Gems of Harajuku JORDYN KIMMEL & AMANDA ROUTTENBERG
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A COLLAGE-ORIENTED LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF TOKYO'S MOST ICONIC STREETWEAR HOTSPOT
Gems of Harajuku
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A COLLAGE-ORIENTED LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF TOKYO'S MOST ICONIC STREETWEAR HOTSPOT
302:
FSN
History of Dress
NOVEMBER , 2020
JORDYN KIMMEL & AMANDA ROUTTENBERG
The Harajuku area of Tokyo is known for its eccentric and colourful street fashion styles (Winge, 2017). Harajuku drew in creatives such as designers and photographers, and became a hotspot for the cultivation of youth culture through fashion (Nakao, 2016). Harajuku was also one of the first locations where the youth felt comfortable experimenting with gender stereotypes. Harajuku street fashion emerged in the 1960s and has grown and transformed to including its own subcultures throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s, up until today. Harajuku had become known as a fashion outlet that stood against the status quoit acted as a form of protest against oppressive conventions through fashion (Bartal, 2020). A defining characteristic of Harajuku street fashion is that adopters of this fashion movement are not concerned with mainstream styles but are focused on new and innovative trends taking off within the Harajuku subculture (Kawamura, 2006). The evolution of Harajuku street fashion and its many subcultures will be explored, from the 1960s until today.
TSixties H E
Harajuku’s beginnings as a unique downtown district can be traced back to the end of World War II in 1945. Yoyogi Park, a popular Tokyo destination located adjacent to Harajuku station, had been chosen as the location of the US occupying army’s residence, Washington Heights. The residents were composed of non-commissioned officers and families categorized as middle class, which already set the tone for an atmosphere of glamour and refinement. The presence of the army residence soon led to the establishment of American style restaurants and stores, schools, churches, theaters and bars, all requiring employees that spoke fluent English. This area, new and Americanized, was the root of the downtown scene that was to form in Harajuku (Nakao, 2015). In 1958, central apartment buildings began to form around popular stores and became the catalyst for the influx of creatives witnessed during the 1960s. Harajuku was suddenly met with the fresh faces of young photographers, copywriters, designers and models. Tokyo’s 1964 “mansion boom” meant that Harajuku’s residential areas were to be occupied by the most upper-class individuals in Tokyo (Ibid.). As Harajuku’s reputation as a hub for youth creators grew, its fate as such was truly sealed when Harajuku was returned to Japan and was reformed into an Olympic athlete village. The beautiful Kunitashi stadium rendered the area exotic and offered international character. In fact, Harajuku had rightfully earned its nickname, the “Japanese Champs Elysees” as the streets’ glamour was constantly compared to that of the popular Parisian street (Nakao, 2015). New talent made its way into Harajuku faster than ever, the streets now flooded with new designers, models, makeup artists and hairstylists all taking inspiration from the area’s main demographic: teenagers. The youth that gathered here were interested in forging something new, trying to regain a sense of identity following the years of the war (Godoy, 2007). In 1966, Harajuku-zoku (the Harajuku tribe) appeared in the district. These were middle-class students, heavily influenced by American fashion and pop culture. Some of the most popular fashion trends among these teenage girls and boys were ivy and mods (Nakao, 2015). Their unique style and attitude are what set them apart from the groups that hung out in Tokyo’s more popular design districts of the time, such as Ginza. Ivy style was directly influenced by American Ivy League university students who wore preppy collared shirts, suits and miniskirts. Mod fashion, similar to Ivy, consisted of British-inspired tailor-made coats and Bohemian accessories (Godoy, 2007). The Harajuku-zoku drove into town in sports cars, blasting music, racing their cars and dancing in the streets. This coincided with Japan’s economic growth and 1966’s nickname, “mai car nengou” or “the year of my car”. The downtown area became known for the rebellious youth that occupied its streets, but to them, it was a fashion-forward haven, a hotspot for fun and exoticism (Nakao, 2015). The first generations of designers in Harajuku successfully created business models from scratch and even became major apparel companies in the years to come. Anyone seeking a shortcut into the fashion world was drawn to Harajuku for this reason. Almost every creative individual that moved here managed to find inspiration. These small, home-based designers became known as “Mansion Makers”, as they found success out of the comfort of their own homes (Godoy, 2007).
New Apartments
Creatives
Harajuku-zoku
Japan At a Glance...
After the war, Japan faced strong cultural influences emerging from the US, particularly on its dressing practices. The major transition occurred as the coloured television made its way into the majority of the population’s homes in 1960. Japanese women replaced loose-fitting trousers, monpe, (worn for warrelated work), with Western style skirts, many of which were tight-fitted around the hips. Perhaps the biggest change was the occasions on which the kimono was worn. Once an everyday garment, the kimono became reserved for special occasions only, and worn primarily by elderly women, waitresses in traditional restaurants, and during traditional Japanese arts such as dance, tea ceremonies or the new year, Hatsumode (Kawamura, n.d.). Many women were more interested in purchasing red shoes after viewing the film, The Red Shoes (1948), or putting on tightfitted pants and low heels like Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina (1954). Japanese men too were excited by Western fashion trends. They wasted no time in paying homage to the Ivy League university students and adopting their style (Ibid.).
THE 70S A common trend that emerged in the early 1970s was for baby boomers (who were beginning to look for jobs) to start up their own small businesses, rather than becoming employees at larger corporations. Many young entrepreneurs rented out rooms in Harajuku apartments to open small fashion stores, called ‘Mansion Makers’, which appealed to consumers of that generation (Nakao, 2016).
Soon after, certain magazines popularized, such as “non-no” and “an-an”, which featured many of the styles that were seen and sold around Harajuku. This attracted the “annon zoku” tribe, which consisted of girls who read these magazines to visit Harajuku and shop at the stores there (Nakao, 2016). By the late 1970s, Harajuku had transformed into an incredibly desirable place for youth culture to spend their time. This is due to the “hokosha tengoku”, or “hoko ten”, which translates to Pedestrian Paradise (Nakao 2016). Sundays in Harajuku was blocked off from traffic, allowing pedestrians to roam the streets freely (Valdimarsdóttir, 2015). This is one of the main reasons for the strong sense of youth culture that began to develop in Harajuku (Nakao, 2016). In 1978, Laforet Harajuku was founded, which was a department store with multiple floors that consisted of famous fashion brand stores. Furthermore, in the same year, “takenoko-zoku”, the baby bamboo tribe, began visiting Harajuku on weekends. They would wear clothing such as harem pants and Kang-fu shoes and they would dance to disco music. This group grew to have thousands of people, including tourists and fans of this youth group (Nakao, 2016) Lastly, the subculture, Kawaii, became extremely popular in the 1970s. Kawaii toyed with concepts of cuteness, youthfulness, and even the idea of “sexy cuteness”. Hello Kitty was very symbolic for what the Kawaii subculture stood for. Kawaii was designed to make the individuals wearing this style seem young and innocent (Monden, 2015).
Japan at a Glance Youth culture was booming in Japan and around other parts of the world as a result of the unrest in 1968 Paris, Woodstock and the Vietnam war. Throughout the 1970s, Japan grew to be one of the world’s strongest economies. Young creators used this powerful economy as a chance to develop new business from the ground up, particularly in the fashion industry. DC brands emerged, which were large fashion companies, which included names such as Comme Des Garçons. Since this post-war time, Japan had remained a country that is dedicated to fashion and consumerism (Godoy, 2007). Japanese designers were seen as more relevant to the fashion industry in the early 1970s as Kenzo Takada ruled Paris fashion with his brand, Kenzo. He created pattern combinations that were drastically different than usual Western designers, while also integrating Japanese crafting traditions in his work. Tokyo’s defining characteristic as a fashion city was certainly established, especially with Japanese designers that followed suit such as Issey Miyake, Yohji, Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo. These designers combined Western and Japanese methods to create innovative and ground-breaking fashion designs (Kawamura, 2012).
THE EIGHTIES EIGHTIES The booming of the Japanese economy in the 80s meant that people everywhere were spending lavishly, with a focus on the fashion industry. Designers continued to reshape the business model by building ateliers in their own homes, and with spending at an all-time high, the number of brands emerging was larger than it had ever been. Harajuku in the 1980s had fully transformed into the antithesis of Japanese tradition. The youthful energy emanating from its visitors, designers and residents was equated to the constant search for something new, something that Japan had not been accustomed to. Trends were flowing in and out of the streets quickly, with anything and everything used for inspiration (Godoy, 2007). Many of these trends were carried out by the tribes that occupied the streets every so often to express their artform. One popular street, Omotesando, was deemed “Pedestrian Paradise” on Sundays when the street closed to cars and became the central location for youthful self-expression. Rockabilly dancers, amateur vocalists, craftspeople and fashion folk of all kinds populated the streets, enjoying the presence of such avant-garde individuals. These individuals were grouped together based on fashion and style, and these tribes would take every opportunity to showcase themselves as the newest and most innovative trend. The takenoko-zoku (the bamboo tribe), for instance, emerged at the heart of Harajuku in Yoyogi Park, and were characterised by their greased hair, lit cigarettes and constant dancing. The takenoko-zoku were an inspiration for the soon to follow bando-zoku (bands tribe) who extremified the American 1950s look by incorporating black leather jackets, motorcycle pants and even dark denim fabrics (Bartal, 2020). Some of the most famous tribes that emerged in the 1980s were the Harajuku Lolita tribe, the Gothic Lolita tribe, the Ganguro tribe and the Cosplay tribe. These styles culminated in the 80s but are still present in the streets of Harajuku today. The Harajuku Lolita tribe displayed the kawaii style that emerged in the 70s but also appropriated the styles of the historical French Baroque, Marie Antoinette and Rococo. Two common attributes for fashion in this tribe were “colorful” and “fluffy”. The main feature of Lolita style is the volume of the skirt, often amplified with a crinoline. The Harajuku Lolita style is a direct protest against the boring lives of sarariman (salarymen) who worked in Japanese conglomerates and essentially represented the values and traditions of the 1950s. Gothic Lolita, popularized by Japanese goth musician Mana, incorporated Victorian era dresswear with darker colored dresses and makeup (Bartal, 2020).
Another tribe formed among women, the ganguro-zoku (crystal tribe), lay the foundation for a whole new style of dress, one that consisted of exaggerating almost every feature of the female body. For instance, the color of the face was deeply tanned, hair dyed orange, blonde or silver, and eyes were lined black with white eyeshadow up to the eyebrows. Accessories in ganguro-zoku included facial gems and stickers, gigantic eyelashes, platform shoes and brightly colored clothing (Strickland, n.d.). The 1980s economic growth in Japan also brought about the rise of the manga, Japanese graphic novel, industry. Harajuku saw the characters in these novels as perfect inspiration for their fashion choices and began cosplaying, (costume and play), in order to bring these characters to life. Cosplaying is seen as a form of performance art, as it often required a fair bit of acting. Gender shifting in particular was an important concept for cosplayers and allowed for many Japanese teenagers to discover their true identity as they played beyond the boundaries of gender constrictions and norms (Bartal, 2020). The tribes that inhabited the streets of Harajuku in the 1980s not only depicted the values and styles of the newer generations, but also emphasized the idea of youth culture as a social category in Japan. Fashion was considered a religion amongst many teenagers. A society that had felt homogenous for so long was beginning to feel fresh and exciting, thanks to the fashion brands and labels that divided social class and put the individual’s personal character on display (Bartal, 2020). In fact, the frivolity of some of these fashion trends was a direct opposition to fashion’s conventions, and a rejection of Japan’s homogenous atmosphere. Fashion had become a language, providing these tribes with a sense of belonging and exclusion at the same time (Groom, 2011).
Japan At a Glance...
As Harajuku thrived for its eccentricity, Japan was focused on the rise of a designer already being compared to the iconic Coco Chanel. Founded in 1973 by Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Garçons was breaking into the fashion world in the 80s, specifically in 81, at its first show in Paris. From early on, Kawakubo was revolutionizing the fashion industry with entirely new silhouettes and monochromatic aesthetics, while simultaneously inspiring many Harajuku designers (Godoy, 2007). Comme des Garçons was gathering supporters quickly and even inspired the formation of a new tribe, the karasu-zoku (crow tribe). Characterised by glamour, sex and deep V-necks, the karasu-zoku were followers of fashion’s biggest emerging brands, including YSL, Chanel and Comme des Garçons. They dressed in all black, had androgynous figures and were seen as beacons of sophistication (Buck, 2017).
THE 90S From the middle of the 1990s onward, different fashion subcultures within Harajuku became prevalent such as Punk, Cyber, Lolita, Shironuri, Feary, Decola and more. These different styles and subcultures tended to merge with one another, pulling inspiration and combining trends, even sometimes creating its own new subculture (Nakao, 2016). A prominent subculture that was especially popular in the mid-1990s is Kogyaru, which is a look that toys with the concept of being a delinquent school girl (Nakao, 2016). Another highly popular subculture of Harajuku is Lolita. The Lolita subculture includes styles that are perceived as girly and Victorian, such as ruffles, ribbons, handbags, and small umbrellas. There are even subcultures within the Lolita subculture, such as sweet, erotic, twin, gothic, and so on (Kawamura, 2012). In 1997, FRUiTS was established; a popular magazine that featured all of the latest streetstyle fashion trends of Tokyo (Yagi, 2018). In 1998, the Pedestrian Paradise, hoko ten, was shut downdue to complaint from residents as well as retailers there. Nevertheless, Harajuku remains a place where the youth tend to spend their time and express themselves through fashion (Kawamura, 2012).
90S
Japan at a Glance Although Japan, and Tokyo specifically, had risen to become one of the top fashion spots around the world, it still did not compare to Paris. This is due to the lack of powerful form of structure that was present in Paris, in addition to a longstanding fashion system that Tokyo simply did not have. Through Japanese designers finding their ground through fashion in Paris, Japan was reconsidered as a centre for fashion, however many visitors tended to be disappointed to find the abundance of people wearing Western clothing brands. However, from the mid1990s onward, adolescents were under a new spotlight, as they put forth expressive and original fashion designs that recaptured the attention from the rest of the world, once again marking Japan as a renowned fashion hub. (Kawamura, 2012).
2000S In the early 2000s, Harajuku was negatively affected by fast fashion as well as the disappearance of pedestrian access in Harajuku (Nakao, 2016.) Founder of FRUiTS, Shoichi Aioki, strongly felt it was time to reopen the pedestrian section in Harajuku to help rejuvenate the excitement and true popularity of Harajuku street fashion (Yagi, n.d.) Nevertheless, the early 2000s still featured many subcultures within the Harajuku subcultures themselves. Ganguro became popular, which is a subculture of the Gyaru subculture. Those who dressed in Gyaru styles often were tan, wore white eyeshadow, black eyeliner, white lipstick, and had a line down their nose to provide the illusion of a small nose (Valdimarsdóttir, 2015). In the mid-2000s, Ganguro was replaced with Yamaba, which is a far more extreme version of Ganguro, with all of the styles still present but extremely exaggerated). A later style that emerged was the Hime Gyaru, whose goal was to look like princesses- with fair skin and more modest clothing. In today’s age, Age-jo has appeared as a new style, which is a sexier and more sophisticated version of Gyaru (Valdimarsdóttir, 2015). Unfortunately, Harajuku does not exist at the same level as it once did during the times of the “hoko ten”, Pedestrian Paradise (Groom, 2011). However, Harajuku remains a strong representation of character of Tokyo and has significantly impacted the ways in which the youth choose to express themselves.
S 0 0 0 2 Japan at a Glance
Today, fashion tends to be mainly driven by consumers, particularly by the urban youth. Japan is thriving from this type of fashion market, as the urban youth subculture in the West is captivated by the trends and fashion styles seen in Japan. From the mid 1990s until today, Japan is highlighting young and inexperienced designers who are creating innovative fashion pieces, rather than focusing its attention on highly trained designers. Continuing to highlight young designers that the urban youth consumer market can relate to has greatly worked in Japan’s favour. Japan, and specific ally Tokyo, has become a major capital for innovative fashion (Kawamura, 2012).
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