Fanime Con is Japanese culture convention held in San Jose, California the last weekend in May. This convention features anime screenings, fan panels, dances, gaming, and much more. For the first time, Fanime had a J-fashion department, which hosted a variety of events throughout the weekend at the Hyatt Place, directly across the street from the convention center. Some of their most anticipated events were their Elegant and Pop Fashion shows!
Fanime’s Elegant Fashion Show took place on Saturday May 28. Models arrived early in the day to do hair, make-up and don their looks. There was plenty of downtime, and a lot of selfies!
The doors to the fashion show opened at 2:00 PM and the room quickly filled. I think no one expected the overwhelming interest in both fashion shows!
The first designer in the show was American indie lolita brand the Angelic Forest. Their quirky designs included a jumper skirt with wintery sweet treats, a pink jumper skirt with their popular mushroom print, and a one piece version of their screen printed Unicorn Séance print. Their coordinates also featured matching purses, which are available for preorder on their website. The designer was at the show, making last minute adjustments to her pieces.
Next was the Black Ribbon, an American indie lolita (and much more) brand. The Black Ribbon had 7 looks for the fashion show, including 4 pieces that made their debut at Fanime.
My personal favorite was the Pure Bread Dog skirt and matching waist cincher. The Black Ribbon has a tradition of quirky fabrics, including other dog bread puns. Since I got to spend time backstage with the other models, I got to see all the details up close and person. I also was so excited the much anticipated Konbini market series, especially since two of the JSKs were actually showcased at this fashion show! I ended up getting the dress I wanted in my preferred colorway.
European brand Eat Me Ink Me went next. The brand had 4 lolita fashion looks and some matching accessories, including their haunting and elegant lover’s eye belts. The elegant drape and textures of their pieces made them stand out among other brands. I ultimately went home with one of their dresses (though not a piece featured in the fashion show).
Last but certainly not least, Japanese lolita brand Metamorphose Temps De Fille sent more than 10 looks for the fashion show. It was absolutely surreal to stand among familiar indie brands and then suddenly see one of Meta’s prints on the models! My favorite look was probably the two models who wore Dim Light, who walked on the runway together. They looked stunning together!
The show was photographed by artist Leechy, who captured action shots on the runway as well as more posed photos backstage. (They also traveled from North Carolina to photograph for the j-fashion show, how cool is that?) The photos they captured conveyed the sense of movement that the models brought to the runway.
Many of the looks were also available for purchase in the Trunk Show following the fashion show. Whenever I popped into the Trunk Show, there were always people browsing. As I’ve already talked about before, getting to see and try on lolita clothing and accessories before buying!
Given that it was the first year that Fanime hosted a J-fashion department, it’s a given that they won’t have every detail worked on (like having a line out the door for the fashion show!) However, given that they had way more interest in the fashion show than they were expecting, I think the department will be getting bigger!
