Yep, I’m back at it again. I do have more interesting translation projects on the horizon, but as mentioned earlier, these interviews are pretty quick and easy to bang out, so I might as well finish them off. For new readers, you can check out my previous entries in J-Fashion Interviews here.

(Due to some clumsy handling of ‘reusable blocks’, the Kato interview was temporarily borked, but they all should be fixed now. Thank you for your patience with my lack of web editing skills.)

MAXICIMAM

I’ll be honest – I’ve never owned anything from this brand, nor did I know much about it. They aren’t really my style. The only time I remember looking it up previously is due to curiosity about how to pronounce the name. The <x> is meant to function as a [k], by the way, resulting in マキシマム makishimamu, which is the same as the katakana for ‘maximum’.

This brings me to what I did know about the brand – a long-standing commitment to releasing items in larger sizes. This, along with a catalog chock-full of sweet lolita basics, made them very famous very quickly in the Western lolita fashion communities I was in during the mid 2000’s. By the late 2000’s, it became possible to order their items from the international shopper-friendly webstore CDJapan.

Looks like they still function as a stockist for a handful of brands, fifteen years or so later.

I was happy to see their Japanese webstore still very much up and running when I went to go investigate “Where are they now?”, though there is various link rot and abandoned social media accounts here and there.

The Harajuku store’s blog, last updated March 19th, 2023.

Recent Instagram posts from the Harajuku store, currently staffed by a meganekko

According to the Brand History timeline that follows the interview, MAXICIMAM was founded in January 2001 by three designers: 黒玉 Kurotama, 黒猫 Kuroneko, and 紅猫 Akaneko. Anyone familiar with Japanese is gonna pause.

Designers Kurotama and Kuroneko?

That’s right – these are all Cat Names. I poked around on a blog on the main website that was last updated in November 2021 and found posts that mention Kurotama and Kuroneko, but no Akaneko. The interview seems to imply by 2005, it was just the two of them.

I also found this 2019 tea party post with photos featuring “Mint Chocolate Bear Cotty-chan”

According to the aforementioned “Brand History”, they opened a webstore in 2002 featuring their two lines: MA and MAM. MA is described as more casual, “punkish” items, and MAM as a more “girly” line with lace and ribbon-trimmed dresses. Later in 2004, they start another line, MAMAM, for items with more traditional Japanese motifs, mentioning a hanafuda-based print as an example.

MA items showcased earlier in the magazine

GLP combines MAM and MAMAM, but I suspect for space reasons?

As of writing, however, their website has a slightly different partitioning of sublines:

• MAM MAXICIMAM, accompanied by the descriptors yume kawaii, ryousangata, lolita, gothic lolita, gothic
• MA MAXICIMAM, yami kawaii, jirai-kei, gothic lolita, gothic, punk
• Lovely Maxicimam, which only specifies extended sizing and not any style descriptors

On a personal note, I was happy to see more evidence of 量産型 ryousangata being a highly specific remix of a style that has more or less Been Around. I suspect a lot of the newer trending alt fashion tags are “micro-styles”, hence my inability to really grasp onto what their whole deal is.

Anyways! There’s also a section on their website called ネコミミ neko mimi ‘cat ears’ which I thought was just…cat ears… but it seems to also feature any items that a cat-ear component and/or feature their cat mascot.

ジュピリン Jupirin, said cat mascot. There’s also a smaller fluffier cat named ジュビル Jubiru, and a couple other side characters. In the interview, both designers say they can’t think of anyone specific who influenced them, but I think this has gotta be a take on That Black Cat Logo used by Nakahara Jun’ichi and then Naito Rune.

I spent all this time looking up stuff about MAXICIMAM in part because the interview itself is so devoid of anything. My expectations were low, given how milquetoast the previous ones were. And yet they still weren’t met! Given there’s technically two people (cats? cat people?) being interviewed here, it’s just even more egregious how substanceless this one is.

As always, thanks to LolitaHistory.com for the scan

MAXICIMAM boasts two brilliant designers, the pair Kuroneko and Kurotama. Let’s get right to interviewing them about their designer perspective.

A pleasure to meet you both. To get right to it, what led to the both of you becoming designers?

	Kuroneko	As for me, my family ran a dressmaking business, so it was only natural I suppose. From a young age, I was playing around with buttons and fabric.

And you, Kurotama?

	Kurotama	It was just “No matter what, I want to make clothes!!”. I also really liked drawing a lot.

Then, both of you just naturally went down the path of becoming a designer?

	Both		Yes.

Next up, are there any designers who you take influence from?

	Kurotama	Not really…
	Kuroneko	I can’t really think of anyone in particular either.

I see. Well then, I’d like to ask about your job. At what times do you get design ideas that make you think “This is it!” ?

	Kurotama	Hmm. Some days you just get a flash of inspiration, you know?
	Kuroneko	I come up with stuff while playing with the cats, yeah.

As I thought, cats are key to your work?

	Kuroneko	Yes

Then, to go in the opposite direction, how do you deal with the times when you absolutely can’t come up with anything?

	Kuroneko	I don’t do anything in particular, I don’t think… But just going off to go play at those times is the best, haha!!
	Kurotama	Same, haha!

Well, to change the subject, at what times do the both of you feel the appeal, or the fun of designing?

	Kurotama	I think it really comes down to making a finished product come out just like the idea I drew up. I think “That’s so cool!”

I see. And you, Kuroneko?

	Kuroneko	Seeing a new idea that you came up with take shape! I think that’s the most enjoyable moment.

It seems like both of you find the same aspect of the design process appealing. Well then, this is the last question. Please tell us about anything you’d like to make going forward, or any future goals you have.

	Kurotama	I want to make interesting items that stand out.
	Kuroneko	Besides lolita, I’d like to try making other cute items!!