New blog Trashtastika.com!

Hey all, it’s time I unveiled the new place I’ve been writing – Trashtastika.com.

I’m still working on the design (obvs!) but a lot of the same topics I’ve covered here will be there – alt & gothic designers, music, nightlife, travel etc – but with a little bit on theatre & creative endeavours sneaking in.

So of you want to follow me at my new home, please bookmark Trashtastika.com…and have a look at my latest post on Dystopian Designers!

Arigatou!

 

Cobweb Club 2013 – “UNDEAD!”

It is no secret that just about my fave aussie alternative club is the Cobweb Club, which plays goth, deathrock, punk, post-punk and wave.  OK so I may be a little biased, having DJ’d at a few, but it is one of those events I just can’t miss. And neither should you!!

This is a reminder that this Friday, January 25, is the next instalment of the Cobweb Club extravaganza. Theme? Undead. Whether vampires or zombies, mummies or ghosts, demons, skeletons, wraiths, ghouls, or any other party animal without a pulse, you’ll be sure to find some likeminded spirits in the Cobweb Club Catacombs!

So there is your license to go to town costume wise – and there are prizes, from Gallery Serpentine, Death Rattles and more. So hop to it!

I’m already very excited, and have spent many hours researching my costume/look. I’ve been reading up on theatrical make-up – not just cosmetics, but 3d effects like wounds, wrinkles and creating skin abnormalities with prosthetics. If it works out, I’ll do a tutorial. If not…well, I’ll post pics of my miserable attempt. For now, I’m envisioning something like a female version of the Gentlemen from Buffy the Vampire Slayer…but we’ll see 😉

But back to the club night itself. For a peek at what I and others have worn, here are some photos from previous Cobweb Clubs.

[Read more…]

Nude n’ Rude Koenji, 2012

Back in 2010 I first wrote about Nude n’ Rude – a goth/punk/fetish/alternative fashion store in Koenji, Tokyo.

I always try to visit Nude n’ Rude as I just love so many of the labels they carry, known to us in the west – like Iron Fist, Kreepsville 666, Lip Service, Demonia etc…as well as other Japanese labels and now their own Nude n’ Rude Couture 2012 line.

Since I was in Koenji recently for Secret Dog, ilil etc, I decided to combine them in the one afternoon shopping trip (along with a few other stores, still to come in future posts).

I wondered what had changed since my last visit a year ago. Peering in the shop windows, I was heartened to see the same kinky, kooky, retina-searing flavour throughout:

Nude n Rude store window [Read more…]

Kitakore Koenji: Dog, ilil, Garter

One of THE hippest conglomeration of Tokyo designer’s dens is the Kitakore Building in Koenji, housing Dog, ilil, Garter, Southpaw (ex-Nincompoop Capacity) and more.

Not the flashy, extravagant, “I’m so money” kind of fashion stores you see lining Omotesando; oh no.  This is cutting edge punk, futuristic, amazingly quirky fashion, as sought out by the likes of Lady Gaga, and worn by the hipsters gracing the pages of street fashion bibles Fashion Snap, Tokyo Street Fashion, Japanese Streets etc.

Though not far from Koenji Station, you could easily walk past Kitakore. There is no advertising campaign about the venue and it is not well known by the average shopper.  In fact, a few years ago when I asked my Japanese goth friends to take me there, they didn’t  know of it!  Mind you, fashionistas and fashion bloggers do; there are more and more posts (like this one) extolling the virtues of the place, so it can no longer really be called “secret”. But mainstream it is not.

Even armed with a map this time around, I had to wander a bit before finding it. On the way I saw some wonderful buildings like this old style house:

Traditional Japanese house in Koenji

If you know to look for a puffer-jacketed mannequin out the front, and if you know the heavily-spiked punk jackets Dog is known for, then you will know Kitakore when you see this:

studded punk jackets in Kitakore Dog shopfront

Walk down the block a little and you can see the signs of the stores:

Kitakore, Garter, Dog, ili

The Garter entrance (below left) is one entrance, or on the main drag next to the stairwell to Southpaw (below right) is the more hidden entrance into the bowels of the building itself:

Garter Kitakore Koenji Kitakore building, stairs to Nincompoop Capacity

From the hidden entrance you walk downstairs, not even sure you should be going there, due to lack of signage. But keep going and you will stumble onto Dog and ilil, much whiter and lighter on the inside than you expect from the outside. (For a FANTASTIC 360 degree view check this site out)

DOG secret store Koenji Dog Kitakore Koenji

LOVE the bright blue leather heavily-studded jacket you can just see hanging on the door in the middle of this pic:

Dog store  Kitakore Koenji

Before even setting eyes on the fashion, the fantastical interiors grab your attention, especially in the case of the store ilil. I found myself very at home with the quirky eyeballs, strange anatomical/taxidermy items and general zaniness.

ilil in Kitakore Koenji

ilil kitakore mannequin 

ili koenji anatomical model

ili koenji kitakore

There ARE actually great jackets & other items to buy; it’s just hard to focus when so much else is going on visually 😉

ilil fashion Koenji Kitakore

I chatted to ilil owner Rachel while I walked around, who remembered Nadia & Cami of Di$count fondly, with whom the Kitakore designers did a collaboration a while back. See “Kita-kore Magik!” for more on that. Rachel, like the other Kitakore peeps, actually designs/creates/repurposes the fashion in a tiny little workspace at the back of the store. I love how Cami of Di$count put it:

It’s a whole experience seeing how the designers make so much from so little. The term ‘hole in the wall’ is pretty much spot on. Even in such a tiny space, the character and passion is overflowing – it’s such an electrifying little building!

Rachel and I chatted upcoming Halloween parties/clubs, but Rachel confided she was being alcohol and late night-free at the mo’, due to training for an upcoming marathon. How refreshingly non-rock n roll!  Ya see kids You can still be at the forefront of sub-cultural fashion and still have a healthy lifestyle 🙂 Anyways, a few more photies before we head off; don’tcha just love the helmet adorned in “gold leaf” from Moet cork wrappers?? Totally inventive.

 Moet helmet, ilil Koenji

Looking out the window just above the jackets rail, I could see that sadly, the gelato coloured lounge setting was no longer present n the rooftop 🙁  See my post “Cool places in Shimokita and Koenji” for pics and more from my July 2010 visit.

No visit is complete without a troop upstairs to Southpaw, formerly known as Nicompoop Capacity. Honestly, the fashion isn’t my style at all, and it seems ever so slightly daggy secondhand stuff – but my aesthetic isn’t the same as that of japanese vintage-hipster-kids, so what do i know? Frankly, the stairwell going up to the store is more interesting than the interior IMO.

Southpaw Southpaw Kitakore

There are many other really interesting stores in Koenji, and some of these I will feature in an upcoming post. Likewise I’ll post on when I headed to Harajuku to see the other Dog store (amazing!).

For more inspiration/info on Kitakore and it’s occupants, see the links below.

Koenji’s Kitakore Building article from Nippon.com
Style Bubble post Kitakore Kicks 

Garter website
Ilil online shop
ilil tumblr
Kitakore building blog
Kitakore tumblr 

Fernopaa at Studio Alta Shinjuku, Amihamu, Spiked collar & cuffs

Last November when in Tokyo, I visited Fernopaa for the first time in Studio Alta Shinjuku – see my post “New Rock Gyaru store FERNOPAA

Well, returning this time, I found the gorgeous Amihamu there, seen here with me, and the store layout much as it was…but with a BIG Halloween theme (as seen everywhere in Tokyo)

me with Amihamu from Fernopaa, Shinjuku

And even better is the photo of both the beautiful shopstaff:

Fernopaa girls Amihamu

On my first visit this time I saw a great black spiked bra that’d be fab for clubbing, but when I went back, it was sold out! I grabbed a spiked black satin collar instead:

spiked collar from Fernopaa

If the tag and lettering remind you of tutuHA, aparently the designer of  tutuHA is now the Fernopaa designer, and hence the name change to Glavil by tutuHA. (And btw, there is now a pre-order Glavil by tutuHA page on Facebook – go check it out!)

Last year I bought a pair of exquisite cuffs that are modelled on the human spine, that I failed to post before now:

spine jewellery from Fernopaa

So you can see from the pics that Fernopaa is very much a rock gyaru store, with a lot of gothic crossover. Although there remain certain elements I wouldn’t wear in the store (like the babydoll dresses, hotpants etc), there are a lot of items I would buy and wear. The accessories especially, are right up my goth-rock alley!

For more info and inspiration, see the following links:

Fernopaa Official Shop Blog

Fernopaa Snaap (pics of shopstaff & customers)

Ami’s Blog

Fernopaa Tumblr

There are a lot of tumblrs dedicated to gyaru fashion, shopstaff style and Amihamu in particular, that could keep you browsing for hours! Let me know what your faves are, along with shop staff blogs you like the most.