Innocence Lust
Cute meets macabre at Japanese fashion-inspired event.

By Luuk van Huet, photo by Frank Wiersema.

Imagine what the Zeeuws Meisje would look like after she'd been run over by a hearse, and you might start getting an idea of Gothic Lolita style. Like many other flabbergasting pop-cultural phenomena, these frilly dress fillies have their origins in Japan, or to be more precise, the Harajuku district of Kyoto, which also spawned the brightly coloured

of portraits of the Harajuku fashion packs, was the incentive for the American Book Center and fashion store Individuals to join forces and stage a Gothic Lolita event on the cobblestones of Spui. It was also an incentive for me to put on my snazziest blouse and ride a Battram to the scene.

I was greeted by a gaggle of friendly neigbourhood Goths, but there was still no sign of the lights of our lives, who promised to enflame the fires in our loins. To pass the time, conversation consisted of how to make a great corset out of an omafiets covering, and which size of chrome rings were best for piercings. We were stirred out of this chit-chat when the workshop at Individuals kicked off. A statuesque blonde in a black dress, and a black-haired, pint-sized Betty Boop in a white dress cheerily posed as a table full of lace, pins and spray paint was provided to pump-up the girls' clothes. With great enthusiasm, the Children of the Night were decorating like the two girls were living, breathing Christmas trees. 'My first experience with super-glue was really painful,' said one of the Goth girls, while applying said substance onto the black dress. Real kids also made their presence known by drawing on the dresses with magic markers, leaving a somewhat out-of-place drawing of a red elephant on the butt of the girl in white.

Suddenly, our small flock of black sheep was startled as two handfuls of Little Boo Peeps came pouring into the square and lined up in front of the American Book Center. Flashing the tell-tale peace sign and giggling, they were quickly supplied with a copy of Gothic & Lolita to ensure maximum media exposure. Tourists, photographers and a camera crew crowded around the bonnet-wearing, umbrella-gripping girls, flashing away and chirruping at how cute they all looked. Some of the Lolitas could've been Dolores Haze's playmates of the sandbox variety, which made the Humbert Humbert-like behaviour of the camera crew even more pathetic.

After the flashing ended, the Lolitas were free to join the fashionista action at the workshop, and parry inane questions from predatory journalists like myself. Decked out in a marshmallow-pink petticoat is Kim, and this is how she became a Lolita. 'I was always interested in fashion, especially petticoats, and my searches of the internet unearthed Lolitas. It started out as a statement against the high pressure of Japanese society. Lolitas make the point that they are just kids; they don't want to deal with all of that. The situation in the Netherlands is of course different, but when I'm in my Lolita clothes, I also react accordingly. I don't use swear-words, for instance.'

When I ask if she always wears her Lolita get-up, Kim replies: 'As much as I can, except that I have to wear company clothing at Xenos, where I work.'

Among the doll-like Lolitas, there's also a dude wearing a smart Victorian-era outfit. I halt the good sirrah and enquire how he wishes to be addressed. He reveals his name to be Alexander and explains: 'I'm an Elegant Gothic Aristocrat--or EGA for short.' Well, the Japanese couldn't know it's also the word for spouse in Dutch.

One of the main women on the Lolita scene is Leyla, proprietor of Mirai Fashion in Bilthoven, the first clothing store for Gothic Lolita fashion in Europe. 'I wanted to be a princess!' she says when I ask her how she discovered the style. 'I was into the Gothic scene, but I was always looking for something more personal. Something nobody else wore, to stand out from the Gothic masses.'

When I opined that she had scored something of a Pyrrhic victory by starting the store and resulting craze, she laughs: 'Well, otherwise it would just be me. The forum has about one hundred members, and I estimate that there are about twice as many Lolitas around. It's often unjustly associated with sex, but we just wanna look pretty.'

As the event winds down, the Lolitas gather for a last bout of picture taking. Suddenly, they're set upon by a group of pirates from the bachelor party isles. Luckily, they depart in search of grog, leaving the underage booty to remain innocent for yet another day.

(article originally published in Amsterdam Weekly, www.amsterdamweekly.nl ).