Last year I visited the Forbidden Planet comic/sci-fi shop in Bristol (awesome city by the way) and of course had a good rummage through the art books section.

Please note I am not a sci-fi geek, I was simply in the company of a geek. That’s right, I said geek.

I found (and bought) this stunning book below from Harper Collins Design called Gothic Lolita Punk and showcasing the work of talented illustrators and artists designing in this style. And yes, it’s taken me an entire year to get round to writing about it! Shocker.

origins
The gothic lolita punk movement has it’s origins in Japan and dates back as far as the 80′s. One of the earliest examples of this style in action within the music industry include the ‘doll-like’ attire of the band leader of Malice Mizer – he is seen as an early heralder of gothic lolita punk movement.

The styling of this band and others were forerunners to the movement, and by the 90s fans would dress in the black slightly frilly ‘doll like’ clothing that marked the early Lolita styling.

Although this book features illustrators/artists, the style has it roots firmly in fashion and music. Modern musicians paying homage to this style include Gwen Stefani and her ‘Harajuku Girls‘.

The term Harajuku Girls has been used by English media to describe teenagers dressed in any fashion style who are in the area of Harajuku, which is the area around Harajuku Station in Tokyo, Japan. This district is a fashion capital of the world renowned for unique street fashion and includes a shops stocking international brands. Here every Sunday young people dress in a range of styles including gothic lolita, visual kei, and decora.

artists
I’ve selected just three artists from the book, my favourites, however the book features many more and even some basic guideline tutorials for much of the work showcased.

yoh
Cover artist Yoh (Yoh Kakumei Zenya) is probably my favourite illustrator in the book, he describes within (with matching tutorial images) how the illustrations are drawn using ink pens.

You can visit Yoh’s Monochrome World to view lots more in his gallery, and if you are able to read Japanese, you can perhaps buy from their shop and read all about the artist!

Believe me it took come considerable time for me to dig out his full name and that he is male let alone much more about him. The book only describes him as ‘Yoh’ and nothing more!

Extremely detailed.

I love this one, look at the colours.

Another favourite.

makoligato
I’m drawn to this artist for one giant reason … Alice in Wonderland. Some of the photographs in the book (he is a custom doll maker) are Wonderland themed and I can’t resist anything Wonderland on the whole

Also I do quite find the concept of collectible dolls rather fascinating. High quality fashion and collectible dolls are big business and I wrote a blog in 2008 about Sybarite Dolls, which are very expensive collectible couture fashion dolls made out of resin. So exclusive that in 2007 a Sybarite fashion doll had it’s own seat in the audience at a couture Dior fashion show!

Visit Mako’s doll factory to see more of their work.

The Mad Hatter! Look at the ickle teacups!

Alice. And I know this is rather irrelevant in some ways, but because I love Wonderland things so much I have to tell you that you can buy (online) the most amazing Alice in Wonderland themed charm jewellery (and other amazing frippery!) from outstanding independent designer Hoolala >>
I bought a stunning Wonderland themed ‘drink me’ necklace (below) for my sister for her birthday last year

kira imai
Finally, Kira Imai’s work is stunning and I’m not entirely sure which I prefer the most between this and Yoh’s work. Yoh only just perhaps has a the slight edge for me. Probably due to it’s more strongly gothic nature.

Feast your eyes on more of her work on the Kira website. There is again quite an Alice feel to much of her work!

I guess this ties in with the whole ‘Lolita’ theme and a lot of Gothic Lolita artists are inspired by Alice in Wonderland as a result. Probably why I like it all so much … Alice? Gothic? What could make me happier than shoving the two together eh?

Again, if you can’t read Japanese, you can’t read this website, only look at the pretty pictures. She’s on Twitter but it’s all in Japanese, PAH! Oh well, I followed her anyway as she does link to images also.

Colours, she’s very skilled in the use of colours.

This below is just a quick nod to Nori Tomizaki, who creates some freaky creepy images through his use of 3D computer rendering!