My main convention, as many people are aware, is Katsucon. This year's Katsucon, held the weekend of February 17-19, was my busiest yet; with attendance over 25,000, it was also the busiest Katsucon in general. Since my first convention (Katsucon 2011), a lot has changed. This post exists to help break down some of the major happenings of the event.
The Fashion Showcase
First of all, the fashion showcase this year was really solid. I'm lucky enough to have gone to several convention fashion shows before, so I've gotten comfortably familiar with many of the brands that had collections in the show. There were 9 different lines shown this year; not all of them were lolita or even lolita-adjacent, which really speaks to how much the convention has diversified since The Boss created the J-Fashion department.
I really enjoyed seeing how coherent the collections were this year. I won't talk about every brand, but there were four showing that I've followed for a while.
Ever since the LorSplosion (my personal name for when Lovely Lor promoted Sweet Mildred and totally overwhelmed their sales capacity), I've been worried about an overwhelming workload for that brand. The brand's recent production of practical, comfy cutsew OPs contrasts beautifully with the delicate and translucent pieces showcased in the runway collection, and I'm excited to see more experimentation from Sweet Mildred.
Starcrossed Lovelies had a very coherent collection that referenced a certain part of Sailor Moon heavily.
I loved A. Gato Designs' dip into lovecore and romantic inspiration-- a lot of their stuff leans non-traditional in lolita terms, but the delicate florals and pink and red color schemes were a really coherent return to a more orthodox interpretation. This collection got me thinking about wearing colors other than black, which is very out of character.
On the flip side, Belladonna, a brand known for their elegance, got really weird over the pandemic. The long Furbies, country twang, and liberal use of denim was far from unexpected (it was heavily teased on social media), but it definitely had a playful touch; the crowd loved to yee their haw.
The best part, of course, was seeing the happiness on everyone's faces, from models to designers to the kids in the audience.
Staffing
This was my third time staffing at Katsucon, and I loved it. The Boss (K) is the backbone of the convention, and she ran the best, most organized department ever. Staffing included shifts at the panel rooms, HQ shifts, and helping out with the lolita try-on.
The try-on was pretty labor intensive; instead of sitting at a door for hours, staff helped newbies choose a coordinate, try it on, accessorize, and take photos. After the try-on victim changed back, we ran to the back to disinfect anything that had been touched, then came back out for another helper. I tended to do more of the disinfecting and less of the coordinating, but the few people I did help seemed to glow with happiness at seeing themselves in a new, kawaii light.
The entire try-on wardrobe was donated by the Boss and people at the Mega Meet swap meet that she coordinated-- anything on the free pile that was usable went to the big try-on wardrobe. The Boss also made sure that every size range we could cover was covered. Next year, we're going to try to expand the try-on into other fashions as well.
Shopping
The artist alley was too damn small. I got at least $100 in enamel and acrylic pins and I'm not even mad. There were some damn good lolita stores in the Dealer's room as well, but I only got a couple earrings.
I haven't watched anime much lately (last 7 years) so I need to catch up in order to buy more silly expensive garbage.
Cosplay
Not to sound older than I have to, but the cosplay is more disappointing with every year. When Homestuck was the convention plague, we made our costumes; the simple designs and Western-centric audience meant that there was no international market or economy of scale for selling mass-produced cosplay.
That's all changed. At Katsucon 2023, I saw hundreds of Genshin Impact cosplayers, but only a handful had even handmade touches of their cosplay. Because Genshin has roots in China and real-world financial impact, people can buy a whole costume, wig and all, on Amazon for less than it would cost to sew just part of it. Why spend more money to do more work?
All of this leads to a lack of understanding of craftsmanship. I got into lolita because of cosplay-- I knew what good sewing looked like, what good materials were, and how nice garments are supposed to feel when you wear them. Buying costumes is easy, but it doesn't have the same level of investment in the hobby as making your own.
Fashion Panels
Now this is where is gets weird.
I was a panelist four times this last Katsucon. I loved every panel, but I felt like a tissue in a washing machine at the end of all of it.
My first panel was my introductory ouji panel. This is not the first convention I've done this at, so it went smoothly as expected. I think I'm going to go more in-depth into Chinese brands like Princess Chronicles and into how to measure. I also might go technical with the silhouettes and stuff, but I want to keep it introductory. There are always kids at the intro panels, and I don't want them to be overwhelmed.
Avina generously let me commentate on their Dead J-Fashion Magazines panel. I admittedly don't have a lot of non gothic or lolita experience, but I had a lot of fun and I think the audience did as well.
The Lolita Release Roast and Toast panel with Bahia and Hannah was good, but I think I need to be a little more awake so that I can choose audience commentators more selectively. We had a good range of releases and really got to know our audience. Plus, through the Power of Democracy, we decided that sweet-gothic combos should be "swothic" and not "gweet" because it sounds better.
The final panel of the convention, ending slightly before closing ceremonies, was my Gender and J-Fashion panel. I was surprised to fill up the small room; I had only prepared about 30 slides, planning on talking more individually with the audience. This was the first time that I had given this panel, so it leaned pretty historical and academic. If I do it again, I think I'll work in more actionable things like how I choose my JSKs and blouses to flatter a flat chest.
A person I really admire mentioned something once about not wanting to take on the stress of panels, but I do similar stuff on my own. Public speaking is completely unstressful for me. Lolita is a small enough community that pretty much everyone can meaningfully contribute in a way that suits their needs and talents, and I'm glad to have found my stride in paneling. I just hope that I get my information right.
Aftermath
I still feel exhausted as hell, but I think that's just my natural state of being. I definitely want to keep working at Katsucon, and I hope to pick up one or two other conventions. I found lolita through cosplay and conventions, so it's really important for me to keep that gateway to happiness open. Plus, I took home several excess snacks.
There's always things we can improve on (except for the Boss, she's perfect) and I'm super excited to see what the next con brings!
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