We just wrapped up our last convention for 2022 at Sin City Anime! Now we have some time to unwind and prepare for the new year ahead. Im happy to be able to continue doing these little interviews with various creators and designers and I hope that I'll be able to do even more in 2023! Something I repeated over the course of Sin City Anime weekend was that fashion (J-Fashion) brings people together. It doesnt matter where in the world you live, we can all somehow find ourselves connected because of our love for something related to fashion! In this case, fashion guests were invited to the convention in Las Vegas, yet we all came from different places and are connecting about the same thing.
This mini interview features one of the fashion guests, Japanese shironuri artist and illustrator Minori.
Minori - Shironuri Artist and Illustrator
(Minori is standing at the FAKE STAR booth with her merchandise!)
Minori actually visited Toronto back in 2018 for Anime North. But at that time, I didn't have a chance to meet or see her. Luckily at Sin City Anime, the GHOST GIRL GOODS booth was located right beside the FAKE STAR booth, which is where Minori was stationed also! This gave me the perfect chance to ask her a few questions. She had a busy schedule for the weekend, so I kept it short and sweet~ I also noticed she managed to make some time to check out the first half of the fashion show! (I hope she liked GHOST GiRL GOODS!) It was really great getting to know her a little more during the weekend and even sharing a few meals too.
(we are such a contract of colour pop and monochromatic!)
Before I get into it, Sin City Anime hosted a lolita tea party with the theme: Greyscale Heaven. Here is a lovely group photo from the Sin City Anime facebook page from the event (which was held on the Friday of the con)
I did not get the chance to attend, (because GHOST GiRL GOODS was busy busy busy with our activities!) but look at how lovely everyone looks!
Minori started doing shironuri make up and styling in 2009. Years later, in 2011, she started doing it full time and created her own clothing and accessories to match with her artistic visions. She has been featured many times on the Tokyo Fashion blog/social media and has even worked with other popular Harajuku figures such as RinRin Doll.
I asked Minori what is her favourite part about designing. She responded by saying when there is no goal in mind, that's when she can shop freely with infinite possibilities. She often visits shops that have various scraps of fabrics or the ends of rolls, all in which are rare and unusual. From there, she is able to pick out the items she likes and uses those as her base point for starting a design. There is no specific goal in mind, she enjoys shopping freely and finding the inspiration after. This is a fun way to start a project because you can always change and be flexible whenever something new catches your eye~! Aside from creating clothing and accessories, she is also an illustrator! There were a few keychains she designed at the booth and I even got one too!
(the keychains are just above the photo books)
(Some handcrafted jewelry and headpieces that were available for purchase. How lovely!)
I then asked Minori what is something she is most proud of.
Before covid hit, Minori was working on a project called Minori meets the world. She was visiting different parts of the world and would try and find items and materials that she was able to use to create wearable art. From there she would create something that was inspired by the place she was visiting! She said since the world is so large, it gave her many opportunities and possibilities to be creative and find inspiration.
Lastly, I asked if Minori was currently working on any project that she'd like to tell us a little bit about.
For one of her most recent creations, Minori crafted a dress and full look using used umbrellas. It is actually the cover image on her most recent photobook, which you can see on the left. She would like to explore the concept of finding used items with only 1 use (or made for 1 purpose in their lifetime) and recreating them into various fashion items. I think this is a fun concept that will allow for a lot of creativity with items that aren't commonly used for fashion. (Just like the umbrellas that she turned into a dress and headpiece!)
And before I wrap up this entry, Minori had a mini exhibition of her works in one of the hotel suites, which was open to all for viewing (conveniently, this was the same room where Anime Boba Cafe opened shop for the weekend for bubble tea purchases!) She displayed a few of her framed pieces, as well as 2 outfits she created. It was really cool to see the outfits up close in person! (Click an image to view larger)
"What I wanted to wear was the reality, the materialization of the universe within me." This sentence in Minori's introduction to her gallery really stuck with me. I feel that many creators have their own universe inside them that they are trying to express. Even for me, GHOST GiRL and her friends all live within my mind and I want to let them out in the world so they can live here with me, but also with you too! I want people to find connection through my little characters the same way Minori wants to connect nature with her creations and herself. I found all her photos absolutely beautiful and tried to put myself in the setting of what she was feeling while wearing her creation and being in the perfect setting to represent it.
Thanks for your responses Minori! And thank you all for reading. Be sure to check out Minori's social networks and like/follow, and check out our other blog posts on events we've attended, KAWAII INTERVIEWS, and more!