Messages

Quoi?  It's wonderful how apt and caring we are to answer each other's questions.  I wonder why we don't do our own research sometimes.

So far one group and three individuals (myself excluded) have given word of their commitment and have shown me their concept drawings.  From these each designer or group will solidify their aesthetic, their direction.  In about one month we'll be able to see the love of this labor and work more closely with our contribution to Fanime Live Programming and our presence at the convention in general.  

Two of the designers actually have never made clothing before, so I would really like the aid of other designers and cosplayers out there to add to the pool of knowledge and sewing machines--start up this Bay Area Cosplay Resource thang already.  :roll:

I am totally down for that bongo/taiko drum action.  Marching band geeks gonna take it on!  Waaaaataaaa~

The general means of a stage such as Stage Zero is entertainment that isn't too important that you can't miss.  You can be entertained while you wait for an event that you do want to attend: live panel, movie screening, cosplay, etc.  Still, you will be entertained and you will want more!  

The ends of Stage Zero (the actual content) is gameshows, sketches, AMVs, live performances by fans who are dancers and musicians, etc.  Stage Zero's purpose is to entertain you and also inform you of the time and location of other FanimeCon Live Programming.

Maybe say Feb. 1st is the deadline for models to submit their info? You can reach me at on AIM (MeliNeko) if you want to discuss this is detail, that goes for anyone who wants to discuss modeling in the show! : D

Yes, deadline good.  Let's get an email correspondence going since with email I'm more up-to-date with everyone involved in the fashion show.  No, sorry to say, I don't use live chat servers at this time.

I know there's going to be a DJ there, but I was wondering about the genre of the music. Would it change for each designer as their designs come out? Or would it be the same all the way through?
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I think that Fanime's a good place to find modeling opportunities. In my POV, cosplaying seems to be more or less a fashion show and the cosplayers the models. I mean, it'd be great if someone were able to get a career in modeling simply by doing what they enjoy (cosplaying).

Yes, opportunities good.  Although the opportunities for a certain goal can be given, it's the individual's responsibility to keep up with the goal.  I believe that bringing a certain model and photographer ethic to FanimeCon can affect the cosplay community tremendously . . . positively.  Both the cosplayers and the amateur photographers may begin to consider being more professional when taking photos, even if the snapshots are not for professional use.  The pose, lighting, background, and interaction between people will get better and better as we learn from each other.  It's the attitude of always wanting to improve that makes someone a pro.

I also believe that cosplay photos posted on the internet will turn out to be much, much better.  Be picky with your lighting and backgrounds, people!

Oooh!  A friend informed me about the animation.  It is a combination of the usual 2-D style rendering, and somehow they seamlessly throw in the textures and light effects of 3-D-like coloring.  While I hear that the animation is odd and is unconventional in terms of making the characters fit in with the surroundings, does it (maybe) bring out the clothing designs and the environment a lot more?  Does it feel like the pop art that Ai Yazawa intended it to be?

Those who have dove into Princess Ai, what do you think of the clothing in there?  Is that something you'd see Courtney Love doing?

I like how we quote the links that come with regular bodies of text.  Is there just not enough PR for what we say on the boards?  'Here . . . I'm not using enough space in my post.
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If I leave out the important stuff, it might count . . . somehow.'

@MeliCat:
Yes.  I know some serious casual photographers, and I want you to be my help backstage.  Please get me more models.  Right now Veronica is only targeting her sisters at a sorority at SJSU. . . .  It'd be nice to give the modeling opportunity to people who really want to model, though.

@models and designers:
BBQ my place.  6pm-x on the 17th (tomorrow).  Email for more information.  

@All:
future 'poll' question: Do you think that FanimeCon's cosplayer demografics consist only of individuals seeking the 'safe' attention of people like them (people into anime)?  Is Fanime the place to give modeling opportunities to cosplayers and non-cosplayers?
My email button on Fanime bb is now 'on'.

Wow, the Wiki article (エログロ) was not daunting at all. . . .

And the Ero-Loli article, check out what someone says down in the comments: "One of my friends is a guy. . . ."  Wheee.

As for the Ero-Loli fashion scene, I'm just going to call that goth.  By the name, I would have guessed there was a lighter side that Eros might have touched in the Gothic Lolitaness of it all.  The examples depicted just scream Goth.  I know some kids who pop up at FanimeCon doing the vampyre Eurogoth thing, and I've seen how there is no dancing at some Goth clubs, but it gets old fast.  (We should go to Sydney, AUS clubs.  :b)

I'm aware there are many subgroups of white people Goth as well, but that one word which communicates a platinum-lined wallet dedicated to buying anything black is the one word where I stop caring.  Also as someone who grew up 1 block from the fabric store and wears hand-me-downs or buys second-hand clothes, I value the balance of taste and a unique closet that isn't defined by even the alterna-trend du jour.  

One thing you will notice from the designers at FanimeFashion (if y'all are attending that anyway) is that the clothing isn't defined by just somebody else's scene offshore.  You will see elements that remind you of movements in fashion, but hey, no one designs to be a copycat.

On another note, Goth on the inside, and I never shop at Pop T*pic but for jewellery.

Social Justice/Anti-War/Peace-Reflective Storytelling:
Add hip hop to enhance a story that's already a figurative tale of the People.

Suck anime:
Add hip hop so you have something to shake your tooty booty to when you have a BBQ party and want some primary colors on the tv but don't want to engage people too much in what's on the screen.

In the next Shinichiro Watanabe creation:
Add the Beastie Boys.

In Europe, people don't have an attitude problem with sex in general.  The problem is with violence, and that is something that is considered with heavier head and heart in European television and marketing.

In contrast, American media are mad about sex.  It has to be objectified, and no part of it is normal.  When it has a negative spin on it, sex is just totally out of the question.  We can recall this judgemental attitude when it comes to the reaction concerining censorship of a certain Super Bowl Halftime show.  When sex has a "positive" spin on it, it is still objectified as what goes bump in the night, something reserved for the lonely or the twisted or the very stupid college girl who wants to be caught on camera.  

This says something, but as bold as I play, I might be too afraid to come out and say more on sex in a world of entertainment created with a guage informed only by male attitudes.

Models for the Fashion Show: Please email me and you will receive an application to fill out.  You must tell me what your schedule is like December thru the end of January.

Models for Catwalk: stay tuned!  Check out Catwalk topic discussions on this bb.  As in other Live Programming, this show is still in teh works.

Yo.

Email me questions on what designers or models need to know, and my answers will return in the form of an email to all the designers or models.  It's in my bb profile.

This forum topic is now open for the Public to discuss general news pertaining to the fashion show.

I like the quoting of people whose post immediately preceded yours.
Everyone.
The dumbness of court, got-nuffin-to-do-widdit comments seems dwarfed compared to this phenomenon :b

[Models]

I totally understand.

Models
·Models for the show don't need previous professional experience.  Stage, public speaking or public exhibition is a plus.  All we really require is professional attitude consisted of confidence and commitment.
·Those seeking to develop a professional model portfolio and/or subscribe to a modeling agency will be given the opportunity to do so.

Designers:
·I'd like to have the show run professionally.  Even though I suggested a few formats for the order of the show, I would like to have the similar styles together.
·You can do more than 40 concepts.  You can make more or less than 20 of those concepts to put in the fashion show.  [edit]Ideally, all the desighers should get together in January to help you choose which designs you really want to make.  We need to do this in tandem with the model selection timeline.
·There are currently three designers (Kyle, Fonz, me) and one group (Hibiscus) who will have models wearing their clooothes at FanimeCon 2006.  Personally I think this is a good number to go with, considering how much clooothes will be made.

Questions for Hibiscus and other groups, because I was thrown off by this:

Because they have numerous designers (I'm just hypothetically speaking), one designer's sets will all go at one time and then she will come out after all the models have shown the clothes, bow to the audience, whatever, walk back to the backstagewith the models. Then the next designer under the same circle and the process repeats until all the designers in Charred Alice have finished. Then the show will move on to the next group.

Are you submitting your designs under the group name Hibiscus?
If the answer is yes, then we're on the same page.

If the answer is no, then are you submitting as individual designers with a set of clothing each?
Then how many designs does that total for the whole group?
Wouldn't that be inconvenient to get the audience to know each designer of a group?  I feel that a group should enter their whole line of clothing as a composition and all the individuals of that group be named only in the printed program.

1) Draft every detail for what the event can look like.
2) Decide on the variations that your event can take.  Draft one document for each variation of the show.
3) Submit it to Jason.  Volunteer to represent that show or suggest that someone else runs this show.

It's cool to have all these 'what ifs' available to look at, but unless somebody takes the initiative to draft a proposal, none of the events here is likely to happen.  I guarantee that even if you don't intend to run it, a complete outline is enough for someone to elaborate on if they were to take charge of it.  The preferred language for any proposal document is "X will look like . . . " as opposed to "If this, then that.  If Fanime could this, I might that. . . ."  What you require is much more supported than what you request, if you've followed the lead this far.

Glad to know there are examples out there.  

On another note:  doesn't every movement come with a name in someone's mind?  Doesn't the definition change under the same name when there are new people on the scene?  While it doesn't stay true to its beginnings, I'll point out that this phenomenon is natural, neither good nor bad.  

When I look at some styles identified as 'from Japan', I totally see an element of 60s fetish glamour (like Junko Mizuno's illustrations) mashed in sometimes with wartime wools, lace and dark muted colors and mashed sometimes with flashy black, pink and white vinyls.  What ever happened to 'goth' being 'home-salvaged industrial parts'?  Well it still looks like that, but it's way more expensive and way more marketable in the malls now. . . .

Who knows?  What it's about can change with its field of penetration whether you think someone is 'posing' or not, whether you've made a hard effort to slow that change or not.  Just a blurb on subcultures and trends.

@ Chikiru & Hibiscus &al:
Si.  Designers should try to come on the dates when models are interviewed.  It's not necessary, but it would be a good chance to introduce yourself.

I think if we are to decide on a show format, it must be between all of the designers.  The length of the show facing uncertainty here (see last item on this post).  Here are some suggestions for the order off appearance:
★pyjamas, work/school wear, leisure/sport, evening.
★by similar design styles (ie gothloli in one block) with one designer's collection followed by another designer's collection
★be contrasting design styles (ie one block of gothloli followed by one block of thrifty street-chic followed by one block of goth rock)

@ Long & Charred-Alice &al:
Gee, I'm totally getting enough sleep. :b  I knew it'd be hard to get a school group to do this--the true, unmentioned reason I suggested against it.  Can I convince you to stick to the fashion show without a large group?  You are welcome to use my home as a place to construct the clothing, and we have so much to gain from each others' fashion and sewing experiences.

The 40 concepts (due before January 1) isn't really for me, it's to help you with your own design process.  40 concept sketches that are legible to you amounts to:
★about 20 outfits
★about 13 tops
★about 7 bottoms
What I really need from each designer/group is to pick half of those that they like.  Sketch them again, but legible to me and make notes.  Those are due sometime in January, after we make the model cuts.  That is also when we get everyone to sign their model or designer releases so that we can begin our rendering!

@ The Community:
Yeah, it seems that as many ideas as there are floating around for Stage Zero, only two are concrete because all the other ideas keep floating as 'what ifs' without documentation or proper emailing of Jasonface!  Here's for sure:the Catwalk will happen, and the Fashion Show will happen.

As you know, this is the first real kind of fashion experience that any anime convention will ever have.  It is a bridge between the professional modeling, designing and fashion consumer world and the world of fiction as entertainment.  This show is an opportunity to shake it up and get a portfolio started for models and designers.  You can take this to a job interview or a school interview.

On top of that, I have drafted my event outline as such:
★ I have sponsors for my show.  Check this out: modeling agency, design schools and local clothing brands.  Whoopah.  If you gonna worry about it, you have to ask me and Justin and trust that we deliver.  Or just don't worry.
★ The Fashion Show must be as professional looking as possible.  We don't have to buy extra resources for the show.  Simple and clean never looked so fantastic as on a runway.  The show must also have a professional length:  Long enough to show the models walk out maybe two at a time and then they go back in.  Please don't let this be a show of 15-minute segments!  It will make our first show look bad!
★ The time proposed for this fashion show is during MusicFest.  Personally, I hate that!  MusicFest crowd is really into fashion--am I right or am I right?  They should not have to miss one or the other!  What is more reasonable right now is some different scheduling arrangements--what's realistic now is to lay out all the doable options for Jason to critique.  Any email input from you guys is good!
★ The seating reserved for the show is for Fanime attendees and for Special Guests, because that is the least we could do for them.  Our ushers will be wearing clothes you wouldn't normally see at FanimeCon, as an added aesthetic element.  I would like to, when Jason approves, invite even our musical guests to sit at the front, able to face each other at nice tables and enjoy our fashion show.

I reply to these posts in bursts because it's the most efficient use of my time.  If there are anymore questions from designers or models who wish to be a part ofthis show, I will take them by pm or email.  You haven't signed anything yet, but if you're diehard about this event, it wouldn't hurt to show that by getting your questions to me directly--I will surely forward the answers to the other models and designers.

Ah, my bad.

But then, when can you tell that someone is doing it to be sexy versus to be cute?

The kinds of people who like to look at are as numerous as fingerprints as well.  Perhaps I had the notion of sexual undertones because . . . even cosplay photographers think cute and innocent is something erotic.

[This forum topic is now open for ideas for the format of the 'performance' and ideas about fashion in general.]

Like whoaz.  You board people like ta quote the big stuff!

To clarify:
No one will meet Christmas weekend--a bad on my part.  I'm so bogged down with Industrial Design review.

Everyone who's interested in modeling or designing, give me your name and your email address (in a pm) NOW so you can receive your submission kit within 24 hours. All model and design submissions are due 1 January 2006. All criteria are outlined in this kit.

Models must either show up at try-outs or e-mail Veronica Porras.  The selection of models begins after New Year's.  If you are selected, you must sign a model release.

Designers: I need only one representative from your group to contact me.  When I have seen and reviewed all your designs, then you will be given a designer release to sign in 2006.

This forum topic is now open for ideas for the format of the 'performance' and ideas about fashion in general.