Cosplay Hits the Catwalk
Japanese fashion designer Mikio Sakabe’s Autumn/Winter 2011-12 was inspired by the Tokyo district of Akihabara, which is home to a subculture of star karaoke singers and performers and their devoted followers. The fashions are also based on the culture of gaming, comic books, manga and cosplay (short for “costume play”).
“[C]osplay is such an interesting thing,” Sakabe told Junsuke Yamasaki of Vice magazine*. “Traditionally western fashion has always been concerned with making yourself look better, whatever that means, but on the other hand, cosplay is for people who want to transform themselves.”
In a similar vein, Sakabe’s Spring-Summer 2012 collection was inspired by princesses.
*interview and photo in Vice: The Fashion Issue, March 2012, vol 10, no 2