Otakon 2013, Excluding Lolita: Indie Fashion Show and Other Lolita Panels
To the Beautiful and Lovely Girls of the Lolita Community,
For those of you who are considering attending Otakon 2013, or any who have already registered to attend, by now after the long anticipated wait, you too have come to realize that there are little to no lolita panels announced for this year’s proposed schedule. You may, like a good deal of us in the community, also be disappointed to find that Otakon has axed the indie lolita fashion show which many of us look forward to attending, participating in, or just overall showing our support of our favorite indie designers.
There has been a good deal of speculation as to why, whom, or what caused this decision to be made, resulting in the exclusion of the lolita community from the convention. We will not further add to the rumor mill without further information or details on the matter, only to say that this resulted in Otakon not supporting any kind of lolita fashion panels (with the exception of the basic two) and canceling the indie lolita fashion show.
We have both heard and read the frustrations of many, including our own, at the lack of information available on why this has happened and more importantly the disappointment of those looking forward to being able to support their favorite indie brands. There has been a good deal of talk about lolita from all over the country refusing to attend Otakon if they choose to exclude us as a community.
A small group of us have banded together in hopes to rally our hopes and spirits to at least ask that Otakon make a public statement on the subject, and in the best of hopes, ask that they reinstate the indie lolita fashion show. We ask you, dear community, to help us in this endeavor! Show support for your community, your friends, and your favorite indie brands!
Below is a pre-written message that you can copy and paste to show your support of getting lolita panels reinstated at Otakon, or please feel free to write your own! Go to the Otakon home page, click on contact us, and for topic please select “con chair.”
Good luck to us all!
Respectfully,
Annika Simmons x Pop Princess
Melissa Lipscomb x Indie Fashion Show Director
Kimberly Hernandez x Indie fashion Show Co-Director
Dawn Allen x In The Snowfield
Grace Valentine x Gothic Lolita Wigs
Michelle S. Ramon, Rachel Decker, and Laidech Miller x Belladonna
To Whom It May Concern:
As an active member of the lolita community, I would like to express my sincere disappointment in the proposed schedule of Otakon 2013, which seems to have excluded nearly all of the lolita fashion show panels from previous years, including the greatly anticipated indie lolita fashion show.
As a regular attendee of Otakon, I look forward to traveling to the convention every year in order to attend fashion panels, lolita related events, and to see other lolita from the community who have come from all over the country. I especially was looking forward to being able to see the indie lolita fashion show to show my support of local indie designers as well as international ones who have been featured on the runway, and to discover newly blossoming brands.
There has been no statement on the Otakon website or forums explaining why it seems like the lolita community as a whole is being excluded from the schedule and panels this year. Are we not also investing financially in the future of the convention, making the lolita community far and wide a part of the convention’s valued attendees?
If it is possible to fit into the budget, I would greatly appreciate having the indie lolita fashion show reinstated on the schedule, even if it is not as glamorous or flashy as it has been in the past years. Many conventions around the country have sprung up featuring indie lolita fashion shows, indie brands, and big brands at their conventions, which allows for a greater variety to choose from.
I strongly believe that it is important for me to invest my time and money in a convention that is willing to support the community I am a part of without bias. If Otakon is willing to alienate a community that flocks to its location each year to network among a blossoming fashion movement, then I do not think it is a convention or company that I want to support in return, either now or in the future. Our community is one that is growing quickly and strongly, and we believe in supporting each other, especially in matters that affect us a whole.
I think it would make a lot of us happy to attend Otakon, if you would consider reinstating the indie lolita fashion show and its corresponding panels. I would very much appreciate a statement from Otakon explaining why lolita panels, including the indie fashion show, were axed for this year’s schedule at the very least.
Thank you,
For those of you who are considering attending Otakon 2013, or any who have already registered to attend, by now after the long anticipated wait, you too have come to realize that there are little to no lolita panels announced for this year’s proposed schedule. You may, like a good deal of us in the community, also be disappointed to find that Otakon has axed the indie lolita fashion show which many of us look forward to attending, participating in, or just overall showing our support of our favorite indie designers.
There has been a good deal of speculation as to why, whom, or what caused this decision to be made, resulting in the exclusion of the lolita community from the convention. We will not further add to the rumor mill without further information or details on the matter, only to say that this resulted in Otakon not supporting any kind of lolita fashion panels (with the exception of the basic two) and canceling the indie lolita fashion show.
We have both heard and read the frustrations of many, including our own, at the lack of information available on why this has happened and more importantly the disappointment of those looking forward to being able to support their favorite indie brands. There has been a good deal of talk about lolita from all over the country refusing to attend Otakon if they choose to exclude us as a community.
A small group of us have banded together in hopes to rally our hopes and spirits to at least ask that Otakon make a public statement on the subject, and in the best of hopes, ask that they reinstate the indie lolita fashion show. We ask you, dear community, to help us in this endeavor! Show support for your community, your friends, and your favorite indie brands!
Below is a pre-written message that you can copy and paste to show your support of getting lolita panels reinstated at Otakon, or please feel free to write your own! Go to the Otakon home page, click on contact us, and for topic please select “con chair.”
Good luck to us all!
Respectfully,
Annika Simmons x Pop Princess
Melissa Lipscomb x Indie Fashion Show Director
Kimberly Hernandez x Indie fashion Show Co-Director
Dawn Allen x In The Snowfield
Grace Valentine x Gothic Lolita Wigs
Michelle S. Ramon, Rachel Decker, and Laidech Miller x Belladonna
To Whom It May Concern:
As an active member of the lolita community, I would like to express my sincere disappointment in the proposed schedule of Otakon 2013, which seems to have excluded nearly all of the lolita fashion show panels from previous years, including the greatly anticipated indie lolita fashion show.
As a regular attendee of Otakon, I look forward to traveling to the convention every year in order to attend fashion panels, lolita related events, and to see other lolita from the community who have come from all over the country. I especially was looking forward to being able to see the indie lolita fashion show to show my support of local indie designers as well as international ones who have been featured on the runway, and to discover newly blossoming brands.
There has been no statement on the Otakon website or forums explaining why it seems like the lolita community as a whole is being excluded from the schedule and panels this year. Are we not also investing financially in the future of the convention, making the lolita community far and wide a part of the convention’s valued attendees?
If it is possible to fit into the budget, I would greatly appreciate having the indie lolita fashion show reinstated on the schedule, even if it is not as glamorous or flashy as it has been in the past years. Many conventions around the country have sprung up featuring indie lolita fashion shows, indie brands, and big brands at their conventions, which allows for a greater variety to choose from.
I strongly believe that it is important for me to invest my time and money in a convention that is willing to support the community I am a part of without bias. If Otakon is willing to alienate a community that flocks to its location each year to network among a blossoming fashion movement, then I do not think it is a convention or company that I want to support in return, either now or in the future. Our community is one that is growing quickly and strongly, and we believe in supporting each other, especially in matters that affect us a whole.
I think it would make a lot of us happy to attend Otakon, if you would consider reinstating the indie lolita fashion show and its corresponding panels. I would very much appreciate a statement from Otakon explaining why lolita panels, including the indie fashion show, were axed for this year’s schedule at the very least.
Thank you,