Anita Media Lolita: August 2011

Lolita fashion for the most part seems to be a Japanese youth subculture, but what are the origins of this look and where did it start? This topic has been debated by many. Some say it all started with Angelic Pretty, Formerly "Milk and Pretty". A Japanese fashion house that started in the 1970's. Victorian influenced,their focus was on modesty, designing knee length skirts and dresses with a "cupcake" shape. Surely the Japanese weren't the only ones on this new curve of fashion. Other designers such as Bib, Chloé, and Ossie Clark created their own take on the soft, feminine, and romantic style in the 70's. So who are the children of this era that were inspired by the look only to take it to the next level. Jared Gold born in 72,started creating fashion since 92, surely had to have infused these images with inspiration of where he grew up in Idaho. Prairiesque? Victorian? get it? ok its conjecture on my part but he also grew up with Dame Darcy. For me in my mind its all coming together now. Dame Darcy known worldwide as an illustrator, writer, fine artist, musician, cabaret mermaid, and lolita fashion plate. She told me that she began "dressing like a doll" when she was a youth and a teenager. In love with the prettiness of dolls and the many different ways you could dress them in their doll clothes. Darcy said she wasn't allowed to have Barbies, but was encouraged by her mother to instead make her own dolls and doll clothes. Ok I'm getting it now, we have Jared Gold pushing this look beginning in the 90's and Dame Darcy who has been published by Fantagraphics since the 90's. We have the Fashion Designer, and the Artist, the other component to this equation is the Musician, the other important influence on any trend or fashion wave of its time. Its always been a pop culture tradition to look to musicians as a fashion influence. In the early to mid 90's the "Kinderwhore" wave began to crest, and before you knew it Lolita like looks were being worn by almost every young girl and young woman, influenced by its new riot girl roots. The Kinderwhore look consisted of "baby doll" dresses or nighties, heavy eye makeup, boots or mary- janes. Courtney Love of Hole says she was the first to popularize it. Others argue that it was actually Kat Bjelland of Babes in Toyland. Although one thing is for sure, these two both loved vintage baby doll dresses from the 70's, and they also met and grew up in the same music scene together. So was Japan so enamored by our music and its female images of that time,that that is how they began evolving this into what became Gothic Lolita? Well in the 1990's in the Kansai region of northern Japan young women there too started wearing their own take on this doll-like fashion craze. Many say that their influence actually came from the band Malice Mizer. Their early musical themes were said to be characterized by strong classical and french themes, thus the victorian costumery they wore. Ok, I think its coming full circle now...their look was also known as "Visual kei". Which is a music genre, or a sub-genre of Japanese rock, with its own particular sound, related to glam rock, punk and metal. Their are also many stateside fans of Visual kei, and many of their representation of Visual kei fashion has also be referred to as Kindergoth.I guess well, there you have it. My results of tracing the origins of doll-like fashion. Debate away if you must and I'm sure some of you will, which is fine by me. In the meantime I have dresses to press and crinolines to starch.

Jared Gold Designs