Posts Tagged ‘clubs’

Ciao, Italia! La Carmina has lots of Gothic Globetrotting ahead this year. Sebastiano and I will be in Italy in June… on a sponsored trip! From June 9-11, Seba and I will be special guests at Firenze4Ever III. It’s an extravaganza for top fashion bloggers around the world, presented by designer boutique LuisaViaRoma.

If you’re in Italy with a fellow Lip Service model, you might as well do some traveling, right? Our wonderful friends at Hostelbookers are hooking us up with hotels all over Italy — meaning Seba and I will be in Venice, Rome, Milan and Florence this June.

Of course, the first question on my mind is… what’s Italy’s Gothic scene like? I had the pleasure of interviewing my Twitter friend, Lady Aphasia, about the best Goth shops and parties in Milan. Here are her suggestions.

La Carmina: Tell me a bit about yourself.

Aphasia: I’m a woman in love — in love with my job (events organization), with life and with music. I’ve always lived in Milan, even though I’m half French.

La Carmina: How did you first become interested and involved in Goth underground fashion and subcultures in Milan?

Aphasia: It’s always been so, since I was 14 and I discovered bands like Cure, Bauhaus, Siouxie and so on. Milan it’s a little town compared to London or L.A. but we don’t miss anything if you know where to look for.

La Carmina: Can you tell me how the Gothic scene in Milan originated and evolved? Are there aspects that are distinct to the scene?

Aphasia: I guess it began at the end of eighties, where there was also the punk scene. Milan has been divided in groups: trendy ones, punk, gothic, metal and glam. Even the districts of the town were delineated by these groups. Music from UK and USA was like an overflow, so many discos and alternative pubs opened.

Now it’s a bit different: all alternative peoples meet in a few places, they get along quite well. But there are only a few pubs and discos. Now new wave and gothic has a quite of overlap with other cultures, like industrial.

La Carmina: How would you describe Gothic fashion in Italy?

Aphasia: You should check yourself, it’s very heterogeneous, you can find aristocrat fashion and cyber goth in the same group. During the last few years, Gothic & Lolita has become famous. Unfortunately there aren’t many shops, most of them sell cosplay outfits. You can find goth and loli accessories without many troubles, but for dresses, the web is still the best way.

La Carmina: Has the fashion scene changed a lot?

Aphasia: Yes it is, but because of internet, now you can see and choose clothing, and get input from the foreign scenes.

La Carmina: Can you recommend some Milan / Italy-based Gothic clothing brands, designers and shops?

Aphasia: For alternative shops, goods, clothes etc. you can’t miss Corso Porta Ticinese. It’s a street in the middle of Milan that will bring you to Duomo. This part of the town is where alternatives people meet, and there are many types of shops, low-cost bars and pubs.

La Carmina: What is the Italian Goth clubs scene like?

Aphasia: One of the most important alternative/goth club is the BLACK HOLE. This is my favorite; it’s not in the center of town but not far either. Zoe Club is the bigger alternative club in town. Then there’s the Shelter Club: this one is out of Milan, not easy to reach, but important for dark and new wave culture. Black Circus is good too. At these events, you will see dark, loli, goth, cyber styles all together.

La Carmina: What do you predict for the dark fashion / scene in Milan and Italy? Is it growing, changing?

Aphasia: I love Japanese brands so it’s quite difficult to answer. But things are always changing –  it’s always so, isn’t it?

La Carmina: Thank you, my dark Lady, for the interview. Sebastiano Serafini and I can’t wait to check out Milan’s darkest haunts. As always, I’ll have photos and stories for you on my Goth culture and fashion blog.

Ciao, ciao!
XXX LA CARMINA XXX
http://www.lacarmina.com/

(The first 2 photos are by La Carmina. The last 3 photos in this post are courtesy Shelter Club.)

Anyone in Tokyo this XXX-mas? You are in luck. Japan is the capital of creative, experimental Gothic fashion — and there are several club events happening on December 25th!

Midnight Mess is the longest-running Goth Industrial EBM event in Tokyo. On December 25th, organizer Maya is hosting a † Nightmare After X’mas † party, featuring performer Chaos Royale. For maps, instructions and details, I have a big fat Tokyo club guide on La Carmina blog.

Readers often tell me they feel intimidated to go to Japanese Goth parties alone, especially if they are new to Tokyo. Rest assured that everyone is very nice, and many of the hosts speak English. The crowd may be covered in piercings and leopard print, but they’re some of the nicest folk you’ll ever meet at a club!

Here I am with the Midnight Mess family. In addition to DJs, there are rope suspensions and live musical performers. Covenant, Das Ich, Spanking Machine, Skinny Puppy and more have graced the stage.

On Christmas, Tokyo Decadance is also taking place at J-Pop Cafe in Shibuya. DJ SiSEN and Selia are regular performers.

Organized by Adrien le Danois, Decadance is notorious for its crazy cyber rainbow club fashion. You’ll see every style tribe here — from Gothic Lolita to light-up body suits.

What if you don’t have a flamboyant outfit? You can buy fashion from the booths at the party, such as these custom eyelashes by ViVi.

What if you’re not in Tokyo for the holidays? No problem — the parties happen every month. And Decadance Bar — the hangout of space alien club queens – is open every night of the week.

How to get there? For addresses, RSVP info, maps and reports please check out my Tokyo club guide.

Excellent news - I’m in Los Angeles from December 28 to Jan 10th! Can’t wait to drop by Lip Service headquarters and say hi to the team.

On Saturday, Jan 1st, Sebastiano Serafini and La Carmina are hosting a party at LA’s spookiest nightclub, Bar Sinister in Hollywood.

Two indie-alternative bands are performing that night: Julien-K and The Dreaming. There will be fetish playroom stations, Goth EBM Industrial deejays, and copious amounts of absinthe… we hope you can come!!

WHAT: La Carmina & Sebastiano Serafini — party at Bar Sinister. RSVP on Facebook.

WHEN: Saturday, January 1st, 2011, 10:30pm to late. (Please note this is the evening of Jan 1st, NOT New Year’s Eve)
WHERE: Bar Sinister, 1652 N Cherokee Ave (between Hollywood and Selma), Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $16.50 advance / $20 at the door / $5 off with a MySpace flyer. Bring your receipt and ID (21+).
HOW TO BUY: Go to the Bar Sinister site, scroll down to Jan 1st and click Buy Now for advance tickets. Or just show up and get tickets at the door.

So excited to party with you on Jan 1st! Please save the date and tell all your Los Angeles friends. We promise not to bite… unless you want us to…

Itching for more Japanese Goth Lolita clubbing photos and fashion? I post daily photos and reports on www.lacarmina.com/blog – please check it out.

† Dark Wishes †
LA CARMINA