Aiming to spread Japan's "Lolita fashion" to the world, the Omula Fashion Design College in the city of Fukuoka has established the Japan Lolita Association.
The aim is to stimulate interest in the famous fashion subculture through various events, including tea parties.
About 30 lovers of the Lolita look gathered for a tea party in Fukuoka on May 19 to meet their fellow aficionados and exchange information.
"We want to appoint leaders in each country responsible for promotion of Lolita fashion worldwide," Misako Aoki, head of the association, said.
Aoki is a famous Lolita fashion model who was appointed by the Foreign Ministry in 2009 as an "ambassador of pop culture" to spread Japan's fashion and other "cute" culture to the world.
Based on Victorian-era clothing, using pink and white as its basic colors, Lolita fashion features frills and laces in full dresses with childlike looks. It emerged in the 1980s in response to trends in modern fashion demanding exposed body lines and skin.
