Ursα major × Gothic and Lolita Market Event Report
2023.12.24 12:36
The organizer of Ursa major, BAY AREA KEI (also the owner of THE BLACK RIBBON), is a group that holds events themed around J-fashion and Lolita fashion across the United States, and they hold an event every December in San Francisco.
The event name "Ursa major" means "Great Bear Constellation" in Japanese, and the key visual for this event is designed accordingly.
The dress code is Lolita or J-fashion, and it seemed that many of the kids wore clothes and accessories with bear, star, or celestial-themed designs to match this image.
Now, let's look back on the day before the event and the three days of the event.
- The day before the event -
▲ The sky during the flight from Japan to San Francisco
The flight from Japan to San Francisco takes about nine and a half hours.
The time difference is -17 hours, which was quite tough when actually traveling...
In recent years, I was nervous because Japanese women have been viewed with suspicion upon entry, but I was able to enter safely.
I traveled about 30 minutes by car to the area where the venue and the hotel I stayed at are located.
Even within these 30 minutes, I couldn't take my eyes off the ever-changing cityscape from the window.
What do you think of when you hear San Francisco?
The seaside famous for the Golden Gate Bridge?
Silicon Valley, where renowned IT companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Adobe Systems, and others reign?
I myself learned for the first time this time that San Francisco has a famous Japantown in the United States!
This event was also held at the Kabuki Hotel located within that Japantown.
▲ Kabuki Hotel, the venue
It seems that this event is held at this venue every year, and not only do people living around here gather, but they also come by car or plane from all over the United States and Canada!
Already on this day, I was very happy to see Lolita fashion people at the hotel and around town where we were staying.
Since we couldn't start setting up on this day, we took a little walk around the town.
We returned to the hotel early to prepare for the next day.
- Event Day 1 -
▲GLM booth before display
On this day, the Gothic and Lolita Market members were fully occupied with setting up the booth for the next day's sales.
This time, 32 brands from Japan participated.
Many brands were selling overseas for the first time, and GLM staff nervously arranged the products.
▲Scene of GLM booth setup
The display was finished when it was already getting dark.
It was really unfortunate that some items were significantly delayed in shipping and hadn't arrived, or were damaged and couldn't be displayed, but the Japanese brand works lined up tightly in the large room were impressive!
The local event staff also seemed very curious about what kind of works were there and visited the room.
They were looking at the works so seriously that it felt like a long observation, which made me even more excited for the sales the next day.
▲Video taken by the event staff on this day
On this day, programs at booths other than GLM started from the evening.
- Games and lotteries
- "Dress of The Year," where attendees vote on which clothes released this year were the best
- "Karaoke Night," a style where people watch those singing karaoke from the front
- "J-Fashion EDM Rave," where people gather and dance in J-Fashion in the dark
From Day 1, there were many interesting events unfamiliar in Japan.
▲ Photos from Day 1 of the event (provided by @bon.komera & @bayareakei)
- Event Day 2 -
The long-awaited day of the Gothic and Lolita Market has finally arrived!
From 11 o'clock, admission begins for those with VIP tickets, and from 12 o'clock, admission starts for those with general tickets and those without tickets.
▲ Waiting line in front of the GLM booth
In front of the GLM booth, there was even a waiting line starting just after 10 o'clock...!
The venue is full of customers eagerly waiting for the opening!
Then, at 11 o'clock when VIP admission starts, customers rush into the venue all at once.
Upon entering the venue, customers carefully look at the works and find one desired item after another, holding them full in both hands.
▲ Customers shopping at the GLM booth (@bon.komera & @bayareakei provided photos)
This time, the event was operated with a limit on the number of people thanks to the organizer's consideration, but the line did not stop until around 4 PM.
I am amazed by the passion of the Lolitas in America.
▲ A customer wearing a bag purchased at the Gothic and Lolita Market booth right there
Also, I had heard rumors in Japan like "There are many sweet Lolitas in America" and "Piercings are more popular than clip-on earrings," but in reality, sweet Lolita was not especially popular, and both earrings and piercings were purchased about equally.
Maybe there was such a time, but I realized there are many things you can only understand by actually going there.
At last year's event in Germany, Gothic and sweets motifs were popular, and it seemed there was a bias in preferences, but at this event, all genres were well received without bias. It made me happy to think that, just like in Japan, there are people enjoying various fashion genres.
On this day, about 260 customers shopped at the GLM booth alone.
We were able to deliver many wonderful Japanese works to Lolitas in America, and I want to sincerely thank the participating creators.
▲ Archive of the stream
After the GLM booth closed, we did an Instagram live in English to introduce the products for online sales.
By this time, many brands were already sold out or had only a few items left, but many people were able to see them!
And the site selling the products introduced in this stream will be open until 2024/1/15!
GLM often ships overseas including international orders, but unlike usual, the shipping base is in the US this time, so shipping is cheaper and arrives quickly♪
If you live locally, please take this opportunity to use it!
【Gothic and Lolita Market US】https://glm-usa.myshopify.com/
The programs at booths other than GLM on this day were as follows.
・Exhibition area for local brands
From well-known brands in Japan to brands you might see for the first time, 28 brands exhibited, and I ended up shopping a lot♪
I wanted to introduce some brands I spoke with, but the report would become quite long, so I will omit it.
If there are many requests, I will post a separate introduction article.
・Genre-specific coordinate snaps and group photo shoot (Gothic Lolita, Sweet Lolita, Classic Lolita)
▲ Scene of the group photo shoot (Photos provided by @bon.komera & @bayareakei)
・A gathering where everyone brings their dolls to show each other
▲ Scene at The Doll Museum (Photos provided by @bon.komera & @bayareakei)
・Lecture themed "The Future of J-Fashion"
・A gathering to compete with illustrations based on J-fashion themes (?)
・Table games
・Dance lessons for the evening ball
(Slow Waltz, East Coast Swing, Rotary Waltz and Polka)
・Ball
▲ Scenes from the Holiday Ball (18+) (@bon.komera & @bayareakei provided photos)
・Coordinate Contest
▲ Coordinate Contest Winners (@bon.komera & @bayareakei provided photos)
and participants who registered in advance went on stage one by one to pose.
You could choose which award to apply for when entering,
There were awards like Best Couple, Hair Styling, Relaxed Style, Best Handmade, and Best Accessories.
Since there were no other events during the final ball and coordinate contest, everyone gathered in this hall to dance, mingle around round tables, enjoy some light snacks, and take coordinate photos at the photo booth, making it very lively!
- Event Day 3 -
The GLM booth was very busy picking and packing items sold online since yesterday...!
Other booths had events like this going on.
・Flea Market
I was surprised to find clothes from 90s brands here, local brands, and even some famous brands from Japan that have come out fairly recently, making it hard to decide what to look at.
In one corner of the venue, there was also a space with items labeled Free that you could take for free.
・Lecture on "Analysis of the history of Lolita and Rococo"
・Lecture on "BABY's Kumya"
・Lecture on "Lolita fashion in the media"
・Course on how to take good coordinate photos
・Workshop decorating straw hats with flowers and more
・Crocheted bear pin workshop
・Genre-specific coordinate snap & group photo shoot
(Bear theme, J-fashion in general, indie brands)
▲ Genre-specific group photo - Bear theme & indie brands (@bon.komera & @bayareakei photo provided)
And finally, there was the organizer's 2023 review talk & closing ceremony.
▲ This event's organizing team (@bon.komera & @bayareakei photo provided)
In this photo, the person holding the microphone is Halley, the organizer of BAY AREA KEI.
There were quite a few obstacles to exhibiting at the Gothic and Lolita Market held in the US this time, but I am truly grateful from the bottom of my heart for all the help I received.
Moreover, I truly respect that you are hosting such a large-scale event while running your own brand...!
▲ Group photo at the closing ceremony (Photo provided by @bon.komera & @bayareakei)
I heard that the total number of attendees at this event exceeded 300, so the people in this group photo at the end are only a part of them, but it warms my heart to think there are so many friends with the same hobby here in America.
Also, many customers and staff who exhibited at this event expressed their thanks, saying "Thank you for the wonderful works!", "Thank you so much for coming to the event!", and "We definitely want you to come again!", some even said it in Japanese.
We will continue to strive to convey wonderful Japanese brands and works.
With that, we conclude the Ursα major × Gothic and Lolita Market event report.
This turned out to be quite a long report, but thank you for reading until the end!
[Upcoming Events]
10th Gothic and Lolita Market
Date and time: 2024/4/13 (Sat) and 4/14 (Sun)
Location: WITH HARAJUKU HALL (Tokyo, Harajuku Station)
The largest Lolita event in Japan!
It's the 10th anniversary!! There might be a special party...?!
Exhibitor recruitment is scheduled to start in January.
We are also preparing several new projects♫
Stay tuned for more updates!
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