おひさしぶり̴!

 

Oneesan Inc's largest event yet, Fantaisies dans le Monde des Rêves was held May 28-31, 2010. We've been working hard to wrap up all post-event duties and finally bring you our official event report!

 

The guests of honor at the event not only included returning household name Angelic Pretty, but also introduced other esteemed labels to the United States:  Atelier-Pierrot, recognized as the defining brand of the Gothic and Elegant movement and promoter of a wide variety of independent labels; Chantilly, founded and run by Fumiko, a well-respected designer that has worked with Angelic Pretty, Baby the Stars Shine Bright, and Moi Même Moitié; Vivicore, the first non-Japanese Lolita fashion company gaining worldwide attention with its Cute Salad and Candy Violet labels, and noted for its unique blend of classical English and Japanese influences. With this wide selection of styles and labels, Oneesan Inc has gone even further in our mission to offer something for all sides of the fashion!

 

As always, Oneesan was proud to offer a first-hand lolita shopping experience via our Magical Boutique, open all days of the event with booths from all of our fashion representatives. Even more exciting, this year we were happy to host representatives of the magazine, Gothic & Lolita Bible! Not only was there a photographer reporting on the event as a whole, but special Kera Snap photo ops were available in the Boutique throughout the event. Please look for the short photo spread and report in issue 37 of Gothic & Lolita Bible, on sale in August!

 

In addition to our Magical Boutique shopping experience, we were pleased to welcome musical duo Kokusyoku Sumire back to the U.S. for a live concert, featuring many songs off their brand new CD, at the main event on Saturday, May 29th. Many issues caused the event to start quite late, but this only made our guests even more glad to welcome our lovely patrons in for a night of fashion and music. Following the concert was a full fashion showcase of represented brands, with some of their latest designs! Our thanks to all the models who volunteered their time to work with the brands to bring their designs to life!

 

A new addition to our repertoire this year was our Miss G&L USA pageant, where contestants were judged according to talent, coordinate, and interview responses by our guest designers from Angelic Pretty, Chantilly, and Sweet Rococo.  Oneesan Inc is proud to congratulate our winner, Lina Rauchas, who will represent American lolitas in issue 37 of the Gothic Lolita Bible.

 

As always, further information on this event and any upcoming activities can be found at our website, www.cosplayoneesan.org.  Kyokusyoku CDs and merchandise, as well as selected Angelic Pretty stock are available at StarryCandyBox.com for your convenience.

 

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Oneesan Inc and the San Jose Fairmont would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and extend our apologies for the many inconveniences that may have disturbed patrons during our lolita fashion event. A certain amount of miscommunication, mishaps, and tension is expected from any event, but it is always the goal of the event planners and facilities to leave the customer pleased with the experience. Many problems encountered during this event were easily avoidable, and completely not in keeping with our standards for event procedure or customer relations. We offer our humble apologies to all our patrons, and thank you all for your patience and good humor that helped make our event a modest success nonetheless. That being said, Oneesan Inc has scaled back future event planning to collaborate with guests on a smaller, more focused scale that will allow patrons a fuller lolita experience and help ensure that our control over customer services does not become lax.

 

It has come to our attention that many members of the lolita fashion community are unclear on the exact nature of Oneesan Inc as an organization. While questions are always welcome on the Oneesan forums, and some information has been available at our website, www.cosplayoneesan.org, there remains a great deal of confusion and misinformation on the issue. That being said, we would like to take a moment to clarify Oneesan's position and procedures for the public.

 

Cosplay Oneesan (Oneesan Inc) is a federally recognized, tax exempt, non-profit organization, under the category regulation 501c(6). Our focus is on forming communities that are self-sufficient and non-profit based to enhance and enrich the enjoyment of their participants, by creating and sponsoring large scale events that will bring Japanese and American Lolita together. Our corporate mission statement is to facilitate the incorporation of the Asia based fashion culture into America in a manner that is unaltered and authentic to Japan's cultural roots. From the beginning, Oneesan has been a pioneer in bringing together foreign fashion guests, such as author Novala Takemoto and top designers Maki and Asuka of Angelic Pretty, with the grander lolita fashion community in events that put an emphasis on authentic experience and community interaction.

 

All funds raised by Oneesan events are funneled back into event planning. This includes expenses such as airfare, accommodations, catering, translation services, publicity, site fixtures, on-site transportation, and much more. As airfare alone often eats up most of the funding, all Oneesan events are run by a staff made up of volunteers. For example, our latest event was organized and managed by a staff of barely over a dozen volunteers, working multiple duties across distances great and small. Naturally, since our volunteers cannot always schedule consistent time away from their home and work lives, the staff roster usually differs greatly from one event to the next. While it is difficult to start from the bottom up each time we organize a new event, it gives us a new chance to try out new ideas and learn from our past mistakes, as we refine and hopefully expand our venues. Similarly, often additions to our events, such as multiple guests and novelty gifts come from the generosity of our guests towards the lolita community.

 

All questions and concerns can be addressed directly to Oneesan via our website contact form, or the community forums. Rest assured that we do take note of all concerns in our efforts to continually develop procedures which better serve the growing EGL community.

 

Oneesan Inc would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the many individuals who not only helped make Fantaisies an event for the entire community, but also helped it happen at all.

 

Thank you to all our honored guests:  Angelic Pretty designers Maki and Asuka, as well as founder and president Honda;  Atelier-Pierrot president Keiko-san and designer Yuko;  Chantilly designer Fumiko;  Kyokusyoku Sumire duo, Sachi and Yuka;  Sweet Rococo designer Lynleigh Sato, and Wonderland Atelier designer Lisa Munden.  The guests so often determine the flavor of an event, and no matter what sour twists occurred in the schedules, your understanding natures and good attitudes made this event truly sweet.  Our apologies and our thanks can never be enough.

 

Thank you to the staff of Harajuku Hearts, for not only attending our event as special guests in our Magical Boutique, but also assisting with translation and hospitality duties throughout the event. Their generous and tireless efforts helped our event move much smoother for all our guests. Please check out their webshop, www.harajukuhearts.com, to see the varied selection of Japanese fashion brands they are making available to the U.S.A..

 

Thank you to all of our lovely models during the fashion show. Your professional manner and attention were essential to giving our patrons an enjoyable evening and helping foster relations with our brand affiliates. Thank you for giving up your day to brighten the day of others.  

 

Last but not least, the actions of Oneesan would mean nothing without the support of the lolita fashion community, both among our guests and the many patrons who attend. To all who supported and attended this event - Thank you for the gift of your presence and your patience. The growth of the EGL community in recent years has been both astonishing and wonderful, and we hope with your continued support to match that growth in our services to both the community and our Japanese brand associates. The good humor and excitement among our patrons was heartwarming to see, and reminds us what we're working towards. Every single day, there are examples across the EGL community of why this is such a great hobby and fashion to take part in, and what a difference wonderful people can make. For you, we shall continue to try our hardest to make events that are fun and fulfilling. Thank you, to all who attended. We're very grateful.


Humbly Yours,

Lynda Leung
Oneesan Inc. CEO