NYCC/NYAF 2011 - She’s So Unusual: Lolita Fashion in the Media Panel

The next and last panel that I attended on Friday was She’s So Unusual: Lolita Fashion in the Media located in the Anime Galleria. I was hoping that there would be people in Lolita, but sadly there were not as many there as I expected. As shown in the photograph above, most of the seats that were facing the panel stage were filled. Along for the ride, was my friend who was not familiar with the fashion. I was hoping this would give him some insights.

The panel was run by Dalin Rowell, who has been interested in Lolita since 2006. The presentation started out with the “Point of this Panel,” which included “so many inaccurate portrayals of the fashion and its culture.” Rowell believes that the fashion is a combination of two “ingredients,” history and literature. She goes through a variety of slides while explaining the influences of the fashion and the portrayals in older anime series, such as Rose of Versailles. She continued with her presentation with the following subjects: “Lolita and Modern Anime The Good and the Bad,” “Lolita Fashion in Film,” “Music and The Frills,” American Music and Lolita,” “Lolitas in Television,” “Reality Television” and ended with the “Worst Series of Clips Ever Along with Reaction.” There was suppose to be a prize giveaway at the end of the panel, but she ran out of time.

Although the subject of Lolita in the Media was thoroughly research, the panel was also partially opinionated. During the segment, “Lolita and Modern Anime The Good and the Bad,” she stated that it “is wrong” (which is a strong word to use) to call some of the interpretations of the fashion "lolita." Because of her comments about what is and not lolita as interpreted by anime artists from series such as Paradise Kiss, Chobits, Go Sick, Neon Genesis Evangelion and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, people started to leave and one even said “What? This sucks.” Whether or not the young lady meant to project herself in such a manner, she gave away the impression that it was either her way or the highway and not open minded about a fashion that has evolved over time.

© 2011 Linda Thai

Photography by Linda Thai

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