lolita media library: Arika Takarano’s Cocoon Lily, Bone Lily (繭百合、骨百合)

Overview

A fashion photo book by ALI PROJECT vocalist and lyricist Arika Takarano (宝野アリカ) published in 2015. Many of the photos in this book appeared in different issues of the Gothic and Lolita Bible and Kera!, and some of them were worn on stage during her concerts. Takarano wrote poems to go with many of the outfits. She writes in the transcendentalist/Parnassian style which originated in France in the mid 1800s.

Comments

My main motivations for getting this book were that I love Arika’s outfits in general, and in particular I really love seeing her collaborations with Triple Fortune. There are a lot of them in this book, and I think either many of them were commissioned especially for Arika or she purchased pieces that Triple Fortune made for special events like fashion shows or their Brilliant Star Decorations (Brideco) event because they are more elaborate than their retail releases. The floor length Lily of the Valley print gown she wears on the cover is a good example. The print is larger than on the retail items, and it has a corset top with big green velvet bows and a floor length skirt. The doll she holds in the photo even wears a tiny dress with this print on it.

The back of the book has a list of brands and credits for each outfit. Some I heard of for the first time that I want to check out: Black Sheep (wigs), Maple (also wigs), and Strange Artifact (a band that also makes and sells steampunk attire).

“Doll House”, featuring Arika’s collaboration items with Innocent World.

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Table of contents

• Foreword p.3

Section I: Parnassienne

• LILY OF THE VALLEY p.6-9
• Queen’s Cocoon p.10-15
• Rose Wedding Hall p.16-19
• The Wings of Love Have Pearl Bones p.20-27
• Tale of Transforming Into an Obsessive Cat p.28-31
• Magical Banquet p.32-39
• RUBAN Mask and BIJOU Thief p.40-43
• One Thousand and One Nights of Star Stories p.44-51
• Tale of the Cards Girl Buried in Roses p.52-55
• Mademoiselle Noire p.56-57
• My Sweet Fairy Tale p.58-59
• Let’s Get Dressed, Princess p.60-61
• Doll House p.62-63
• Fairy Sisters in the English Garden p.64-65
  Featuring model Midori Fukasawa (深澤翠).
• Mourning Sisters in a Dark Game p.66-67
  Featuring model Yui Minakata (皆方由衣).
• Witch Sisters of Legends and Roses p.68-69
  Featuring model and vocalist Luna Haruna (春奈るな).

Section II: Japonisme

• Written Works of Edo p.72-75
• Messages from a Yokai Courtesan p.76-81
  Includes “La Reve Illusoire”, “Amitie”, “Curiosite”, “Timidité”
• Untitled p.82-83

Section III: Poème en prose

• Alice Dreams Her Dream Forever p.86-89
• Ultimately, “I Am a Doll” p.90-93
• The Pleasures of Delusional Lady M and the Melancholy of Sympathetic Miss S p.94-101
• Barami and Yurine p.102-115
  Includes the four installments of “Barami and Yurine’s Curious Hotel” that ran in the Gothic and Lolita Bible.

Section IV: Allicaisme

• Untitled photos p.118-125
  These photos showcase her personal favorite styles.