Moi-même-Moitié and Mana Sakura-Con Question and Answer Session Part One

On Saturday at Sakura-Con was a panel that many fans were excited to attend. A question and answer session with the ladies of Moi-même-Moitié and Japanese musician and fashion designer Mana. With a new company handling Moi-même-Moitié and this being the first public appearance by Mana outside of Japan in a few years, there were plenty of good questions to be asked. Even though the panel was later in the day, it still drew a good number of attendees. Many by appearance were fans which gave a nice congenial atmosphere to the event. For this event no photos were allowed so my apologies about having nothing for this post. If the convention or other puts something online, I may add it in the future.

So what I have here is from the copious notes I took during the q & a. It helped that part of the session involved needing answers translated so I had a little more time to write. I did miss a couple items. This is all paraphrased since I could not write down everything word for word. But I hope I was able to capture what information the speakers were giving.

So to start, the first part was the two ladies of Moi-même-Moitié. I could not hear the name of the first woman but the second, who acted as translator, I believe her name was Andrea. The person moderating was the promoter for the event. For this part, people were allowed to come up to a microphone and ask their question.

First they were asked about sizing. I did not hear the whole question but I think this and later questions were in reference to the fact that most people have to buy online and because of that, measurements need to be accurate. The reply is that they are working on this to get the best measurements.

Asked about re-releases, specifically the very popular bat bag. They want to do this one but they are sourcing makers of bags because they need to make sure the quality is there.

Someone asked about bringing back lace top socks. Again they are in the process of looking for a manufacturer but can not promise anything. (I would like to point out that the change of ownership of Moi-même-Moitié happened about four months ago so it does take time to get things going)

Another favorite asked about is if they would do shoes again. The response was that they would like to, size is a problem and for now they are concentrating on clothing so no shoes for now.

What silhouettes or shapes for future designs? They are still looking for a designer so they can't say at this time. They do want to release a corset skirt.

Someone asked about children's clothing. They would like to but adult clothing is a priority.

Would they open a physical store again? Not currently, items are sold in shops like Atelier Pierrot and KERA Shop. (Even though it was great when there were stores, right now the trend in Japan is for smaller clothing companies to sell online and not in stores. Lower costs, higher sales)

What does the future of Moi-même-Moitié look like? They want to bring the brand back to it's old glory.

What are some of their favorite design elements? I missed part of this but did catch that the original laces are a favorite.

Someone brought up the trouble of buying online and measurements. They are working on accurate sizes, and there is always the issue of while a person may be able to fit into a dress it doesn't mean it fits your body type or size. (I paraphrased this in hopes it makes it clearer what was said)

And last question that I was able to note was will there be more licensed products, cosmetics? And the response was they would like to, Mana wants to do a range of eyelashes.

Okay, that is part one. I am going to post the second part separately. That will be the question and answer section with Mana.