Recently, Morrigan NYC presented our Fall/Winter collection as a part of the Indie and North American Designers' panel at Otakon! I was proud that Morrigan was a part of the lineup -- all of the designers presented top quality collections with strong individual style! Even in a downturn-ish economy and in a subculture that has so many replicas (both things that make you weary of being a small designer ;), it's great to know that there is a vibrant scene in North America for independent designers and labels. Keep doing your best, everyone! I enjoy fashion shows because they are a chance to play around with various ideas and styles. As such, the items below are not market-ready, but we're working hard on finalizing the patterns for the next collection, and it's coming soon! We will definitely be producing both prints (the one I am affectionately calling "eyeballs," as well as the new literary print, which you can see a small glimpse of below). Please stay tuned here, or check out our Facebook page. We'll post when the new collection is ready for pre-order!
        The convention in general was amazing and we had a great time hanging out with many people at the booth we shared with the I Do Declare crew!  Here's Stephanie, who really liked the new literary print (more details on the new print shortly!). :) 
I even ran into one of my favorite customers, Barbara! As you can see, she was one of the very few folks who got an original Raven print skirt. :) What a delightful surprise to see old friends again!  We don't do many fashion shows, but it's always fun when we do. Thanks to everyone who helped out -- models, colleagues, and friends! | |
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Dearest Readers, this week, we have three new topics to report to you!
Morrigan Fashion Show: This Weekend at Otakon!
Here is the lovely Konrad, helping sew samples for the new Morrigan collection. <3
This weekend, Morrigan will heading off to Otakon in Baltimore, Maryland, to take part in the American Designers' Lolita Fashion Show! We are very excited to have a brand new print and some fabulous new designs for dresses, skirts, and accessories to debut to everyone! If you are attending Otakon Convention, please stop by Ballroom 1&2 at 8:30pm on Friday evening, July 29th. It's advised to arrive early, as there is always quite a line before the doors open. Even if you can't make it to Baltimore for the show, please look forward to photos and video of our runway presentation next week! Morrigan Co-Presents: the Otakon Lolita Tea Party!
Morrigan New York is also proud to be the co-presenters of the Otakon Lolita Tea Party, along with our sister American indie brands I Do Declare and Perianth, as well as the fashion blogs Moss Garden and Tea, Love, Crochet! We wanted to make this event similar in style to the brand tea parties held by Japanese Lolita companies to honor and thank their customers. Therefore, even though the event is being held at no profit, party guests will also receive a gift bag with handmade items from all of the hosts, as well as a chance to win a raffle for exclusive items contributed by each presenter. We're working hard to make a charming event for everyone, and create a thank you to our community, who supports us as small indie designers, bloggers... and of course supports the fashion style that we all love. <3 For more information about the tea party, please see the organizing post on ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif?v=91.7) egl . New Morrigan Collection and Print Coming Soon!
We are really excited about our new print, which came out even more beautifully than we had imagined! Resident Illustrator Matt really outdid himself this time, and the image is both elegant and surprisingly adorable. We also excited to showcase our first literature print that's inspired by a work written in a language other than English! Please stay tuned here in the next week, for the first images of our new print and collection! | |
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Spring is here! The weather in New York has finally transformed after a long winter. The atmosphere around town is decidedly upbeat -- it seems like everyone is excited to get their fashionable clothing out of their closets again after a few months of hiding in coats and rain boots.   Recently, the lovely Shien Lee sent us these portraits by New York-based photographer Michael Blase, featuring the Dances of Vice impresario herself wearing her Morrigan Moby Dick Dress! Michael's playful images seemed to strike the perfect tone for spring weather, so I thought it was a great time to share them with you. As the founder and creative force behind Dances of Vice, Shien is known for being fashion forward – and it definitely shows in the fabulous styling of her coordinate. I love the subtly Parisian, 1920s twist – a dress can be completely transformed with spectator shoes, a fashionable hat, and a turn-of-the-century side braid. Speaking of Spring, and of Dances of Vice, I heartily encourage NYC-area readers to attend the Dances of Vice Spring Ball, occurring on May 14th. Shien’s events are always great fun, and the incredible location, atmosphere, and lineup of the Ball really seem to indicate that this event will be unbelievable. As a designer, I find events like Dances of Vice invaluable as a source of inspiration. Having somewhere to wear all of our fancy clothing provides a structure to my designs -- fashion is no fun without a great atmosphere to dress up for! Shien puts a lot of hard work into DoV, and it shows -- her events are immaculate. I think it's extra important as a member of the creative community to recognize the importance of beautiful happenings like these. Because really, what's the point of art if you can't have a good time every now and then? ;) Please come out and enjoy the beauty of the season at the Spring Ball -- and say hello if you see me in the crowd! Click on the image below for more details about the ball: 
Morrigan Sample Sale to Benefit the Japanese Red Cross
To end on a more somber note, I would like to announce in advance the continuation of Morrigan New York’s sample sale of rare and one-of-a-kind items, to benefit victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. All proceeds from these items will be donated in full to the Japanese Red Cross.
Like so many people around the world, and absolutely like every single person involved in the Lolita fashion community, the staff of Morrigan was heartbroken to hear about the natural disaster in Japan. Our heart goes out to those whose lives have been affected by the ongoing crisis. Because of a frustrating feeling like there was little we could do to help as we watch things unfolding from another continent, we decided that for now, we could have a sale of our studio samples and other special objects to benefit those communities that are affected.
We actually listed two one-of-a-kind sample items on Etsy already, but before I could post about them here, they were purchased! However, never fear – more items will be posted soon, and they’ll go up here BEFORE we post the Etsy page, so you have a chance to look at them!
Here are the first two items that sold, in case you are curious: http://www.etsy.com/transaction/46268041 http://www.etsy.com/transaction/46268040Thanks to Ms. Mary Alice for purchasing the items and supporting Japanese rebuilding efforts. I hope you enjoy your new pieces! Please look out for a new blog entry here soon, with the remainder of the sample sale items. | |
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Martha from Moss Garden was one of our pre-order customers for the Moby Dick One-Piece dress in long length, and today she's reviewed her dress on the blog. I'm so glad to hear that people are enjoying their Moby Dick Series items!  For those of you who are interested in natural kei, mori girl, dolly kei, and lolita fashion, Moss Garden is a well-written and researched blog that covers these fashion styles in depth, including the histories, major brands, styling options, and where (and how) to buy or make it all. It's a great blog to follow if you enjoy these styles! If you didn't manage to get a Moby Dick Series dress yet, but want one, hop over to Tokyo Rebel, who has just re-stocked the dresses in size Small and Medium. They also re-stocked the Moby Dick Series skirts in every color, in size Small (with shirring in the back). While you're visiting the TR website, please feel free to laugh gently at the video of me on the Morrigan collection page, being extremely nervous and dorky in front of a camera.... urrgh. :) | |
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Hurrah! The Moby Dick collection has been shipped out to pre-order customers! Some quick images:  The finished berets! The embroidery is so fancy - it turned out perfectly!  Me being happy (in a dorky winter coat) and picking up the finished skirts and dresses from our NYC factory! You can't really see in the above crappy iPhone photo since the colors are distorted, and the items are in plastic bags (hah!) but they are SO GORGEOUS! Every time I see the work of professional stitchers, it blows me away with how perfect it is. It also makes me realize that I made the right choice to be a designer rather than a stitcher... there is no way I could compete with these ladies, they are like stitching wizards. ;)  Look at this perfect professional construction! Even the inside is pretty and orderly. Sorry there aren't more photos of the finished dresses and skirts! I was in a hurry to send them off to everyone today. However, I can't wait to see what sort of coordinates people make with their new items. Please send us photos if you have some coordinate that you like. I would love to post customer pictures on our blog. :) Last but not least, I have almost completed the whale bags and will be shipping them out to winners this week! With that in mind, it's time to announce the whale bag raffle winners! ( Winners of the Whale Bag Raffle! )I hope that everyone enjoys their Moby Dick items (and congratulations to the whale bag winners!). And one last item of note! Morrigan is now officially available from Tokyo Rebel! Please go check out their beautiful store, which is decked out with amazing brand items from Japan and in a friendly Christmas spirit! From now on, I won't be making more Moby Dick items, but you can order more through Tokyo Rebel, as well will be making more orders for their store if they request them. That's all until next time! I'll try to do more "sewing advice" and "behind the scenes" posts from now on, and also keep you updated on the next collection -- which is VERY gothic and has a cute animal theme! (*secret!*). :) | |
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Occasionally I will receive an email from folks who have watched my tutorial on how to make spats, or who I meet at a convention, etc., asking what sort of sewing machine they should buy if they want to learn how to sew. I figured I'd write a post about it since it seems to be a common thing that people are curious about! Of course this is only my advice from experience, and it might not fit your situation, so be sure to get a second opinion. ( Questions about Sewing! ) | |
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I thought that our pre-order customers might enjoy seeing some photos of their skirts and dresses in progress. Here are some silkscreened panels for the skirts and dresses hanging up to dry! The detailed design really turned out beautifully for this collection -- I'm looking forward to sending them out to their new owners in early December. :) ( Silkscreened Panels! ) | |
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Announcing Our Fall Collection:
The Moby Dick Nautical Series! 
After more than a year since the Raven Print was released, the next print in the 19th Century Literature series is finally here! This time, the print is a nautical theme, based off of Herman Melville's Moby Dick -- the classic Victorian tale of the New England whaling trade and the dark side of human nature. Of course we thought it was the perfect wintry subject for a cute sailor collection! ;) The print is by our favorite artist Matthew Boyle, who also designed the Raven Print. It features one image of the Pequod whaling ship, and of course one of the White Whale itself!
 
The new print comes as a skirt and a one piece dress in two lengths, with a matching beret to complete the coordinate. The entire collection is available for pre-order on the Morrigan website. Please stop by and have a look!
As a personal aside: I apologize for the long amount of time it took for this collection to be released. I wanted to make sure that the sizes of our very first factory-produced, professionally graded OP dress were OK for many different body types in the diverse western lolita community. It's very important to me to produce items in a wide range of sizes, and we will continue to work on our sizing and fit with each new product that we release.
Morrigan NYC now available at Tokyo Rebel!  We are very pleased to announce that Morrigan NYC has been added to the impressive designer roster at the Tokyo Rebel store in New York City's East Village! You will be able to purchase the latest Morrigan items in the TR store and also from their website. Tokyo Rebel is really special in North America -- a boutique with a stunning selection of authentic Japanese brand clothing -- and we couldn't be happier to work with them! Be sure to bookmark the Tokyo Rebel blog for more details about the next shipment of Morrigan items that will be available in their store. Look out for the Winter Collection! This year, we would like to try to produce more items for you. Therefore following closely on the heels of the Moby Dick collection will be our winter collection. Expect a very gothic look which includes a chiffon dress, a waist cincher, a cloak inspired by Napoleonic military uniforms, and some winter-appropriate accessories! That's all for now -- we look forward to seeing you on our site and livejournal checking out the new collection! xoxo Morrigan NYC Zoh and Matt | |
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This year, Morrigan was honored to participate in Otakon's North American Designers' Fashion Show, which took place on Friday, July 30th, 2010 in Baltimore, Md. The show was really fabulous this year! Not only were the designers all totally different from each other stylistically, and all at the top of their game with beautiful designs, but the show had a really amazing professional runway and a huge lighting rig! There were over 600 people in attendance, and it was very exciting showing our new pieces to the crowd! Luckily photographer Stacey Besst was in the audience, and he was able to get some beautiful shots of Morrigan's lineup: ( Click for Pictures! ) | |
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