Introducing La Carmina: Global Gothic column! Goth & cyber fashion at Osaka club Black Veil.
Monday, June 28th, 2010 by La Carmina
La Carmina (www.lacarmina.com)
Good evening, creatures of the night! I’m La Carmina, and I’m devilishly delighted to be writing a new monthly column for Lip Service Webzine called “Global Gothic.”
Who I am (other than a Lip Service fan and spooky kid)? I run a blog about alternative/Gothic fashion and lifestyle, particularly in Japan (think Gothic Lolita and Visual Kei ). I wrote three books on Japanese pop culture/food, including Cute Yummy Time (about turning your food into adorable characters) and Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo (think vampire waiters and cross-dressing maids). And I host TV shows on the subject of food, fashion and travel.
Bizarre Foods Tokyo w/ Andrew Zimmern
Ever since I was young, I’ve been collecting stamps on my passport. Now, I’m very fortunate to be able to fly around the world for work. (You may have seen me recently on Travel Channel, taking Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods to a horror prison theme restaurant.)
Whenever I have a day off, you’ll find me browsing local Goth clothing stores and nightcrawling at EBM/industrial parties. So the aim of this column is to shine the spotlight on dark, alternative fashion in various parts of the world. What is Singapore’s Goth scene like? What do people wear to clubs in Berlin, or music festivals in Australia? Let’s globe-trot together and get the scoop… beginning with Osaka, Japan.
In May, I was in Osaka and lady luck was on my side… Black Veil (one of the longest-running and largest Goth events in Japan) was celebrating its 10th anniversary with an all night ball. Japanese Goth female fashion tends to be an alluring combination of spooky and cute. I saw decadent feathered eyelashes, gems around the eyes, and grandiose trailing headpieces.
The men cross-dressed flamboyantly, or wore ruffled shirts and top hats that would befit an undead Victorian aristocrat.
Neon wigs, subdermal implants, elaborate tattoos… Every avenue of alternative beauty is explored in the Osaka Goth nightlife.
Where else do dark ones congregate? Fu-ki, ex-vocalist of Visual Kei band BLOOD, opened a heavy metal bar called Midian in Osaka. (Address, directions and more photos are here.) On any given night, you’ll find spike-haired and pierced rockers headbanging to Black Sabbath, downing cocktails with names such as “Black Rose,” and scandalizing newcomers with boy-on-boy action.
The best place to shop for Goth/Lolita/Rock/Punk clothing is in the Shinsaibashi district, especially the Amerikamura area. (I’ve posted an Osaka Gothic Lolita shopping map here.) My favorite Japanese Gothic/Lolita brands have boutiques in this area, including Atelier Pierrot, Black Peace Now, and the indie designer Dangerous Nude. There’s always fashion inspiration to be found in “Triangle Park”; just take a seat and watch the Goth/Punk youths strut by.
I’m excited to bring more Global Gothic coverage to you every 4th Wednesday of the month. Please feel free to connect with me via Twitter and Facebook — I always love to hear from you. You can also see my Harajuku adventures, Goth outfits, silly Scottish Fold cat videos and more on my daily blog: www.lacarmina.com/blog
† Dark Wishes †
LA CARMINA
You must be logged in to post a comment.