with the Mexican environment, culture, and belief systems, as well as the operation of the do-it-yourself Mexican Gothic and Lolita industry, are major focal points of this study. Also investigated are the ways the movement reflects, fits into, and departs from, the philosophies of the original subculture, especially regarding sociocultural and gender politics. These latter aspects are critiqued in context with “normative” gender positions, roles and hierarchies, within mainstream Japanese and Mexican societies.

This paper discusses how museums and galleries might positively engage with Asian audiences and bring Asian communities into the museum environment. Museums are cultural institutions that should reflect, preserve, interpret and promote cultural heritage and communities. In the local Acts of the four major metropolitan museums in New Zealand, there are specific requirements for these institutions to represent their communities’ ethnic diversities. New Zealand has become increasingly multicultural. According to New Zealand’s 2006 census, 17.8 percent of New Zealanders are of non-Pakeha, non-Maori ethnicity, and 22.9 percent were born outside New Zealand. With the growing number of Asians living in New Zealand, and in particular Auckland, a question may be raised as to whether local museums truly reflect and engage with these communities. Using the example of the exhibition Loli-Pop: A downtown Auckland view on Japanese street fashion as a case study (Auckland War Memorial Museum, 14 September – 26 November 2007), the authors explore how New Zealand museums and galleries can effectively reflect and communicate with Asian audiences through exhibition.

FREE OPEN ACCESS HERE: https://newvoices.org.au/volume-12/childs-play-exploring-the-significance-of-kawaii-for-decora-and-fairy-kei-fashion-practitioners-in-harajuku-through-a-case-focused-analysis/

Literature that explores alternative kawaii (‘cute’; ‘adorable’) fashion associated with Harajuku, Japan, argues that it is an infantile practice in which practitioners seek to reject adult thoughts, feelings and responsibility through childish mannerisms and dress. These understandings of kawaii fashion, however, are formed without input from practitioners themselves. Drawing upon a case-focused analysis of alternative kawaii fashion practitioners in Harajuku derived from semi-structured interviews, this article seeks to contribute to this discussion from a sociological perspective. The article focusses on decora and fairy kei, two alternative kawaii fashion styles in Harajuku that typically incorporate toys and clothing intended for children, and in doing so blur the boundaries between acceptable attire for children and adults. The article provides an overview of literature on the relationship between kawaii fashion and ‘the little girl’ (shōjo) and identifies new possibilities for expanding on current understandings of kawaii. It also seeks to complicate views that equate alternative kawaii fashion practice with childishness by placing the voices of two practitioners in dialogue with scholarly research in this area to date. In doing so, the article advocates for the voices of practitioners to be considered in future scholarship on alternative kawaii fashion with ties to Harajuku.

This exhibition, a collaboration between AUT University and Auckland Museum, explores street style in Japan, from the perspective of a New Zealand response to the Japanese phenomenon generally known as the Gothic & Lolita movement. The Gothic Lolita, or Loli-Goth, style is designated by fashions inspired by the Rococo, Romantic and Victorian periods. It is based on a particular notion of the Gothic, represented by historical mourning garb, maidservants’ wear, children’s dresses, and dolls’ clothes. The Loli-Goth thus demonstrates a predilection for bloomers, petticoats, pinafores, ribbons, ruffles, bonnets, lace headdresses, parasols, and Mary Jane shoes. The appearance, therefore, often evokes that of a Victorian doll.

Loli-Pop brings together the relationships between the Loli-Goth and popular culture, and the strong association of the Loli-Goth with the Doll, with a selection from curator Kathryn Hardy Bernal’s personal collection of Japanese Lolita dolls. This display is supported by the highlight of the show, five full-sized garments, designed and constructed by AUT University Fashion staff members, Angie Finn, Yvonne Stewart, Lize Niemczyk, Gabriella Trussardi, Kathryn Hardy Bernal and Carmel Donnelly, which demonstrate the designers’ own interpretations of Gothic & Lolita (specifically, Gothic Lolita, Sweet Lolita, Punk Lolita, Gothic Aristocrat and Country Lolita, respectively), inspired by Japanese street style. The exhibit is complimented by a backdrop of photographs that illustrate the impact of the outfits when worn, modelled by AUT University Bachelor of Fashion Design students, Emily Huang, Shangshang Cookie Wang, Emily Wang, Shiahug-Wen Sean Kuo and Yanling Wang. A visual framework is incorporated by two further photographic series, comprising shots taken on the street by Auckland Museum’s Bevan Chuang during a recent research trip to Tokyo with Kathryn Hardy Bernal, documenting current incarnations of Gothic & Lolita in Japan, which is supported by images of local Loli-Goths, contributing to the New Zealand context of the Exhibition.

The fashion style of the ‘Gothloli’ (Gosurori, Gosu-loli, or Gothic Lolita), a member of the contemporary ‘Lolita’ subculture, is inexorably bound to the archetypal ‘Alice’. Members of this movement dress in garments inspired by the Victorian age, whilst the silhouette is reminiscent, particularly, of Sir John Tenniel’s illustrations for Lewis Carroll’s heroine, and defined by Walt Disney’s, Alice. Most often, the design is referential and, other times, the translation is more literal, whereby outfits may be decorated with Alice figures and motifs.
The Alice-Lolita image is prolific, especially in Japan. Here, the relationship between Alice and Lolita also appears in other areas of popular culture, such as shōjo graphic novels and anime, and in the art of Nori Tomizaki. In Tomizaki’s digital paintings and manipulated photographs of doll-like figures, or lifelike dolls, there is an emphasis on the Gothic, whereby Alice and the Gothloli are juxtaposed to represent the epitome of a sweet-but-scary little girl.
However, there may be more than a superficial connection between Alice and Lolita, in that, it may be argued, there is perhaps no coincidence that the author, Lewis Carroll, or Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (his true identity), is believed to have suffered from a syndrome known as the ‘Lolita Complex’, the condition that takes its name from the female protagonist of Vladimir Nabokov’s notorious novel, and is designated as an obsession with young girls. Though – whilst Carroll’s Alice stories, Nabokov’s Lolita, and Gothloli are similar, in the fact that they all serve to immortalise the Little Girl – the Lolita fashion style, formed in Alice’s image and bearing the title of the Nabokovian child, is determined to be neither directly, nor circumstantially, related to its namesake.
This chapter explores these intertextual relationships between Alice, Lolita and the Lolita fashion-based movement, and investigates the validity of the subculture’s identification with the Lolita Complex.

This paper investigates the concept of Gothic in regard to the contemporary Japanese Gothic & Lolita movement (G&L), specifically focussing on the cult of the Gothic Lolita, whilst querying the existence of an apparent distillation through the transmigration of Gothic sensibilities. The discussion revolves around the perceived watering-down effect of the Gothic via cross-cultural dissemination, its transformations through globalisation, and subsequent issues connected with 'authenticity'.
Comparisons are drawn between notions of the Gothic across Japan and the West, looking at the translation of ideas from Western to Eastern to Western expression, raising questions, in relation to this subculture, as to what can be defined as Gothic: 'What is the Gothic Lolita?'; 'What is Gothic about Lolita?'; and 'What is Lolita not?'.

Link: https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE35346381
From its inception, the subcultural movement known as Gothic and Lolita has displayed an exchange of ideas between Japan and Euro-American cultures. More recently, however, the subculture has shifted, not only regarding traditional meanings, and the way that it operates, but also geographically, into communities on the periphery of its original sites of major interest. In the past few years, Latin-American nations, particularly Mexico, have become conspicuous hotspots for participation in the movement. This transition raises questions about differing socio-politics and cultural understandings, particularly associated with gender.

As a girls’ subculture, Gothic and Lolita broke with historical, stereotypical frameworks that positioned subcultural movements from a male-dominated perspective. In Japan, it also demonstrated a resistance to established roles for, and expectations of, women. As such, it can be argued that the original Japanese Gothic and Lolita movement represented a new type of feminism. Over time, as the subculture transmigrated into other sites, especially the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and North-Western Europe, this context became less pertinent. However, the relatively recent growth of Gothic and Lolita communities in Mexico exhibits a new phase of the movement, which shakes up past meanings and understandings, yet again, especially in terms of gender politics.

How is gender understood within the Gothic and Lolita movement in a Mexican environment? Why is this movement becoming prevalent in Mexico? How does it operate? And how is it transformed from its Japanese origins? As both an “insider” and “outsider” researcher of the Gothic and Lolita subcultural movement, this paper reveals some of the outcomes to these questions via a critical analysis of ethnographic studies undertaken with members of the movement in Mexico.

Play in kawaii (cute) fashion communities in Harajuku, Tokyo, enable women in Japan to seek new ways to live well together. Through whimsical imaginings and the creation of spectacular clothing, this community of women provides an instance of how we can pursue happiness in uncertain times. While kawaii fashion has captured the imagination of scholars worldwide, little is known about how participants experience their fashion making and creative life inside the community.  This paper explores how participants use their imagination and fashion making as a form of play. Winnicott’s (1971) concepts of play and the “not-me” can be used to explore the value of play to these participants and how it has the capacity to bring joy. Informed by close readings of interviews conducted with participants in 2014-2016, this study argues that play brings participants emotionally closer to their dreams of a fantastic other, or “not-me”, which represents a new potential for self.  This paper finds that social movements like kawaii fashion communities use play as a tool to help individuals negotiate their sense of self- who they are and who they wish to be.

This is a podcast interview I hosted with with Japanese kawaii fashion street model, Haruka Kurebayashi and previous Harajuku business owner, Rei Saionji. The interview is part of the Girl Museum's podcast series GirlSpeak, and is linked to our essay/photo exhibit at the museums More Than Pretty Exhibition. You can listen to the podcast for free here
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Ptrs5jRD31UfXXoop5plQ?si=9l5LvL4qTxuGl3oGVJWgqg&dl_branch=1

What is the significance of place for Harajuku kawaii fashion communities?

Through media-based representations of the “Harajuku Girl,” our perceptions of kawaii fashion are now intertwined with our understanding of Harajuku as a space. However, Lolitas and other kawaii fashionistas are slowly leaving Harajuku. Why is this the case? And, where are they now? Using interviews with key style icons in the kawaii fashion community, this talk by Megan Catherine Rose will explore the significance of Harajuku to community members. It also offers new ways in which we can understand and appreciate the practices of the “Harajuku girl.”

This talk is part of the Tokyo FRUiTS event series, featuring talks, a film and an exhibition featuring an immersive installation of a Harajuku room, produced by Megan Rose.

From colourful decora to neo-goths and cyber-punks, influential street fashion publication FRUiTS Magazine told stories from Harajuku, the creative centre of Tokyo fashion, for over twenty years.

The Tokyo FRUiTS exhibition will map the myriad of trends and multiple identities of Tokyo fashion, through a selection of photographs from the publication. The exhibition will also feature an immersive installation of a Harajuku room, produced by researcher Megan Rose.

Developed in 1997 in response to Harajuku’s bourgeoning experimental street fashion boom, FRUiTs magazine (led by photographer Shoichi Aoki) documented the colourful characters that defined the creative and fun identity of Tokyo’s youth culture.

Twenty years on, the palette of street fashion has evolved to a simpler aesthetic, with a stronger Western influence, and the FRUiTs publication drew to a close. This exhibition traces the movement from Decora girl gangs, Lolita, and Urahara kei, through to the more recent trends of Neo Gyaru, Nu Goth, and the Simple Boom.

Kawaii (cute) fashion communities in Harajuku, Tokyo, offer a unique opportunity to explore the role affect and emotion plays in the interactions inside Japanese women's subcultures. By constructing and dreaming their own play spaces, which are inspired by occidental fantasies, these participants offer an interesting perspective on how different modes of belonging are characterized by global flows. In current post-subcultural studies (for example, see) subcultures are examined as systems and experiences of resistance in a structuralist sense. This tends to miss the subjective experiences of participants and has led to the marginalization of women's groups that operate outside of these themes This paper seeks to address this oversight by offering an approach to studying communities that values alternative ways of being, with a particular emphasis on emotion and affect. Inspired by Frank's (2010) notion of the dialogical and Winnicott's (1971) work on creativity, this study utilizes close readings of interviews with Japanese participants and participant observation in Harajuku to explore affectual experiences inside the fashion community. This paper explores how feelings of love and dreams of the occident, not resistance, operate as a primary force that contributes to the formation of this grouping as a community.