Although I am not well versed in the Japanese Lolita fashion scene, it cannot be denied that it has been making waves Stateside for quite some time, and at the forefront of that is Baby, The Stars Shine Bright. This year, they attended Otakon with their subbrand, ALICE and the PIRATES, bringing along designers, Masumi Kano and Mitsuba. JPHiP and nandake attended their fashion show.
Baby, The Stars Shine Bright (ベイビー、ザ スターズ シャイン ブライト, Shortened to Baby or BTSSB) is the name of a Japanese clothing boutique chain created in 1988 by Akinori Isobe and his wife, Fumiyo. The original fashion house is located in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Baby, The Stars Shine Bright specializes in Lolita fashion, and like Manifesteange Metamorphose temps de fille, their main focus is the subcategory Sweet Lolita. Baby, The Stars Shine Bright has opened their first international retail store outside of Japan in Paris, France, and opened their first North American retail store in San Francisco, California, USA on August 15, 2009.
The “Alice and the Pirates” line of Baby, the Stars Shine Bright was created in 2004. It has a strong pirate and pirate-punk theme with bolder colours and more items suitable for Oji and Aristocrat styles. A store devoted to this line opened in Harajuku on the 25th of August 2006.
From Wikipedia
The fashion show took place on the 30th of July and I was able to get a pretty decent location to take some pictures, which I’ve put below.
The way they do these type of fashion shows here in the States is that they select amateur models to walk the runway. The fashion is what you can expect, I don’t really have much of an opinion on it. It’s very cute, and it’s always fun to see, although, I’m not sure how I would react if I saw it outside of a convention such as this. The show was done well and you can tell they put a lot of work to deliver a great show.
Personally, I really liked the Alice and the Pirates part of the show, which is sort of a mix between Lolita and Aristocratic fashion, as apparent through the name. It was said at the show that it’s like a mix of “Alice in Wonderland” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.” While that’s not exactly how I would put it, it kind of gives you a slight visualization of what the line is about.
If you are interested in Lolita fashion, you probably already know about BTSSB, so there’s not really much to say, but if you’re interested in getting into it, check out an anime convention such as Otakon near you. I know they’ve been going around to various conventions around US. And if you live in San Francisco, even better! Go check out their retail store at 1746 Post St, San Francisco, CA 94115.
About Masumi Kano and Mitsuba from the Otakon 2011 Program Book
Masumi Kano graduated from Bunka Women’s University. After graduation, she started working for BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT, working as a designer.
After graduating from a shop-staff of ALICE and the PIRATES, Mitsuba worked/experienced in Sales. Later, Mitsuba turned to the position of designer. She currently works as the Chief Designer of ALICE and the PIRATES.
