Tuesday 12 May 2015

Lolita Fashion Show at Yverdon Contemporary Art Center - April 26th 2015

I was so excited to write this entry, because it was a very important event for me. On April 26th, there was a fashion show organized by my fellow Swiss Lolita friend Pyl in collaboration with the Yverdon Contemporary Art Center. There was also an exhibition with the Swiss Museum of Fashion and an exhibition of Lolita pictures by the talented photographer, Natalia Mansano (you can check her work here: Lolitas). I was so proud to be part of this ambitious project and my friends at the organisation were amazing!

We were planning the fashion show for some weeks and it has been decided that I would represent Classic Lolita! Usually my style is more Sweet with a touch of Classic, so I was quite excited to emphasize my Classic side this time! It was great because we had many styles represented: Gothic, Sweet, Classic, Punk, Brolita, OTT Sweet, Dandy, Sailor, Wa and Qi!

And on Sunday 26, it was finally time for me to go from Geneva to Yverdon! Unfortunately, a train accident occured just a few days before the fashion show and the track between Lausanne and Yverdon was closed. Great. So I had to find a fallback and my mom had to drive us, my friend Rebecca and I, to Yverdon (I don't drive myself... so yeah....)! I am usually a really stressed person and all of this mess only added even more stress, but in the end it all went fine! Phew!

Yverdon Contemporary Art center, which is located in the town hall building!

We arrived on time at the Art Center and we were welcomed by Pyl, who arrived shortly after us. As we still had time before the others would arrive, I visited the exhition! My friends Pyl, Yume, Marie-Lou and Arisa had planned some coordinations to display on dress forms, in collaboration with the Swiss Museum of Fashion. The coordinations then mixed some modern Lolita elements, with authentic vintage pieces provided by the museum! How amazing is that?! Some of the pieces they lent were quite old and delicate, so it was a real mark of trust from them to let us use them.




While I was taking pictures, the other models arrived and it was almost time for the first fashion show (it would repeat 3 times in the afternoon). I set up my my camera and tripod to film the show and then we all went to "hide" backstage. Oh geez, my heart was pounding so fast at this point! As I was representing Classic Lolita, I would be the 3rd one to walk, right after my fellow Gothic and Sweet Lolita models.
If you want to see the fashion show in full, you can watch the video I made on Youtube!



And let me introduce all the models in order of appearance: 

Cheyenne in Gothic Lolita

Marie-Lou in Sweet Lolita

Me in Classic Lolita

Rebecca in Punk Lolita

Mana-Sam, our Brolita

Fifi in OTT Sweet Lolita

Lion's in Dandy

Anne-Christine in Sailor Lolita

Fiona in Wa Lolita

Pyl in Qi Lolita

The fashion show was a success! We were happy because many people came. They also asked us questions and pictures after the show and seemed really interested to know more about Lolita.


Of course, we also took some group pictures! It was so great to have 10 different styles reunited in one picture. It really showed the diversity of Lolita fashion (even if there are actually many more substyles, but well we can't have everything! Haha).

 





After the 3rd and last fashion show, it was time to leave the Art Center. We still had to see the exhibition of pictures taken by Natalia Mansano, which were displayed in a different place. It was actually closed that day, but Pyl could open it for us and the other visitors to see it so they can see the pictures and ask us questions and talk with us.



Then this magical day was over. I was a little sad, but also dead tired... so I was glad I took casual clothes with me and could take off my Lolita outfit! It's like I was living again. Haha.
I think it was the first time we planned such a big events with prestigious partners like the Art Center or the Swiss Museum of Fashion. It really motivated us to see people were interested about the fashion and its culture and were open-minded about it, not considering it as just a "costume" or age play. We got a lot of respect I think and that was gratifying. We now hope to be able to present Natalia Mansano's work in other places, because her pictures really deserve to be seen, so maybe a next event will come soon?
To end this entry, I want to thank again all my friends who helped me to participate in this fashion and for all the hard work they did preparing the exhibitions! You are the best ♥