On the weekend of the 8th and 9th of September 2012,
The Tea Party Club, a community of British lolitas that organises meetups and events, celebrated its 5th anniversary by hosting the UK's first ever brand party at the Charing Cross Hotel in London. In contrast to most overseas brand parties, which tend to be skewed towards sweet lolita, the event was dedicated to the classic lolita brand
Juliette et Justine, represented by chief designer
Mari Nakamura. She was joined by
Mariko Suzuki, editor of the lolita scene's leading publication, The Gothic & Lolita Bible, internationally renowned doll maker
Koitsukihime, who has worked with artists like
Tim Burton,
Malice Mizer and
D, as well as lolita brand Baby the Stars Shine Bright, and makeup artist
Akira Tanaka of
Tony's Collection Inc.
The prospect of meeting these distinguished guests attracted a record number of 180 lolitas not only from the UK, but from all over the world, including continental Europe, the US, Australia and Singapore. Also in attendance was fashion photographer
Pat Lyttle, author of the book "Japanese Street Style". For this was not only the first brand party to take place on British soil—it was also Juliette et Justine's first international event and first ever brand party—in Japan or abroad.
Saturday
The day started with an hour of shopping as attendees indulged to their heart's content in Juliette et Justine's lavish creations, including cat print t-shirts that had been designed exclusively for the event, as well as accessories from Western brands such as Roxie Sweetheart, Now Voyager and Dunkelsüß. Around lunchtime, the formal programme began with a 40-minute long Q&A session, which yielded information that undoubtedly raised a few neatly plucked eyebrows. For example,
Mari Nakamura revealed that 40% of Juliette et Justine's customer base are Westerners while
Mariko Suzuki, editor of the scene's most influential fashion and lifestyle guide, stated that lolitas can make up their own rules.
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After a lunch break with an optional scavenger hunt, it was time for the second highlight of the day: Juliette et Justine's fashion show featuring designs from the brand's autumn/winter collection. A short performance of live opera set the mood, then the catwalk kicked off very appropriately with a spectacular black and gold creation sporting
The Rainbow Portrait of
Queen Elizabeth I by
Isaac Oliver on the bodice and St Edward's Crown, one of the British crown jewels, on the skirt. The outfit, which was topped off with a mini crown that clung stylishly to one side of the model's head, perfectly showcased the photographic reproduction of historical paintings that Juliette et Justine has become known for in recent years.
In keeping with the brand's historically inspired prints and designs, the models, who had been selected from amongst members of the audience ahead of the event, strutted their stuff to classical music. Attendees were able to order any of the skirts and dresses featured in the show, so the models carried numbers by which each design could be identified. Since some were officially sold out and others hadn't been released yet, this was an exciting privilege. Each attendee also received a 2000 yen discount voucher that could be used for future orders.
The
Elizabeth I dress was followed by the whimsical
La robe du château, first in pink and then in blue. One of the few designs that day that were already in production, it combined a picture of the White House in Washington with random Victorian illustrations, including flowers, a cockatoo and a bearded dwarf.
After two plain-coloured pieces, one in sage and cream and the other in dusty pink, the historical prints returned in the shape of a bold blue number featuring
Bronzino's
An Allegory with Venus and Cupid, followed by a grey version of the same design. Next,
La bibliotheque took the audience to 15th century Italy with portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino,
Federico da Montefeltro and his wife
Battista Sforza, set against a background of antique book shelves that continued into a square, asymmetrical train. This was followed by a black and red striped gown with golden bodice, while
Le parfum de Jésus painted a portrait of Christ onto the chest of a sleeveless black dress, which was worn unusually for lolita fashion—and given the motif, perhaps slightly inappropriately—on bare skin, with opera length black gloves instead of a blouse.
After another interlude of live opera, the singer again wearing Juliette et Justine, the catwalk continued with a circus-themed outfit. A knee-length skirt imprinted with Victorian illustrations and boasting of "The Greatest Show on Earth" peeked out from underneath a burgundy gown with yellow fringes and a train that cascaded dramatically to the model's heels. A burgundy top hat completed the look. The mood changed completely with
an renard et l'ami de la forêt, a delightful two-piece showing a fox, a stag, a rabbit and, curiously, a swan frolicking in a lush green forest. This was followed by
Die Sterntaler, a dream of black and gold chiffon recalling the bitter-sweet fairy tale immortalized by the Brothers Grimm.
The glorious
L'annonciation heralded the return of religious imagery. The puffy-sleeved dress was presented in two different colourways and featured details of
Hans Memling's painting, framed by golden ornaments and crucifixes on a red or royal blue background.
La danse de la dame then saw elegantly attired rococo ladies dance the night away on a black crepe fabric with velvet tufts, offset with printed white lace on the bodice and a border of white bows at the hem. Next, the
La Vierge Marie skirt, which showed
Fra Filippo Lippi's madonna surrounded by roses and pearls, was paired with a blue corset and white lace blouse.
A tasteful coordinate of black, blue and gold striped skirt, black corset and white chiffon blouse was followed by another variation on the library theme, but instead of Italian nobility this one sported portraits of cats in historical clothing on the skirt. Then the rococo romance trend resumed with a dramatic interpretation of
Jean-Francois de Troy's
The Declaration of Love, which combined the rich reds of the painting with a black bodice and gloves, allowing the heroine's pale blue gown to stand out.
After blue and red variations of the ever popular trump motif, the show ended as regal as it had begun, with
Martin van Meytens' portrait of the young
Marie Antoinette framed in an abundance of silky pink frills. The sugary colour scheme cleverly disguised the fact that the design was almost identical to that of the
Elizabeth I dress, suggesting a rather carefree approach to historical fashion styles. Such little quirks aside, the clothes presented were stunningly beautiful and highly original, and so the thunderous applause that
Mari Nakamura received was well deserved.
When the fashion show was over, the attendees submitted their order forms, together with questionnaires from the Gothic & Lolita Bible that had been handed out earlier, asking personal details, such as their favourite fashion brands and music, when and why they started to wear lolita, how they feel wearing it and what problems they have encountered. This was followed by an autograph session with
Mari Nakamura and
Mariko Suzuki, before the formal programme ended with a raffle with prizes that had been donated by the guests from Japan, local lolita brands and attending lolitas. But the excitement wasn't over yet: with everybody's attention still focused on the centre of the room, the long-term boyfriend of Tea Party Club founder
Kyra Bown proposed on bended knee and presented her with an engagement ring. As she whispered "yes" into the microphone she was still holding after announcing the raffle winners, many lolitas were moved to tears.
Sunday
Despite the glamorous setting in the Charing Cross Hotel's grand function room, with waiters serving traditional sandwiches, scones, dainty cakes, tea and coffee, it was hard to imagine that Saturday's spectacular events could be topped by Sunday's quaint tea party. However, when every lolita had received a prize in another generous raffle and the winners of the various competitions had been announced, including for the best coordinates, best makeup, most doll-like outfit and a design competition whose winners will have their creations realized by Juliette et Justine,
Mari Nakamura had a surprise. After thanking The Tea Party Club for the opportunity of holding her first international fashion show, she announced emphatically that she would not only make
Kyra's wedding dress, but come to her wedding.
Thus ended not just The Tea Party Club's 5th Anniversary and the UK's first ever brand party, but a weekend that touched the hearts of all who attended. The lolita scene has a somewhat catty image, fuelled by the fact that many interactions take place in the anonymity of cyberspace, but there was no place for animosity here. May the success and sheer feel-good factor of this well organized and thoroughly enjoyable event inspire many similar ones in the future.
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[1] A complete transcript of the Q&A can be found here.
