Happy 2012! I just got back from Italy, where I was one of the top fashion bloggers invited to Luisaviaroma’s Firenze4Ever. We got to style and model designer clothing, in the streets of Florence.

Each style blogger adopted a pug dog by Steiff, in a charity promotion to help Unicef. I chose the Worth Couture Paris one – the dog’s wearing a type of tutu or Gothic Lolita skirt!

Aveda did our hair, and MAC did our makeup. Naturally, I went for an unnatural look – long spiderweb eyelashes and glam Goth makeup.

For all the pro photos and fashion coverage from Italy, visit this category of La Carmina blog.

Next up – Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week in February! Yukiro and I will be attending invite-only runway shows, hosting events, parties… and I will be a speaker at Independent Fashion Bloggers – Evolving Influence conference. I’ll have full coverage of IFB Con and NYFW on my blog.

Finally, you can see my latest press clips – including Vogue, Racked, AOL – in my media section. 

For more updates, please stay in touch by adding my Facebook Page. Thank you!

LA CARMINA: pop culture / travel / fashion TV host (Travel Channel, Food Network, CNN), popular blogger, author of 3 books (Penguin USA and Random House), designer and journalist for AOL Travel / Huffington Post.

Click to watch her NEW TV hosting reel. Television clips include: Travel Channel, Canal + France, Discovery/Fuel, Today Show, NHK, CNN and more.

TV HOST: La Carmina has appeared on The Today Show and co-hosted an episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern for Travel Channel, which airs in 75 countries. NHK Japan filmed two documentaries about her work; recent TV hosting and arranging credits include Food Network, Dutch Pepsi, Sony Australia, Canal Plus France, Belgium TV, Norway TV, Fuel / Discovery / National Geographic, and CNN International. Presenting reel:http://tinyurl.com/lacarminatv

TRAVEL SHOW: She hosts, writes, arranges and field produces a “Coolhunting America” travel TV show for Huffington Post / AOL. La Carmina travels and scouts out underground attractions and bizarre subcultures, starting with Wisconsin. First episode - http://t.co/9JAgu3J

COOLHUNTER : She runs a trend consulting / TV hosting and arranging company: La Carmina & The Pirates. The crew specializes in Cool Japan, cosplay, Goth, burlesque, LGBT, Jpop fashion, music, art and youth subcultures. (http://lacarmina.com/pirates)

BLOGGER + JOURNALIST: Her popular blog - http://www.lacarmina.com/blog- has been featured in major publications (The New Yorker, Washington Post, WWD, Cosmopolitan, Vogue Italia, LA Times). She is a travel and pop culture journalist for CNN, and Huffington Post / AOL. She’s flown worldwide for appearances and press trips, and was one of the 40 world’s top fashion bloggers to be flown to LuisaViaRoma’s event in Italy.

AUTHOR: She’s written 3 books about Jpop culture for major publishers (Random House, Penguin USA). These include Cute Yummy Time (about decorating food to look adorable) and Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo (maid cafes, cat cafes, vampire and ninja restaurants). La Carmina is a graduate of Columbia University and Yale Law School. More about her books:http://www.lacarmina.com/books.php

FASHION DESIGNER: La Carmina designs clothing with various fashion brands. She recently released the HOPE t-shirt collection, and Soho Hearts Swarovski panda necklace, with funds going to Japan’s earthquake and tsunami victims. More: http://www.lacarmina.com/main.php

CONTACT: For more info and to work with her, please visit La Carmina’s website - http://www.lacarmina.com

EMAIL – gothiccarmina at gmail dot-com – Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/lacarmina – Facebook - http://goo.gl/GlD8 + http://goo.gl/HKmB

- Blog - http://www.lacarmina.com/blog

La Carmina was recently flown to Florence, to take part in Luisaviaroma Firenze4Ever (event for 40 top fashion bloggers from around the world). You can see photos from the cocktail party and styling lab fashion blog.

Gathering of top fashion bloggers from around the world.

La Carmina and popular style bloggers.

Above is my updated TV hosting reel. As you may know, I specialize in travel, fashion, and subcultures; credits include: The Today Show, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern for Travel Channel, NHK Japan, Dutch Pepsi, Sony Australia, Canal Plus France, Norway TV (NRK), Belgium TV (VRT) and CNN International.

La Carmina and the Pirates, my coolhunting and consulting business, has been busy lately. Naomi and I have been helping stores buy wholesale from Japanese Goth Lolita Punk brands, consulting on creative projects like NHK’s Kawaii TV, helping bands find concert venues in Tokyo, and even tour-guiding a a Japanese client around California. We’re also working on various TV shows as hosts and fixers (local production coordinators).

If you’re interested in hiring us as consultants, connectors, TV hosts/fixers, or anything in our fields of expertise, please don’t hesitate to contact us for rates and more info.

Many travels ahead… and tons of coverage to come from Hong Kong and Italy. I also recently released a charity T-shirt line, with proceeds going to help Japan. You can see photos and find out more here. Thanks for supporting!

XXX LA CARMINA XXX
http://www.lacarmina.com/

La Carmina is currently in Hong Kong and Macau, for TV and journalism work… coverage coming right up, on http://www.lacarmina.com/blog/

Yarr! Naomi and I had a wild time as host/fixers for the Norway TV show about Tokyo love culture. At long last, here are video clips (below and on YouTube).

The documentary about Japanese love and pop culture was beautifully shot and edited. In the clips, I show Ari Behn and Per Heimly how to properly bow and greet in Japan. I explain host club culture, and take them to the gaudy Club Ai in Kabuki-cho. We also visit the owner Takeshi Aida and his three giant poodles!

Naomi and I run a coolhunting / trend consulting / TV hosting and arranging company: La Carmina & The Pirates.
- We specialize in Japan, Goth, alternative, cosplay, burlesque, LGBT, fashion, pop culture.
- Our services include TV production coordinating, on-camera hosting, Japanese translation and guiding, coolhunting, consulting.
- We’ve worked with CNN, NHK, Travel Channel, Canal Plus, Sony Australia, Dutch Pepsi, NRK Norway.
- For more about our services, please visit our Pirates website.

On every mission, we make new friends and take home wild memories. Best job ever.

Famous photographer Per Heimly captured his transformation into a Japanese host boy.

Ari Behn, who is married to the Princess of Norway, gets a hell-raising hairstyle.

All the photos and stories from the Norway TV shoot :
† Half-naked Japanese host boys and their sky-high hair
† Club Ai, the world’s gaudiest host club
† Mermaid theme bar in Roppongi
† Angel and Demons maid cafe
† Absinthe and sushi party

Look, we’re credited as “Koordinators” at the end!

Please feel free to contact La Carmina if you’d like to work with me in any capacity (TV hosting, arranging, speaking, writing, etc.) You can also keep in touch via my social networks below. Domo arigato gozaimasu.

What were your favorite moments in the TV documentary? Did you learn anything about Japanese love culture? I hope you can take a moment to watch my appearance in the Norway travel show video.

† LA CARMINA †

La Carmina is a professional Japan / alternative / Goth fashion blogger, TV host, author of 3 books (Penguin USA and Random House), and journalist (CNN, Huffington Post). Her popular blog on Gothic Lolita Punk clothing, J-rock and Visual Kei – www.lacarmina.com/blog – has been featured in major publications (The New Yorker, Washington Post, WWD, Cosmopolitan, LA Times). Carmina runs a coolhunting / trend consulting / TV hosting and fixing company: La Carmina & The Pirates.

La Carmina is a featured writer for Huffington Post Travel and Style. She’s the author of 3 books — including Cute Yummy Time (Penguin) and Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo (Random House). She is a graduate of Columbia University and Yale Law School.

She has appeared on The Today Show and co-hosted an episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern for Travel Channel, which airs in 75 countries. NHK Japan filmed a documentary about her work; recent TV hosting and arranging credits include Dutch Pepsi, Sony Australia, Canal Plus France, Norway TV, and CNN International in Tokyo. Click for Carmina’s TV reels and full biography.

† Follow La Carmina’s “glam Goth” adventures on her fashion blog
† EMAIL: gothiccarmina (at) gmail † TWITTER † YOUTUBE † FACEBOOK

In 2010, La Carmina co-hosted the Canal Plus France documentary, Toque de Tokyo, with Antoine de Caunes. She was Antoine’s guide to Tokyo theme restaurants and crazy subcultures in the 90-minute TV special. It was a big hit with viewers, and got the largest audience of Antoine’s travel documentaries to date.

La Carmina took Antoine to an ear cleaning parlor, theme cafes (babies, cats, maids), and two wild Goth cyber fetish clubs. To see video clips of the crazy TV show, as well as behind-the-scenes photos, visit her blog.

La Carmina shares her favorite trendy clothing shops in Tokyo, Japan with us…

“Harajuku is my favorite place in Tokyo to shop. Here, you’ll find the most exciting Goth Lolita Punk / Visual Kei / Cyber Rave fashion in the world. While Harajuku has gotten more commercial lately, there are still independent little stores, such as the Yellow House boutique that has been run by an old lady for over 20 years. Or Takuya Angel’s little shop of Cyber Rave handmade fashion. The basement of Laforet Department Store has some of my favorite brands, including Alice & the Pirates, Atelier Pierrot, Putumayo and h.NAOTO.”

“Shinjuku’s Marui One department store is a mecca of Gothic Lolita clothing, especially the incredible alternative shoe selection on the fifth floor! Okadaya has glittery fabrics, feathers and eyelashes. If I could only visit one store, it would be Closet Child, which stocks Japanese alternative brand clothing — all secondhand and very well priced. There are locations in Shinjuku, Harajuku and Ikebukuro.”

For maps, directions, photos, and reports of ALL the trendiest alternative clothing shops in Tokyo, visit La Carmina’s big Goth Lolita Punk store guide.

Osaka’s trendiest underground clothing stores (photos, maps and more) are in her Osaka shopping guide.

She describes the best Goth Industrial EBM Fetish parties in Tokyo in her Nightlife Guide.

Want more glamorous J-Goth adventures from La Carmina? Visit her popular blog, which is updated daily.

Lots of excitement in La Carmina’s life lately! I have new travel and fashion writing jobs in the work, as well as major TV projects. And there will be a giant, surprising announcement to be made soon. Please follow my main blog in order to find out the latest.

Sebastiano Serafini and I had the chance to model for international Goth Punk alternative clothing brand,  Lip Service. Above is an image from our Steampunk Vampire alt model photoshoot, taken in an LA dungeon. The rest of the photos are here.

Seba and I had many meetings and model jobs, and hosted a New Year’s party at Bar Sinister. All the photos from our Hollywood Invasion are in this category. (We were hosted as press by the Orlando Hotel and received a rental car from Argus Rentals. If you are interested in sponsoring us, please email me).

La Carmina will be the fashion guest at Anime Matsuri convention in Houston TX, Mar 18-20. I’m organizing and presenting an h.NAOTO fashion show!

I hope you can join me at the fifth year anniversary of Anime Matsuri, March 18-20th in Houston, Texas.

What: Hangry&Angry and Sixh – Japanese street fashion show
When: Friday, March 18th, 2011
Where: Main Events Arena, The Crowne Plaza Hotel (near Reliant), 8686 Kirby Drive, Houston, TX 77054
Tickets on sale now at www.animematsuri.com

Click for the full INFO = Hangry & Angry / Sixh runway show.

LA CARMINA is a professional Japan Goth music / fashion / subcultures blogger, travel TV host & arranger, coolhunter, author of 3 books (Penguin USA and Random House), and journalist (Huffington Post, CNN).

Her popular blog has been featured in major publications (The New Yorker, Washington Post, WWD, Village Voice, Time Out New York, LA Times). She contributes articles about Asia travel, pop culture and Goth fashion for CNN and Huffington Post. Her books include Cute Yummy Time (about decorating food to look adorable) and Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo (maid cafes, cat cafes, vampire and ninja restaurants). La Carmina is a graduate of Columbia University and Yale Law School.

La Carmina has appeared on The Today Show and co-hosted an episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern for Travel Channel, which airs in 75 countries. NHK Japan filmed a documentary about her work; recent TV hosting and arranging credits include Dutch Pepsi, Norway TV, Sony Australia, Canal Plus France, and CNN International in Tokyo. She is in talks to host a TV show.

Introducing her TV hosting / fixing and Japan coolhunting business… La Carmina & The Pirates. http://www.lacarmina.com/pirates/

- We specialize in Japan, Goth, alternative, cosplay, burlesque, LGBT, fashion, pop culture.
- Our services include TV production coordinating, on-camera hosting, Japanese translation and guiding, coolhunting, consulting.
- We’ve worked with CNN, NHK, Travel Channel, Canal Plus, Sony Australia, Dutch Pepsi, Norway TV
- LEARN MORE - http://www.lacarmina.com/pirates/

For more, please visit La Carmina’s website - http://www.lacarmina.com
EMAIL – gothiccarmina at gmail dot-com

Ahoy, me hearties! Ye be ready for a jolly announcement? I’ve officially launched a Japanese alt / trend consulting business with my friends: La Carmina & The Pirates. Translating, connecting, coolhunting, arranging for TV crews — we do it all.

As you know, I’ve been working as a TV host and “fixer” (scheduling TV shoots) in Japan for some while. So my First Mate and I decided to set up a proper website to showcase our experience and services. Naomi Rubin is fluent in Japanese and a pro at scheduling/negotiating, making her the ideal mate to steer this ship. Her many talents included designing the handsome Pirate Basil logo!

Why hire La Carmina & The Pirates?
† We’re active participants in alternative youth subcultures: including cosplay, Goth, burlesque, LGBT, Jpop culture.
So we’ve got the insight. Connections. Professional experience. We’re experts in Japanese trends, language and business formalities.

What can we do for you?
† Japan is notoriously difficult to access and film. As local production coordinators (fixers), we’ll take care of shooting permits, logistics and negotiations.
† La Carmina is a colorful TV host, author of 3 books, and popular blogger. As an on-camera guide,she can conduct interviews and speak knowledgably about trends.
† We’ll reach out to famous designers, artists, bands and fashionistas to be in your project.
+ We will promote your company to our large social network and blog audience worldwide.
† Cool hunting: we provide insight into underground cultures and trends.

No pirate ship is complete without a Crew. Naomi and I work with reliable team of “pirates” that provides expert insight and access.

You can watch a reel of La Carmina’s TV hosting and arranging experiences above and here. These include CNN, NHK, Today Show, Anthony Bourdain No Reservations, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern and Dutch Pepsi. Full clips of all videos are on the new Pirates site.

Please take a minute to visit the new La Carmina & The Pirates website – we can’t wait to hear what you think.

Can you think of any companies or individuals who might want to work with us? Please let us know, and keep us in mind for future projects!

La Carmina and friends were recently hosting and fixing (scheduling) two TV shows in Tokyo! One is part of a campaign for Netherlands Pepsi, and the other is for a new Sony Australia travel show.

We took the film crews to our favorite Gothic / bizarre places in Japan — which of course includes wild Japanese theme restaurants with cute maids and cuter food.

As you know, I wrote a book about Tokyo’s Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants. So I took the Netherlands TV crew to the Alice in Wonderland cafe, where we were served by cute Alice waitresses.The cute food included tuna/avocado caterpillar sushi, eggplant/salmon Cheshire Cat pizza, and a cereal/fruit sundae.

In Wonderland, the menus take the form of pop-up books. Ilya turned the puff pastry cat into a Scottish Fold, in Basil Farrow’s honor.

After, we met up with the rest of the Addams Family at Pasela Karaoke (the parlor famous for the big toast dessert — remember this blog post?) When singing is involved, things turn scary. As you’ll see in the video, Mistress Maya freaked even US out!

We celebrated my birthday with wine and one of Pasela’s bizarre concoctions. Yes, it’s a loaf of white bread with cream, fruit, flowers, and zig-zag Pikachu tails sticking out of it. The Dutch TV crew kindly brought me gifts from Amsterdam (including a Miffy t-shirt!) and we all had a goofy time singing together.

Come watch the VIDEO of our Alice in Wonderland visit!

For the latest updates on La Carmina’s adventures in Japan, visit her blog – http://www.lacarmina.com/blog

Travel Channel has posted a “teaser reel” for the new season of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. And look who’s in it for a second: La Carmina and Mistress Maya! We’re locked in a cell at the horror-jail theme restaurant Alcatraz ER. The wonderfully intrepid Zimmern drinks red slush from the mannequin’s head and exclaims… “That’s good!”

Don’t blink or you’ll miss our appearance at 0:05 in the video above and on YouTube. Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern premieres Monday, April 26 at 10 E/P on Travel Channel. I believe the Tokyo episode will the fourth in the series — will keep you updated! For more photos and stories of the Tokyo TV shoot, please check out this blog post and my book, Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo.

I also filmed a cute food demo (above and here) at Penguin Books’ headquarters in NYC. It was great fun to work with the creative team, who built a backdrop using photos from my book. If you’re hungry for adorably-decorated recipes inspired by the Japanese bento decoration trend, please consider my cookbook Cute Yummy Time.

Finally, Death Ray Weekly interviewed me. My personal opinion of Mana-Sama? “Inspiring, enigmatic… DIX love!”

To see all recent press (The New Yorker, Washington Post, WWD,
Village Voice, Time Out New York, LA Times), click here. Media and interview requests can be sent to La Carmina at this email.