If you haven't heard the news, Mana recently posted on his blog/twitter that he will no longer be in the Gothic Lolita Bible. I told my brother (who knows only a little about the fashion) and he said it was the equivalent to not mentioning God in the actual Bible. Because it pretty much is! Mana was instrumental in both the creation of the GLB and popularizing gothic lolita (and aristocrat) with his brand Moi Meme Moitie back in the early 2000s, and he has featured in every single issue since.
I wish I knew more about the reasoning behind this. Was Moi Meme Moitie no longer popular or profitable? Did they really find someone better than Mana to represent the style? Is he getting too old and frumpy? Was he asking too much money? Arguing with the staff? All of the above, I imagine there could be no lesser reason to cut him out.
As I've mentioned, I got into this fashion because of Mana and his brand, and I felt that the Gothic Lolita Bible is now going into territory that personally makes me feel unwelcome and old. I don't want to sound like some decrepit J-fashion hipster from the FRUITS-era, but welp, that's exactly what I am, lmao. I feel like the lolita fashion is now an industry meant to make money, and not so much to foster imagination and freedom and personal style. I do love the prints and release hype of the big brands, but that's not what I really love about lolita. I actually admired how Mana kept his style, however weird, in spite of the changes of the other lolita brands. That's the stubbornness I like!
Models come and go, and even though it hurt to see my favorite musicians no longer in the GLB, at least I have Mana, I thought. Wrongly. I didn't want to see him go out with a whimper like that, he deserved more, like idk, a big farewell photoshoot or something.
What will lolita be like now that Mana and his brand have left the Gothic Lolita Bible? Isn't it strange how Baby went back to their classic old-school roots with their new line, but somehow the GLB won't feature Mana anymore? Do you think Moi Meme Moitie is irrelevant these days? Do people dress in aristocrat anymore outside of Japan? How has the music scene changed in Japan from visual kei to idek, post-grunge and did this affect the GLB's decision?
Just... nothing about this makes sense. Someone who has more info, please let me know!
No comments:
Post a Comment