In the final week of September, LCCA hosted the J-Style Japanese Fashion exhibition at The Gallery in 9 Holborn.
There, photographers Emily Faulder and Saoirse Clohessy were joined by illustrators Madeleine Allcock and Tania Piccolo, and designer and illustrator Roxie Sweetheart. Fashion brand, ShinkuRose, were also at the exhibition.
Together Emily and Saoirse curated the exhibition which celebrated the influence of Japanese street fashion in the UK. They explored Harajuku fashion through different mediums and held a raffle, with donations going to the charity, Raleigh International.
Special guest, singer-songwriter Megan Valentine, performed an acoustic set on the closing night along with guitarist Touma (Tomas Eduardo), singing both original songs and covers.
Here’s a bit about some of the exhibitors and what they had to say:
Emily Faulder
LCCA was delighted to welcome photography alumna, Emily, back to campus for this special exhibition. She described the private viewing of the exhibition as kawaii, creative and colourful.
“The project as a whole was a fantastic experience. Seeing months of hard work come together on the night and people having a great time and enjoying our work was so rewarding.”
The J-Style exhibition was certainly different to more conventional exhibitions in the UK.
“Japanese street fashion is quite niche but has a huge cult following in the UK,” Emily explained. “As far as we are aware, no one has put together an exhibition celebrating Japanese street fashion before in the UK, and we knew from the outset that it would attract a lot of attention.”
Saoirse Clohessy
Emily introduced Saoirse: “The exhibition was Saoirse's brainchild. We have been friends for a while and met through our love of photographing J-fashion. When she suggested an exhibition to me, I jumped at the chance. Originally it was just going to be photography but it morphed into something much more creative and visually exciting.”
Saoirse explained the charity fundraising: “[It] was part of my personal fundraising to visit Nepal with Raleigh International Charity as their project manager and expedition photographer.”
“Last year, I decided that fashion retouching wasn't for me. I wanted to do charity work whilst using my creativity and, when I saw this role, it just seemed exactly what I wanted to do. Not only do Raleigh focus on sustainable development and environmental work, but also women's rights, which I am very passionate about. I'm only out there for three months but it will be a step towards a career in the charity sector.”
ShinkuRose
Seamstress and administrator, Debbie, and designer and pattern cutter, Emily, make up the small team of ShinkuRose. This alternative fashion brand designs garments and accessories in the style of Lolita fashion and kawaii fashion. ShinkuRose also specialises in hand rendered illustrations and real life photography, which is incorporated into their art work in the form of print designs.
ShinkuRose started as an Etsy marketplace store in 2012; today they visit shows around England and Europe.