J|FASHION
spring 2014 edition
an introduction to JAPANESE STREET FASHION
TABLE O
CONTE THE EMERGENCE OF JAPANESE STREET FASHION JAPANESE FASHION
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JAPANESE STREETS INTERVIEW SPOTLIGHT SHIRONURI MINORI 4
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the emergence of
JAPANESE STREET FASHION by Chiyomi Mizutani
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treet fashion refers to fashion styles that are created by the general public instead of professional fashion designers or fashion studios. These people have mixed their own styles by using several fashion elements in order to identify themselves from the mainstream.
In Japan, the street fashion phenomenon was triggered by the economic recession in the 1980s. According to Kawamura, “after the tremendous economic prosperity of the 1980s, followed by Japan’s economic bubble burst, and the country experienced its worst and longest economic recession”. It has been argued that Japanese conformist society may have cracked under the strain of economic stagnation. As a result of this so called societal crack, the Japanese value system such as selfless devotion, respect for seniors and perseverance had changed, especially among teens.
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Teens saw the assertion of individual identity as important and meaningful and exhibited this through revolutionizing fashion. Street fashion started appearing in fashion media and turned to be the focus of fashion media in Japan with magazines such as FRUiTS devoted to this genre. The street fashion trend continued to spread widely across Japan where rapid adoption by youth has led to the occurrence of fashion identities in each district of Tokyo. Street styles in Japan were categorized according to the shopping districts in Tokyo, represented by the name of the district, for example Ginza, Omotesando, and Harajuku fashion. Each area exhibited a different kind of fashion and lifestyle identity.
For international contribution, in addition to their luxurious fashion, Japanese street fashion also caught worldwide attention and inspired global trend.
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apanese street fashion became more recognizable in the mid-1990s because of young teenage girls known as Kogal (abbreviated from kokosei gyaru, high school girls), who centered their life around the Shibuya train station. Being a Kogal was a way of expressing a trendy lifestyle or identity that was extraordinarily fashionable. The Kogal style was similar to school uniforms with short plaid skirts, knee-high white socks, heavy make- up and artificial suntans. Kogal girls in effect shifted the perspective of their parent culture and established a new youth subculture, where they created a new generation identity to set themselves apart from their elders. Until the mid-1960s, fashion among Japanese women was regardless of age or class and beauty ideology was shared between mother and daughter, for example they read the same fashion magazines. Miller asserted that the appearance of Kogal not only irritated the older generation, but surprised foreign observers and media pundits, and it surfaced in Harper’s Bazaar and the New Yorker magazine as objects of fascination.
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The Kogal style was known internationally as one of the Japanese subcultures and gained several followers from around the world especially in Europe. From Kogal, the style spread and escalated to a more extreme look with long bleached-blond or dyed brown hair and saddle-brown tans with heavy make-up, brightly colored mini-skirts or short pants and high platform boots known as Ganguro (literally means “black face�). Ganguro led to Am-
azoness, which was more extreme than ganguro, but it did not last long. In the late 1990s, Yamamba (mountain ogresses) another fashion and youth subculture emerged to replace ganguro and amazoness. Yamamba developed into Mamba which was the last serial fashion of the Kogal subculture. Although these styles had their distinctive names, the styles were similar and could be differentiated by make-up styles.
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japanese fa A quick breakdown of the most popular Japanese Fashion Subcultures
1 GYARU
Gyaru fashion originated in the 1970’s. “Gyaru” is a Japanese transliteration of the English word “gal.” This fashion is typically characterized by having heavily bleached or dyed hair, highly decorated nails, and dramatic makeup. Clothing pieces for gyaru fashion differ depending on which gyaru style the individual chooses, but is always trendy and brand-conscious. Gyaru girls have even created their own slang (gyaru-go) that is difficult for the casual listener to understand. This subculture was popular in the 1990s, died out early 2000s, and is now making a comeback with the kuro (black) gyaru unit, “Black Diamond,” pictured above, a group attempting to bring back gyaru culture and challenge current trends. Subcategories of gyaru: Hime gyaru (Rococo/princess style), Ganguro (dark tan, contrasting makeup), Gyaruo (male version of Gyaru), Kogal (high school girl version) 10
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2 LOLITA
Lolita fashion is based on Victorian-era clothing. The Lolita look began primarily as one of modesty with a focus on quality in both material and manufacture of garments. The original silhouette is of a knee length skirt or dress with a “cupcake� shape assisted by petticoats, but has expanded into various types of garments including corsets and floor length skirts. Blouses, knee high socks or stockings, and headdresses are also worn. Today, Lolita fashion has gained global popularity and can be found even in department stores in Japan. Subcategories of Lolita: Gothic Lolita (Eastern/Victorian Goth style), Sweet Lolita (pictured above, childlike/baby doll style), Punk Lolita (experimental punk style), Classic Lolita (traditional, mature, business-like), Kodona (masculine version)
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3 VISUAL KEI
Visual Kei is a movement among Japanese musicians, that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics. Visual kei emerged in the early 1980s, pioneered by bands such as X Japan, D’erlanger, Buck-Tick and Color. Notable newer visual kei bands include Dir en Grey, Alice Nine, The Gazette and D’espairsRay, who have all performed overseas. In 2007, visual kei was revitalized as Luna Sea performed a one-off performance and X Japan officially reunited with a new single and a world tour. With these developments, visual kei bands enjoyed a boost in public awareness, with bands formed around 2004 having been described by some media as “neo-visual kei.” Visual kei has enjoyed popularity among independent underground projects, as well as artists achieving mainstream success, with influences from Western phenomena, such as glam, goth and cyberpunk.
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4 FAIRY KEI
Fairy Kei (meaning fairy-style), also called SPANK! style or pop-kei, is one of the currently popular Japanese street fashion. The style is based around muted pastels, bright flourescents, and 80s revivalist cartoons and motifs such as My Little Pony, Care Bears, Rainbow Brite, vintage 80s Barbie, etc. The look is very much a ‘fantasy style’, emulating the worlds of 80s girls’ cartoons and early shoujo manga. It began with Tabuchi, founder of the vintage and repurposed vintage boutique SPANK!, as her personal style, and then the look took off from there. Fairy Kei essentially replaced the subculture called “Decora,” which was a more intense version that called for many layers of cute accessories until the clothing underneath was barely visible. While it is not as popular in Japan anymore, Decora is still relatively popular overseas.
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5 DOLLY KEI
Dolly Kei is inspired by vintage and antique dolls, vintage and antique clothing, Grimm’s fairytales, the victorian era, gypsies, romance, goth, and very old clothing styles from eastern Europe. While there isn’t set list of Dolly Kei “rules”, the look is charactorized by layering and volume (think “more is more”), patterns, mixing of textures, fur, embroidery, tapestry, lace, flowers and accessories which tend to be on the large and creepy side. It’s not uncommon to see Dolly outfits accessorized with large crosses and other religious relics, vintage toys, or even bones and doll parts. As far as color-pallate is concerned, there seems to be two schools: light and airy whites and pastels (akin to mori girl and cult party), and deep dark jewel-tones and black. The over-all look is unusual, very striking, creepy, cute, and hauntingly lovely.
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6 MORI GIRL
Mori Girl is similar to Dolly Kei in that the aim is to create a doll-like appearance, but in a more casual, earthy manner. ‘Mori’ means forest in Japanese, and a simple description of mori girls is “ girls who look like they live in the forest.” Mori fashion uses soft, loosely fitting layers of garments such as floaty dresses and cardigans. It places an emphasis on natural fabrics (cotton, linen, wool) and hand-made or vintage accessories with a nature theme. The color scheme tends to be light and neutral, but patterns such as gingham and florals may also be used. In terms of hairstyles, bangs (often curled) and braids are very popular. This subculture is still relatively new - it began around 2010 and has since gained increasing popularity.
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JAPANESE STREETS BLOGGER
on HARAJUKU STREET FASHION & SELF - EXPRESSION by SEUNGHEE SUH
Not every fashion blogger is a pretty, young blonde who jet sets off to Paris for fashion week, has a bag named after her by Marc Jacobs, and is friends with Anna Wintour. Some are older, some are men and some aren’t even interested in fashion. Meet Kjeld Duits, 52, a Dutch street photographer who documents Japanese street fashion in his blog Japanese Streets. When not blogging, Duits is a journalist who covers Japan’s natural disasters for Dutch publications like NRC Handelsblad.
BLOG HOMETOWN AGE READERS WEB READS BLOG MOTTO
STARTED NOV. 2002 JAPAN (COVERS HARAJUKU) 52 WELL-INFORMED, OPEN TO STYLES AND IDEAS LACTOSE INTOLERART REAL PEOPLE. REAL FASHION. REAL COOL!
What got you started in photographing Japanese street fashion? The historical and the social aspect of Japanese fashion interested me. When I first came to Japan, I always got the impression that Japanese people felt very ashamed of being Japanese. But in the ‘90s, they were proud of their country and World War II was something they read in history books. They weren’t inhibited by their past like before.
What unique difficulties have you had with Japanese street fashion? If you ask Westerners what brand they are wearing, they’ll tell you the brand. This information is sometimes almost impossible to get in Japan. If I ask, they don’t tell me the brand, they’d tell me the shops where they bought the clothes.
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“They dislike the idea of being put in a box with a label on top of it ”
How do you define ‘street fashion’? If you are wearing designer fashion, it’s high fashion. To me, street fashion is something people put together themselves. There are some who wear designer brands like Yohji Yamamoto, but even then, they put the 18
clothes together in ways so unthink able in the West. A girl I took a photo of wore all Comme des Garçons, but she uses her cardigan as a scarf. People don’t necessarily wear clothes the way they are meant to be worn. What has changed the most since you started your photography? In the ’80s, people would never buy secondhand items. I lived in a town considered to be the Beverly Hills of Japan. On the days garbage was thrown out, you’d find beautiful antique furniture that people would not sell because no one would buy them. I had foreign friends who’d pick these things up and sell them to foreigners. In the ‘90s, used clothes became popular. Instead of becoming a trend, it became a way of buying clothes.
When and why did you decide to cover Japan Fashion Week? I started to cover Japan Fashion Week in 2005 when it decided to change its concept. What’s different about Japan Fashion Week from New York or Paris is that you don’t see established brands like Dior or Chanel. You see very few big names. There are a lot up and coming Japanese designers, those who haven’t really made it yet. From your experience, what is the biggest difference between Japanese and Western street fashion? Most people are not trying to emulate certain styles. It’s not like the West, where style is defined by categories like goth or prep. They dislike the idea of being put in a box with a label on top of it.
How have used clothes become a way of buying clothes? There are specialty stores that sell remade clothing. They’d sew an old T-shirt with an old skirt to make a dress. Remade doesn’t mean fixing the holes, but creating something completely new. Some of the popular ones are Barack Room, Dorothy Vacance and Remake Plus. What’s one thing you would like to see more in street fashion? For most men, it’s still very difficult to wear dresses or skirts. They are limited to shorts and pants. Companies have very strict dress codes, so men are always wearing dark suits. They really don’t have the chance to wear anything else unless they work in the fashion industry or in beauty salons. 19
shironur artist
Mino J
apanese shironuri artist Minori has caught the attention of Japanese fashion enthusiasts in the street culture scene. For those unfamiliar with the term “shironuri,” the term literally translates to “painted in white” referring to the white traditional makeup worn by geishas and stage actors.
As with many other fashion subcultures, shironuri fashion has developed many categories - the most popular being gothic, retro, or dolly. In contrast, Minori puts her own twist on it by adding natural elements to her outfits.
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It’s no surprise that the doll-faced artist and designer has risen to popularity over the past few years. Amidst the colorful, bustling streets of Harajuku, Minori manages to stand out - and not just due to the white full-bodied paint. On some days, she’ll incorporate flower petals as face decor, and on others, she’ll style her hair with a variety of foliage. In the end, Minori always pulls together a highly detailed and out-there look while maintaining an air of elegance and sophistication.
While many shironuri prefer the gothic look, Minori deviates from that norm, creating her own shironuri. Having been raised in the countryside, Minori knew the beauty of nature and decided to combine those elements to form her signature look.
Since then, Minori has worked with various photographers to create hauntingly beautiful and inspiring pieces. Street photographers love capturing her ethereal and otherworldy Minori first ventured into Japanese street looks as she wanders, a white-faced fashion with gothic and lolita fashion, yet angel, through the streets of Tokyo. never felt fully comfortable with her clothing. “My skin tone didn’t match with the For more information about Minori, clothing colors,” Minori explains in her visit her website at www.minori.co. Tokyo Fashion interview. It wasn’t until her friend encouraged her to try shiron- Michelle Li uri did she realize there was a solution. She goes on to say that “the awkwardness [she] used to feel was gone.” She knew she had finally found her niche.
Michelle Li Spring 2014