Japanese street fashion the new style
by Jackie Tran Van
As fashion week drew to an end a new focus is set to keep Auckland fashion in the lime-light.
Loli-pop is the latest exhibition at the Auckland Museum and focuses on Japanese Gothic Lolita phenomenon.
In a nut-shell, Gothic Lolita or Loli-goth is a style of fashion based on dolls adopted as a Japanese street style.
The look is very theatrical, something that has long been associated with Japanese street culture, with plenty of ruffles, lace, petticoats and Mary Jane shoes.
Originating in Japan, the style is mass marketed there and is most visible on the streets of Tokyo and Osaka. Outside of Japan it isn’t widely marketed.
Here in New Zealand the exhibition is being held to “explore the relationships between the Loli-Goth and popular culture”, says Curator Kathryn Hardy Bernal, lecturer in Contextual and Theoretical Studies at AUT University.
“Lolita” is a reference to the famous novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The majority of teens who dress in this style do not make the link to the overtly sexual Lolita of the novel and instead dress this way because it looks cute, beautiful and elegant.
Many defend their choice of dress and think it is much less offensive than some of the clothes their peers choose to wear.
The loli-goth style has a presence here in Auckland which the Loli-pop exhibition hopes to portray.
Loli-Pop brings together the relationships between the Loli-Goth and popular culture, and the strong association of the Loli-Goth with the doll, including a selection from Hardy Bernal’s personal collection of Japanese Lolita dolls.
This display is supported by the highlight of the show, five full-sized garments created and constructed by AUT University Fashion staff members, Angie Finn, Yvonne Stewart, Lize Niemczyk, Gabriella Trussardi, Carmel Donnelly and Kathryn Hardy Bernal, which demonstrate the designers’ own interpretations of Gothic & Lolita.
The exhibit is complimented by a backdrop of photographs that illustrate the impact of the outfits when worn.
The exhibition runs at the Tamaki Gallery until November 18 and is free with donation.