bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Tracey Furniss

Described by Andrea Walker in The New Yorker as "kind of adorable in a somewhat bizarre way", popular blogger, author, journalist and TV host La Carmina is bringing subculture to the forefront.
She specialises in goth and Harajuku fashion and Japanese pop culture, and has written three books: The Cosmos in a Carrot, Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo and Cute Yummy Time.
Canadian-born with Hong Kong parents, La Carmina writes on travel for CNN, AOL and The Huffington Post, and hosts TV shows in countries including Japan, France and Norway. She has also appeared on popular TV programmes such as Bizarre Foods, Oddities and Taboo. With a large and passionate online following, La Carmina writes a regular online travelogue and is now filming a documentary in Japan.
What first attracted you to subcultures?
Even as a child, I felt dissatisfied with the dominant culture and people around me. In my early teens, I began exploring alternative, punk and goth fashion, music and lifestyle - I felt much more at home in this "spooky" world. Subcultures gave me a space to fully express myself and find like-minded friends.
What has been your most bizarre experience?
Appearing on TV show Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern ranks at the top. A few years ago, a travel channel producer found my blog and read Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo. She asked me to appear on the show as Andrew's guide to strange Japanese theme cafes. We visited a schoolboy cafe in Harajuku [where the waiters dress as boarding school students] and a jail-horror restaurant where you eat behind bars and monsters run around screaming.

What do you never leave home without?
For the past few years, I haven't gone anywhere without my iPhone. Today's travel coverage relies heavily on social media sharing, such as uploading photos on Instagram and using hashtags. Many press trips are now geared towards social influences, so it's important to build a strong network and keep up with technology.
Who inspires you?
I'm inspired by my Scottish Fold cat, Basil Farrow. He's a plump, cream-coloured, earless fuzzball - remarkably intelligent and with the gentlest personality. Basil Farrow reminds me to keep Zen calm and confident.
What is the strangest food/drink you have ever tried?
I've eaten many strange foods in Japanese theme restaurants. I didn't quite know how to react to the cocktail that came with a hot pink vibrator.
What is the strangest souvenir you have bought?
I bought my friend a jar of chocolate-covered poison from Obscura Antiques, the New York shop featured in the Science/Discovery TV show Oddities. Look for me in season four of Oddities - I'm the spooky girl in a Wilde Hunt skeleton corset.
What tops your wish list - if you have one? 
Egypt has been my top travel destination for years. I was fascinated by ancient Egyptian myths and mysteries as a child, and I still am today. I hope I can cross the Sphinx off my list very soon.
Where do you feel most at home?
I feel most at home in the Harajuku district of Tokyo - I love to hang out here with friends. Everywhere you look, there are Japanese youths wearing flamboyant street fashion, such as Gothic Lolita, Visual Kei, Kawaii [cute] and punk. It's a joy to browse the experimental clothing boutiques on Takeshita-doori and Meiji-doori.
What's been your biggest surprise? 
One day, I turned on the computer and realised I'd gone viral. Beginning in 2009, my company, La Carmina & The Pirates, fixed or co-ordinated several TV episodes about Japanese bagel heads, or forehead inflation. This body modification involves a saline solution drip into the forehead, creating a bagel-shaped bulge that lasts for about a day.
Last year, we arranged the National Geographic Taboo episode about Tokyo bagel heads. When the segment aired, the media went nuts and ran the story everywhere: I even appeared on CBS' The Doctors to speak about extreme body mods. Unfortunately, most media reports were overblown and spread misinformation: bagel heads are not permanent or dangerous and are certainly not a trend. I hope people will keep an open mind.
Favourite fashion statement?
I'm obsessed with the art nouveau aesthetic, especially the flowing works of Alphonse Mucha. I love incorporating aspects into my outfits, such as flower headdresses and long, sheer layers.
Favourite fashion icon?
I don't have a specific icon, but I am mesmerised by the fashion in Tokyo's club and underground scene. Every time I attend goth/industrial parties such as Osaka's Black Veil and Tokyo's Midnight Mess, my eyes are popping out of my head at the decadent, experimental make-up and styling - from towering Rococo wigs to cyber body modifications. It feels like I've landed on another planet.
Your ideal TV show to host would be about/called ...
I'd love to do a travel TV show where I explore alternative and underground cultures around the globe, such as extreme body modifications, experimental fashion and alternative/gothic nightlife. How about calling it 'Where in the World is La Carmina?'
What does your family think about your adventures? 
Subcultures can be shocking to those who aren't familiar with them. However, when people are willing to listen and learn, they often realise underground practices - and people - aren't anything to be afraid of. At this point, family members expect me to be surrounded by drag queens and extreme body modders.
 


Goth queen: blogger puts a subculture up front

La Carmina plays with her Scottish Fold cat, Basil Farrow. Photos: La Carmina, Lacarmina.com

A Japanese cosplay festival draws all kinds of characters.

La Carmina attends an art deco weekend in Miami.

Posing is such fun in Hong Kong. Photo: Ken Yuen

Andrew Zimmern steals the show on Bizarre Foods.

La Carmina (right) goes on location in Tokyo for French television.

The shopping is terrific in Mazatlan, Mexico.

Special Reports

Blogger La Carmina thrives in the spooky subcultures of goth and Harajuku, from where she draws inspiration, writes Tracey Furniss


Blogger La Carmina thrives in the spooky subcultures of goth and Harajuku, from where she draws inspiration, writes Tracey Furniss.
