A Kawaii Sunday with the Lolitas of Fan Expo
By Sunday, most convention attendees are burned out and it’s a miracle if they drag themselves into the show with their pants done up properly. But for the Lolitas of Southern Ontario, it was a fresh and fun-filled day. Putting on their best crinolines and bows, the community came together to show the rest of Fan Expo just how great it is to be kawaii.
Festivities kicked off at noon with a tea party featuring special guest Misako Aoki (pictured above), one of Japan’s top models for Lolita Fashion. Her appearance at the convention was her first time to Canada, and she was happy to enjoy tea and snacks with her fans while discussing the finer points of Japanese fashion and pop culture.
Lolitas also received an education from another Japanese guest of honour, Takamasa Sakurai, an author and media producer involved in the promotion of Lolita style and culture. He discussed Japanese tourism and gave a presentation on his plan to transform the Otaru & Sapporo regions of Northern Japan into a pilgrimage place for fans and members of Lolita communities all around the world:
The tea party carried on with the ladies and gentlemen in attendance treating themselves to sweets, participating in games, coming up with questions for Misako during her brief Q&A, as well as joining with her for photo ops.
As the gathering drew to a close, Misako celebrated the creativity and effort of her Canadian fans by giving out prizes to those wearing co-ordinates she liked best. At last, she concluded the party by selecting official Kawaii Ambassadors for Canada to help spread awareness and appreciation for Lolita.
Amongst the selected ambassadors included the organizer for FanExpo’s Lolita programming, Nadine, who tearfully accepted the recognition to much thanks and celebration from the other girls.
But there was little time to stop and smell the cupcakes, as the fashion show was set to begin shortly after the tea party wrapped up.
The newly-appointed Ambassadors came forward to introduce the show and speak about the various eras of fashion history that Lolita borrows from, including Victorian and Rococo styles from England and France. Introductions were brief, as the gorgeous co-ordinates the community members wore truly spoke for themselves:
While Lolita is a fashion rather than actual cosplay, the popularity of these events does suggest that not everything at anime and comic conventions has to be about the pressure to show as much skin as possible regardless of an individual’s comfort zone. It’s okay to express yourself and be cute if you want to be!
