Fashion Casanova: Anime Showcase

Anime and High Fashion

The Japanese art of storytelling, manga, is known for its distinctive style and widespread popularity. Originating during the 12th century, the early form of comics presented itself as detailed scrolls with vivid visuals and provocative text. The title “manga” became linked to the artistic practice in 1798, during the historic Edo period. By the 1920s, the scrolls evolved into something that closely resembled conventional comic strips and were quickly circulated throughout the public via serialization in newspapers and magazines. Manga generally draws on the themes of satire, romance, and science fiction.

Since its inception, the genre and its video counterpart, anime, has grown to establish a lucrative industry and an international imprint. Well liked series such as Sailor Moon and Doraemon, in addition to the kawaii character Hello Kitty, have been born out of an explosion of interest in manga all over the world. Moreover, the influence of manga is so powerful, that in recent years the pervasive comics have transcended glossy magazine pages and found their way onto major fashion runways.

Today, sought-after manga series have blossomed into brands within themselves. Merchandise with popular characters and themed home goods are just a few things that have precipitated out the collective adoration of the various shows and series. However, the manga obsession does not stop there.

Major labels such a Louis Vuitton, Moschino, and Prada have all embraced manga on the runway with statement pieces inspired by the signature comic style and direct allusions to viral characters. Recently, Gucci released a Doraemon X Gucci capsule collection for Chinese New Year, placing the manga cat-robot on bags, tees, and more. The artistry of manga, which is indicative of centuries filled with creativity fused with Japanese tradition, is similarly as detail-oriented and beautiful as clothing design. The intersection of the two feels natural yet nuanced as it mixes exclusive luxury with accessible art.

Anime styles and allusions are especially prevalent in streetwear. Accessible brands like Uniqlo and Adidas have put out highly successful collaborations with Manga series such as Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z. Moreover, high-end brands, closely linked to hype beast culture, like Supreme and Bape have also engaged in similar collaborations.

Altogether, the fusion of manga culture and popular fashion amalgamates vivid visuals and unparalleled artistry in a way that reminiscent of the playful nature of anime and the importance of clothing design. Many designers have recognized the fine line between the two art forms and have consequently created many memorable runway moments.

Dragani, M. (2021, February 13). The Unexpected Connection Between Manga Culture and High Fashion - Anime Inspired Fashion. L’OFFICIEL USA. Retrieved December 9, 2022, from https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/unexpected-connection-between-manga-anime-high-fashion

A model applepicking while displaying a cat theme inspired ensemble.

A young woman incorperating an Attack on Titan t -shirt to her casual attire.

Anime Everyday

When one talks about Japanese fashion, it is often associated with mute colors, either formal fitted clothes, or simple comfortable outfits on the weekend.

Anime lovers have chosen a different lifestyle. Anime brought a major revolution in the japanese fashion industry, especially in street styles. While visiting Harajuku or Akihabara, it’s hard not to notice anime inspired fashion in abundance. Anime inspired colors and print styles are becoming the new wardrobe essentials for Anime lovers across Japan.

There are essentially two main types of common Anime inspired fashion. The first one being closer to cosplay, with fans dressing up like their favorite characters. This includes people wearing capes and robes or other eccentric pieces. On the other hand you have fans symbolizing their favourite anime characters - maybe with an accessory, or maybe with regular streetwear essentials like converse, T-shirts, hats, ties, etc. These types of outfits are most commonly worn in informal settings like shopping streets, restaurants, or meetups

As popular as it is becoming in Japan, anime inspired fashion is facing some serious backlash. Many believe that anime fashion is against the typically accepted Japanese culture. That said, it’s easier for anime lovers to identify other fellow anime lovers when they see others wearing an outfit or using an accessory featuring their favourite show or character. Thus, it helps in socialising with other like-minded people. That’s never a bad thing!

Today, Attack on Titan is a major brand in an industry swimming in them. But it still stands out. Merchandise for the show is copiously available at retailers like Hot Topic and it’s inspired tons of cosplay, with both the aforementioned Colossal Titan and the militaryinspired uniform of the Survey Corps being popular choices. “Guren no Yumiya” blared from both cover bands and loud speakers alike at anime conventions. The Corps Dance Crew produces a hip hop-inspired stage show for it at Anime Expo 2014 and a rough video of it earns over a million views.

An anime inspried fall aesthetic.

Anime Fashion Is a Thing in Japan and It’s Fabulous | nomakenolife: The Best Korean and Japanese Beauty Box Straight from Tokyo to Your Door! (2021, June 8). NoMakeNoLife. Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://nomakenolife.com/blog/anime-fashion-is-a-thing-in-japan-and-its-fabulous

Casual Cosplay

Cosplay is a lot of fun at conventions, but sometimes it’s not appropriate for everyday life. Your coworkers might not appreciate you walking into the office in full Wonder Woman armor. But that doesn’t mean you have to put aside your nerdy interests just to avoid standing out. You can use your favorite characters to inspire you and create casual cosplays based on their style.

Casual cosplay is the term used when you put together an everyday outfit that is inspired by a favorite character. You’re not trying to create an exact replica of a character to wear as a costume. Instead, it’s all about using fashion as a way to subtly express yourself even in scenarios where a cosplay costume would be out of place.

Cosplaying has moved far beyond the covention halls.

While there is no official definition of the term ‘casual cosplay,’ most people use it to describe the phenomenon of styling an outfit that is influenced by a character they love. Most of the time, the idea is to be deliberately discreet. You want to put together an outfit that makes you feel empowered by the character you are styling it after but is also tactful enough to be worn in everyday settings.

In the past decade, casual cosplay has become even more popular with the rise of social media. Instagram and TikTok, in particular, have been excellent platforms for people to express their creativity in fashion alongside their interest in anime, comics, games, or whatever characters they love.

The best thing about casual cosplay is that you don’t have to put any effort into looking like your character if you don’t want to. While some people may still choose to style their hair in the same way as a character or wear similar makeup, this is not at all necessary.

You can be as creative as you want with the outfit. It’s more about being inspired by the character than actually dressing up like them, unlike other forms of cosplay. Casual cosplay is a lot more about how the clothing makes you feel than how it looks.

Seemingly casual cosplay has seemingly started to appeal to a series of celebrities – whether they realise it or not. Earlier this year, when actress and model Zendaya tweeted a photo of her slick pastel green suit captioned ‘Work Attire’, fans of iconic anime Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure were floored. Her buckled suit and long trench coat drew comparisons to the character Jotaro Kujo. “I seriously thought it was cosplay when I saw it on her insta,” one Reddit user wrote.

Casual cosplay has been an aspect of fandoms and nerd cosplay communities for decades, but it’s been gaining more popularity in recent years with the rise of social media. There are many critiques about Instagram and how it creates unrealistic ideals of beauty, but one positive aspect that I’ve seen is the outlet it provides for creative expression.

With these types of platforms, you readily have the excuse to design all kinds of fashionable outfits based on the characters you love. You see this frequently with Disney or superhero-inspired outfits. Most of the time, these outfits will be more obviously representative of a character than a more everyday casual cosplay, but they are still a representation of the creativity involved with fashion and photography

Joice, E. (n.d.). Casual Cosplay: What is it? and Why it’s More Common Than You Think. Cosplay Advice. Retrieved December 17, 2022, from https://cosplayadvice.com/ casual-cosplay/

Social media prevalance has fueled cosplaying popularity in recent years.

Anime and streetwear fashion have always been together since the 90s.

Anime Streetwear Collision

Streetwear culture has been growing in popularity all over the world for a while now. But nowhere is it more popular than in Japan.

Streetwear originated in the United States, but it has been rapidly gaining popularity in Japan over the past few years. One of the reasons for this is that many popular anime characters are based on streetwear fashion. You can find people wearing streetwear clothes with anime characters on them everywhere you go. This trend is partly inspired by the manga and anime that are so popular in Japan.

For example, the character Luffy from One Piece often wears a bright red jacket and baggy pants, which are both staples of streetwear. Many anime fans want to emulate their favorite characters and dress like them. This is why many young people in Japan are wearing streetwear clothes from brands such as Uniqlo, Supreme, Bape, and Palace with famous anime characters on the front or back of them. They want to wear these clothes because they see the same ones being worn by popular celebrities all around the world. Many kids today are dressing themselves in streetwear clothes as well. Due to the demand, there are a lot of streetwear brands collaborating with anime. People are loving the look because of how it speaks out to their own unique style.

People who wear anime streetwear clothing want to express themselves through what they wear. It allows them to show their interests with like-minded people in the community. Wearing your favorite character in Japan speaks volumes as there are so many different anime and manga series that it can be hard for people to identify what your go-to anime show is. That being said, it’s easy to make friends with strangers in public places with anime inspired streetwear.

The combination of streetwear and anime is a perfect combo. It’s almost like another form of self-expression. Everyone can buy plain clothes, but what makes you stand out from the crowd are those unique designs on them that express your personality.streetwear is known for its comfy and loose designs, and if you wear it while representing your favorite show, then it just ups your cool factor. In Japan, there are entire stores that sell nothing but streetwear clothing with anime characters on them.

What’s even cooler is that some of the biggest and most popular brands in streetwear are actually starting to collaborate with anime studios to create special lines of clothes and accessories. It’s great that fans now have this option to express their love for their favorite characters and shows through fashion, instead of simply buying the usual figures or keychains.

., J. G. (n.d.). All About Anime And Streetwear. Streetwear. Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://streetwear.store/blogs/streetwear-blog/all-about-anime-andstreetwear