Metamorphose temps de fille
 | |
| Founded | 1993 |
|---|---|
| Country | Japan |
| No. of locations | 4 |
| Founder(s) | Kuniko Kato |
| Website | website |
| Webshop | webshop |
| metamorofficial MetamorphoseEng | |
| Blog | blog |
| metamorphosetempsdefille | |
| 1006065983885270 | |
| Current status | Active |
| Lolibrary Link | |
Metamorphose Temps de Fille is a Japanese brand known for their design creativity, great English customer service and in recent years, for offering extended sizing.
Concept
Metamorphose describes their brand as:
As the brand name implies the advent of an angel, metamorphosis, transformation and the time of a little girl, "Metamorphose temps de fille" is the main brand that cherishes the girlishness of Lolita fashion and creates the clothes for you; Metamorphose's dresses transform you to be cute, be elegant or be cool.[1]
Sub-Labels
Crown Label - "CROWN LABEL" is the secondary line consisting of pop and sweet items that make outing more fun for girls who love cute and stylish. This label started from the spring and summer collection 2009. (The product name of CROWN LABEL starts with "CL".)[1]
History
Metamorphose was founded as "Manefest Ange Metamorphose temps de fille" by Kuniko Kato in 1993 while she was in school at Osaka Mode Gakuen. While in school, "Metamorphose" designs were sold in shops via consignment. [2][3] Early 'standard' items were apron dresses and skirts lined with tulle.[4] The brand officially began operations in Kyoto in 1997 as a joint venture with company director Matsuoka who Kato met at the fabric shop near her parent's home.[2][3][5] The website also opened this year.[4] In 1998, the base of operations moved to Minamisenba and the Osaka shop opened. [2][3] In 1999, the Nagoya and Tokyo locations opened. [2][3] In 2000, the brand incorporated and became the publicly traded "Metamorphose Temps de fille" (LLC).[2][3] In 2002, the company name was changed to Metamorphose.[2][3] They also hosted the United Sweetie of Lolita fashion show and live event at BIG CAT. A video recording of the show was also released.[4]
The brand's official full name was "Manefest Ange Metamorphose temps de fille". While this name doesn't have a true meaning when put together in French, Kato-san said in an interview that she "liked the meaning attached to each individual part": "Manifest ange" means "manifest angel", while "metamorphose" means "change" or "transform" (she found this in a fashion lexicon dictionary, and it resonated with her). "Temps de fille" means "girls era". [2][3]
In a 2003 interview with the GLB, she stated "Like overthrowing the fixed concepts of Lolita fashion, I want to embrace unpredictability!"[2][3]
This section is incomplete, you can help it by adding information about: history after 2003
Notable Figures
Matsuoka - Founding company director[2][3]
Kuniko Kato - Founder / Designer.[2][3] Left the company in 2009.[6]
Chinatsu Taira - Started working at Metamorphose in 2002, by 2016 was Lead Designer[7][8]
Characters & Design Motifs
This section is incomplete, you can help it by adding information about: Mascots, common/original design elements
Locations/Sales Model
This section is incomplete, you can help it by adding information about: past shops, select shops
Shop List
Metamorphose is available via both directly managed shops, and select shops.[10]
| Shop | Country | Address | Status | Socials |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 大阪店 / OSAKA | Japan | LON COURT Building 1.5F
1-16-10 Nishishinsaibashi Chuo-ku, Osaka 542-0086 |
Open (1998[2] - present) | metamorOSAKA |
| 名古屋店 / NAGOYA | Japan | SAKAE NOVA 2F
3-4-5 Sakae Naka-ku Nagoya, Aichi 460-0008 |
Open (1999[2] - present) | metamornagoya |
| 京都店 / KYOTO | Japan | Teramachi HW Building 2F
522-1 Higashigawacho Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8046 |
Open | metamorkyoto |
| ラフォーレ原宿店 / Laforet HARAJUKU | Japan | Laforet HARAJUKU B1.5F
1-11-6 Jingumae Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001 |
Open | metamorharajuku |
Tips for Identifying
As always, we recommend searching Lolibrary first both by item number and by any relevant tags/features. If neither of these bring up the item, the following are some tips for researching the mystery item, though you are always welcome to ask for assistance in the Lolibrary Discord or What is that dress? Facebook group as well.
- Tag Guide - Metamorphose has cycled through a number of different tag designs over the years; as such, the appearance of the tag itself can help us narrow down the release date of an item. This applies to wash tags as well as brand tags.
- Item Number Guide - If you know the item number of a release, you may be able to determine some additional information about the item.
- 2000-2003 item listings have the item type and number in their URLs, you can try searching the number and/or release window here.
Gallery
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Concept". Metamorphose.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 "Metamorphose Temps de Fille - Brand Story Translation". velvet-translations.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Gothic & Lolita Bible Volume 11.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Gothic, Lolita & Punk Brand Book Volume 2. 2005.
- ↑ Gothic, Lolita & Punk Interview Book. 2007. pp. 16–17.
- ↑ "Buttcape". Twitter.
- ↑ "Anime Weekend Atlanta 2016". Anime Cons.
- ↑ "Chinatsu Taira Information". Anime Cons.
- ↑ "Natsumi Information". Anime Cons.
- ↑ "Shop List". Metamorphose.
External links
- Official Rakuten Shopfront
- Old Website - Active 1999-2005
- Official Facebook
