Saturday March 18 was the big day: the main event of Omnia Vanitas! All our collective work now came together in one day and I was quite excited!
Now before I start, I just want to say that I don’t remember exactly all the things I did when and where on this day. This is 1) because it’s been a while ago and 2) contrary to Under the Sea I didn’t really have a clear set of jobs, except for maybe running the music for the fashion show. I had a lot of time to just walk around and help where needed. I will try and describe this day to the best of my abilities though.
Josine, Isa and I woke up early to get dressed while Josh joined in at the last moment since he didn’t really have to get all dressed up. Josine and Isa both looked gorgeous with their big and opulent headdresses. If the organisers already looked this pretty, how amazing would the guests look!? I’ll get to my own outfit a little further below. ^^
Around 7:45 am we all jumped in a taxi and drove to the venue, the Hotel Imperial, where we had to be around 8 am. A lot of people had already gathered there for the early model rehearsal. Mila and Marie were already crossing models off the list and soon after we were allowed inside.
Naturally I had never been there before, so I was glad I could take a good look around and get well-acquainted with the building. As staff I needed to learn where everything was located of course. Plus, I love exploring new places (I once went exploring the amazing Carré theatre in between choir rehearsals all by myself and it was the best thing ever).
The venue contained three rooms: one near the entrance where part of the indie brand stalls would be set up, one downstairs for the same purpose and the art gallery and the grand hall where the main brand stalls were and the catwalk for the fashion shows. The venue was absolutely stunning, especially the main room with its beautiful little balconies overlooking the hall.
Picture from the official website.
Some of the main guests arrived with us. We pointed them to their tables and they started setting up their stalls. While the models slowly came in and the rehearsal started, I ended up helping Imai Kira with her stall. Even though she barely spoke English and my Japanese isn’t exactly great, we still managed to communicate quite well through gestures and sounds. Imai Kira is honestly so kind and sweet! And can you believe she was actually wearing Cat’s Tea Party? I thought that was just so amazing!
Next to Imai Kira’s stall Ayumi of RoseMarie Seoir was setting up. I was quite happy about this, because I had set some ‘buying goals’ for myself: I wanted to try and get some Imai Kira buttons and a Lolita necklace from RoseMarie Seoir. Setting this kind of goals is honestly a really good thing to do, I really recommend it! And since I was helping at the Imai Kira stall and RoseMarie Seoir was next to it, I could take a good look at all their items.
Pictures by Jessica Meijas and C0re2 Photography.
I also guided one of the models to the toilet since she wasn’t feeling very well. Thanks to this I knew where the toilets were located, so I could point them out to a lot of people during the day. Also, the toilets were very beautiful, haha! I also noticed there was a big puddle of water in the downstairs room right at the bottom of the stairs, so I made sure it got cleaned up so people wouldn’t slip in it.
Before I knew it, the stalls were pretty much set up and the model rehearsal was finished. I had picked up my Voodooodolly crown, which I had already paid for before the event.
Mila and Marie were taking pictures in a corner, so Josine and I decided to join them. That gives me a good opportunity to briefly talk about my outfit of the day!
My outfit for Omnia Vanitas went completely in the opposite direction of the style you know me of. I had been thinking long and hard about what to wear to the main event day. I wanted something I felt good in, but it also needed to be comfortable. The solution came from the most unexpected place I ever could have imagined: a couple of weeks earlier I was just walking through our local shopping street with my mom and spotted an amazing boy style-like coat. Unfortunately, it didn’t fit or suit me at all, so I left it. A bit disappointed, we walked into a store I have disliked ever since I was a small girl, but this time something amazing happened: I spotted the most perfect boy style/prince style coat, that was ten times better than the previous I had seen. I tried it on and it made me so incredibly happy, I didn’t doubt for a second about buying it. I love boy style and I had always wanted to try it, so what better place to do so then at Omnia Vanitas!? So there we go: I channelled my inner prince instead of my inner princess! I didn’t go for a full look but decided to wear my own hair in a ponytail. Other than that, I think my first try wasn’t all that bad! I certainly felt very different that day, in a good way! ♥
What do you think?
Picture by Marie Tuonetar.
I went to pick up my staff badge, which coincidentally matched my outfit perfectly. Then I walked into Josine and Josh and we went outside for some fresh air. The event was about to start, so a long line of people was already waiting.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
We took some more pictures and I went to pick up the goodie bag that came with the ticket I had bought (yes, organisers buy their own tickets). Then it was opening time~!
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
I went on my mission to fulfil my buying goals. I went straight to RoseMarie Seoir, where I bought the Lolita necklace I wanted. Well, the necklace I almost wanted. This particular necklace came in three versions: with pink ribbons, with black ribbons and with white ribbons. The one with the white ribbons was my least favourite version, but Ayumi had only brought this kind. I went for it anyway and I’m very glad I did, because white is of course very versatile anyway. ♥ Ayumi put the necklace in an adorable bag for me and handed me my first purchase of the day. Mila, who was standing next to me, bought an absolutely stunning ring!
Picture by C0re2 Photography.
I then went on to Imai Kira, where already people were gathering. I picked up the five buttons I wanted from the many choices provided, when I noticed Imai Kira seemed to be in a bit of distress. Apparently, her volunteer helper hadn’t shown up (yet) and she was facing the crowd of enthusiastic buyers all alone! As staff I decided to jump in and help her of course. She was so grateful, poor thing. x) ♥
Initially I didn’t feel very helpful because I had to keep asking which items were what on the list and I didn’t want to make any mistakes, but once I got the hang of it it went well. Luckily, not very long after the volunteer girl showed up (I believe she got stuck somewhere, poor thing), so I went to pay for my items.
In the meantime the location staff had filled the tables in the middle of the room with food! The VIP guests all got food and drinks and the food was simply amazing! There were croissants, pastries, little muffins and fruit!
Pictures by Jessica Meijas and C0re2 Photography.
I realised I was quite hungry, so I got some food myself and gathered some for Josine who undoubtedly would forget to eat as she usually forgets at events, so I forced some sweets into her hands. XD
I did a small round along the brands to ask everything was ok and then I went to the downstairs area to see if everything was going well there. There was no new puddle of water luckily! I briefly chatted with some people, including with Jo from the brand Fluffy Tori. She is honestly so kind and she had brought some very lovely items with her!
There were so many amazing brands at this event with even more amazing items for sale. I’m glad the photographers did an amazing job at capturing some lovely details, so I want to feature some here.
Pictures by Jessica Meijas.
I went back to the main hall right in time to walk into Charlie who was just in a terrible predicament of which RoseMarie Seoir dress to buy. XD I gave my opinion which, she said, helped a lot (I’m not quite sure it really did, but I was glad I could be of service).
The SFE staff gathered at some point to welcome everyone at 12 pm. The group of organisers represented several countries, so we all welcomed the guests in our own languages.
Picture by C0re2 Photography.
Everyone scattered to start or continue their shopping and take pictures. I cannot even begin to tell you how beautiful everyone looked. The theme was of course opulence and decadence and people certainly went out of their way to look stunning. The photographers certainly did their best to capture all this beauty.
Pictures by Monsters Inside.
Soon after it was time for the Q&A, which I was going to lead together with Spanish organiser Jessica and our two translators. People had sent in questions for Aya Nimura from Victorian Maiden, Yuko Ando from Leur Getter, Ayumi from RoseMarie Seoir, Yuko Ashizawa from Atelier Pierrot and Kira Imai. Questions and answers were translated in both English and Spanish. The questions and answers were quite interesting!
Picture by C0re2 Photography.
From 1 pm to 1:45 pm we had a lunch break and I think it was then we realised there was a bit of an issue with the fashion show music. It might also have been discovered in the morning (actually, now that I think about it that’s more likely), but I will talk briefly about it now. Since we had two fashion shows, we had made two music remixes. However, somehow there was only one mix downloaded to the laptop that was hooked onto the mix panel. Luckily, I was the one notified and knew which files were needed. After a lot of frantically searching and clicking I found the right file and downloaded it to the pc. Day saved!
At 2 pm it was time for the Indie Brand fashion show, however we didn’t start until at least 2:15 pm since not everyone was ready. My job was leading the fashion show (not the models though), so I made sure I was immediately notified when we were ready. Although the location was absolutely awesome, it wasn’t perfect for models: they all had to get changed in a long hallway, behind the little balconies. However, everyone made it work. ^^
Finally it was time and the show started! Sadly I forgot his name, but I had a wonderful assistant who took care of the music with me. Thank God, because I also had to announce the brands that were being shown and my microphone was being an absolute ^$%&. The first three brands I tried to announce were met with a loud shriek from the speakers, yay. Luckily, my assistant and I managed to fix it by me standing about 10 meters away and raising my hand when it was time to announce, after which he would flip a switch and lower the music a bit. Yay for teamwork! And a very positive side effect of this was that I could see the wonderful models and the even more wonderful clothing they showed! Some brands truly outdid themselves this year! Get ready for picture spam.
dress and wore it to the Tea Party the next day!
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
After the fashion show ended, I walked around for a bit and chatted with people where I could. I also returned to Imai Kira’s stall, where I asked her to sign one of the postcards I had bought for a friend that day. I also asked Imai Kira to sign my favourite Angelic Pretty Wonder Cookie post card with her artwork on it. That particular artwork has always been my absolute favourite, so I was very happy! ♥ And lastly I think I bought a clear file from her at that moment as well, but that might also have been during the morning. I honestly have no memory of this clear file. I hope I didn’t accidentally steal it (no worries, of course I didn’t. XD)!
At 3:30 pm it was time for the brand fashion show. My assistant and I worked together again and this time everything went rather smooth. A lot of my friends modelled in the brand fashion show! ♥ Prepare for more picture spam.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
Pictures by C0re2 Photography.
After the show ended, three of the Atelier Pierrot models stayed on stage, since it was time for the dress auction! Yuko Ashizawa had brought three absolutely stunning dresses and people could bid on them. Especially the black and white dress caught my eye, but I was in no way planning to bid. I believe the white dress went to a girl who was planning to wear it as her wedding dress and the black and white one also went for quite a high price!
Picture by Monsters Inside.
Forgive me, but I have to add another collage of beautiful people. Marie took such lovely pictures as well, I cannot upload this post without at least adding some!
Pictures by Marie Tuonetar.
At 5 pm the raffle started. Isa was leading it, Magda handed out prizes, Alex drew numbers and I… held the paper numbers. XD I was so useful. There were tons of prizes and therefor a lot of lucky winners!
Picture by Monsters Inside.
It was especially entertaining when someone won something that was totally not their style, haha! Josine won a beautiful headdress, but it was pink and lacy and had gold dragon flies on it! But later she gave it to me, which was honestly way too kind of her. ;___; ♥
Pictures by Monsters Inside.
The event was slowly coming to and end and it was time for the group picture! I don’t think everyone made it on it, but a lot of people did!
Picture by Jessica Meijas and C0re2 Photography.
Finally the event had come to an end. The day seemed to have flown by! Naturally at that moment I realised I forgot I wanted to buy a present for my mom… Great timing! I ran downstairs to the Fantastic Grim stall and called my mom to check her Whatsapp, since she needed to choose between the necklaces I was going to send pictures of to her. I apologized to the owner, Raven, at least a dozen times, because she was already cleaning up and I was taking up space. Luckily my mom quickly chose and I managed to get her a present! ♥ Thank you and sorry again Raven!
Then it was time for… cleaning up. Whoa we had to work so hard! We didn’t have a lot of time and needed to clear the venue as quickly as possible. I had no idea what to do and where I could be useful, so I just ran up and down between the brand tables and helped looking for tape and taped boxes shut. At a certain point Yuko Ashizawa asked if someone could help her get her stuff back to the hotel. I totally freaked out because I had no idea where the guests’ hotel was located, but luckily she knew herself and I only had to walk with her. I heaved two heavy bags onto my shoulders and followed her, leaving everyone to their own stress.
The hotel wasn’t very far away, but walking alongside Yuko was actually so much fun. The fresh air was nice and we talked for a bit (Yuko speaks a bit of English). She kept asking me whether the bags weren’t too heavy (they honestly were not and I’m stronger than I look) and she said she liked my prince-style outfit (at that moment the bags seemed to weigh even less, I was floating haha). We arrived at the hotel, where I left Yuko and her stuff and returned to the venue. When I got there it was clear something was wrong: two of the Voodooodolly necklaces Josine had purchased were missing! Our initial thoughts were that they were stolen, but the next day (or the day after) it became clear they had sadly accidentally been sold twice. But at that moment we didn’t know anything. Josine was quite upset about it, but from the outside she looked so calm! I was honestly impressed; I’d be crying so hard.
Faster than I expected everyone was gone and everything was cleaned up! Isa called the taxi and she, Josh, Josine and I returned to our apartment where I could finally get out of my clothes~! Honestly taking everything off is such a highlight of an event day. And I wasn’t even that much dressed up!
Later that evening we took a taxi to a restaurant where all the staff and special guests met for dinner. We had a big room to ourselves with a long table. No one but the waiters to bother us, so nice! I sat down with Marie and Mila to my left and translator Manami and Josine to my right. On the opposite of the table sat the special guests. The waiters brought us some plates with different dishes. I vaguely remember some kind of amazing fries dish? After that we all got a menu we had chosen in advance. The conversations that evening were fascinating, especially when one of the guests shocked everyone around her by talking about her love for guns and violent video games. 8D It was interesting to say the least.
I don’t know at what time we left, but it sure was late! I was so glad when I could go to sleep! It had been an eventful day.
I ended up not making a video of this day, but I did talk about my purchases in this haul video. Please check it out if you are interested!
Before I finish this blogpost, I would like to thank all the people who came up to me and told me they read my blog or watch my videos or follow me on Instagram! These encounters meant so much to me. I was so happy I got to meet you all! Thank you all so much! ♥
Thank you for reading! ~☆~
Wait, I want to know which one of the guests is into gorey shooting video games! They're all people I wouldn't suspect, so it's hard even to guess. :P
ReplyDeleteGoing in Ouji was such a smart choice and I think this is a great first go at it. I can't wait to see you try more of it, I can really see you doing something really fabulous and princely <3
Definitely, definitely not missing another SFE event. Even though from your point of view as staff it must've been a very long day full of work, I can tell just how great it must've been and I regret not going, so can't let this happen again.
I'm not so sure I should tell you..? Isn't the mystery of it much more appealing? 8D
DeleteThank you so much! ♥ I hope I get to do more outfits like this!
I must say, this event was so much more relaxing than Under the Sea. Naturally, I was head organiser there, but during this event sometimes I was just walking around feeling guilty and thinking 'Shouldn't I be doing something useful..?' It was great. XD
PLEASE COME NEXT TIME! ♥
Now I'm not sure... Part of me wants to know - but at the same time, every one of these guests enjoying violent video games is a slightly ridiculous thought, so I guess it doesn't matter because any one of them would be equally shocking. :P
DeleteI think with Ouji it's just that little bit easier to find things offbrand. I typed 'military jacket' into eBay earlier today, to see if I could find something for myself, and there were loads of beautiful ones in various styles and colours.
I WILL! I'm just waiting for the announcement, getting my frilly butt ready into gear and going to then pester my boyfriend with staff discounts for cheap flights. :P
I think I will remain silent then... Ehehe!
DeleteI did gather some new info that Imai Kira apparently loves the game Splatoon (I don't know it) and is freaking good at it.
Wow...this looks like it was such an amazing event!
ReplyDeleteIt's also really cool to see you try ouji! So unexpected but you did a great job :)
I am glad you like my attempt, haha!
DeleteSuch a gorgeous place! I'm so glad everyone had such a wonderful time!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE so many outfits!!!! (Especially those butterfly and rococo ones!)
And you make a really dreamy prince <3
~Kieli♥
rainbowstarcandyshine.blogspot.com
Everyone looked so pretty! ;___;
DeleteWhaaa thank you! *^^*