Baby, The Stars Shine Bright at NYAF

The New York Anime Festival is a celebration of all that is part of Japanese pop culture, and our Guests of Honor represent this. We have author Hideyuki Kikuchi. We have illustrator Yoshitaka Amano. We have voice actress Rie Tanaka. And now, I'm pleased and honored to reveal we have fashion designer Baby, The Stars Shine Bright.

Baby, The Stars Shine Bright -- Japan's premier Lolita fashion brand -- will be sending designers Miho Satoh and Masumi Kanoh will attend the New York Anime Festival to speak about the history and philosophy of their brand, welcome fans to a special Baby, The Stars Shine boutique, and even enjoy a cup of tea with NYAF attendees during a Baby, The Stars Shine Bright tea party.

For those unfamiliar with Lolita fashion, born on the streets of Japan, Lolita fashion is a style of clothing which adopts child-like charms and details from periods such as Rococo France and Victorian England. The Lolita look is full of knee-skimming skirts, pintucks, petticoats, and blouses edged in lace. Developing since the 1970s in Japan, Lolita fashion is now rapidly gaining a wide following worldwide.

Baby, The Stars Shine Bright was founded as a boutique in Shibuya, Tokyo in 1988 by husband and wife team Akinori and Fumiyo Isobe. Baby, The Stars Shine Bright has since grown into an international phenomenon with fans around the world and stores as faraway as Paris. The brand has collaborated with numerous famous icons including Sanrio's Hello Kitty and Japanese pop star Nana Kitade. Anime fans and followers of Asian cinema will no doubt recognize Baby, The Stars Shine Bright as the clothing line at the center of the feature film Kamikaze Girls.

Baby, The Stars Shine Bright designer Miho Satoh was born in Tokyo, enjoyed handicrafts since she was young, and started studying clothing design as a high school student. Even now, after joining Baby, The Stars Shine Bright, she continues her studies in clothing design. Designer Masumi Kanoh was born in Miyagi, Japan. She's always loved cute things and discovered Lolita fashion in junior high school. She joined Baby, The Stars Shine Bright right out of university.

Details about Miho Satoh, Masumi Kanoh, and the Baby, The Stars Shine Bright events at the New York Anime Festival will be available at newyorkanimefestival.com in the coming weeks. (And keep your eyes peeled for another Guest of Honor coming soon. All I can say is I like Japanese food.)