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Japan began to emulate Western fashion during the middle of the 19th century. By the beginning of the 21st century it had altered into what is known today as 'street fashion', a term used to describe fashion in which the wearer customizes outfits by adopting a mixture of current and traditional trends. Such clothes are generally home-made with the use of material purchased at stores.

At present there are many styles of dress in Japan, created from a mix of both local and foreign labels. Some of these styles are extreme and avant-garde, similar to the haute couture seen on European catwalks. The rise and fall of many of these trends has been chronicled by Shoichi Aoki since 1997 in the fashion magazine FRUiTS, which is a notable magazine for the promotion of street fashion in Japan.

More recently^[when?], Japanese hip-hop, which has long been present among underground Tokyo's club scene, has influenced the mainstream fashion industry.^[1] The popularity of the music is so influential that Tokyo's youth are imitating their favorite hip hop stars from the way they dress with over-sized clothes to tanned skin. The idea of darkening one's skin to more closely resemble an American hip-hop star or ethnic group may seem like a fad, but this subculture, the black facers, do not particularly set themselves apart from many other sub cultures that have emerged as a result of hip hop.^[2]

Modern Japanese street fashion[link]

Though the styles have changed over the years, street fashion is still prominent in Japan today. Young adults can often be found wearing subculture attire in large urban fashion districts such as Harajuku, Ginza, Odaiba, Shinjuku and Shibuya.

Lolita[link]

Gothic Lolita

Containing many different themes within its boundaries, Lolita has become one of the larger, more recognizable styles in Japanese street fashion. Now gaining interest worldwide, Lolita is seen as one of the many different styles that brings the "cute" in Japan. The more well-known styles within Lolita fashion are as follows:

• Gothic Lolita - is Lolita with a heavy influence from the Eastern and Victorian Goth style. Often characterized by dark colors, crosses, bats and spiders, as well as other popular gothic 'icons'. Victorian iron gates and architectural designs are also often seen in dress prints. Skirts are usually worn knee length with petticoats beneath for volume. Blouses or shirts are lace-trimmed or ruffled in the Victorian style. Knee length socks with boots, bonnets, brooches, and a parasol finish out this style of Lolita.

• Sweet Lolita - is the most childlike style, mostly characterized by baby animals, fairy tale themes and innocent, childlike attire. It is inspired by baby dolls and Hello Kitty is popular among the SweetLolis. Pastel colors are used, as well as other muted colors like black and dark reds and blues. Large headbows, cute purses, elegant parasols and stuffed animals are popular accessories for Sweet Lolita.

• Punk Lolita - An experimental style, mixing the influences of Punk with Lolita. It can sometimes look deconstructed or crazy, while keeping most of the 'Lolita silhouette'.

• Classic Lolita is very traditional. It is very mature, and business-like and focuses on light colors such as, blue, green, and red.

• Kodona, a.k.a. 'boystyle' and 'ouji', is a more masculine version of lolita, influenced by Victorian boys' clothing. 'Prince pants', which are short capri-style pants that are cut off the knee, usually with some sort of detail (such as lace-edged cuffs) are commonly worn with masculine blouses, top hats, knee socks etc.^[3]

Gyaru[link]

• Main article: Gyaru

Gyaru, sometimes known as ganguro, but is a subcategory of gyaru. is a type of Japanese street fashion that originated in the 1970s. The original ganguro look is no longer popular in Japan^{[citation needed]}. Gyaru is a huge uproar of girly-glam style, breaking all the rules of "what is pretty", and dwelling on man-made beauty (wigs, fake lashes, fake nails etc.). Gyaru is also heavily inspired by Western fashion. Contrary to stereotypes^{[citation needed]}, not all gyarus dress in a sexually provocative manner. The gyaru look is varied and is not limited to blonde hair and tanned skin.

• Main article: Ganguro

The ganguro style of Japanese street fashion became popular among Japanese girls in the early 1990s and peaked in the early 2000s. Ganguro falls into the larger subculture of gyaru. Ganguro typically includes brightly colored outfits, mini-skirts, and tie-dyed sarongs. The ganguro style consists of bleached hair, a deep tan, fake eyelashes, black and white eyeliner, bracelets, earrings, rings, necklaces and platform shoes.

• Main article: Kogal

The kogal (kogyaru) look is based on a high school uniform, but with a shorter skirt, loose socks, and often dyed hair and a scarf as well. The girls sometimes call themselves gyaru (gals). This style was prominent in the 1990s, but has since declined.

Bōsōzoku[link]

While bōsōzoku fashion has not been popular since the 1990s, the stereotypical bōsōzoku look is often portrayed, and even caricatured, in many forms of Japanese media such as anime, manga and films. The typical bōsōzoku member is often depicted in a uniform consisting of a jumpsuit like those worn by manual laborers or a tokko-fuku (特攻服), a type of military issued over-coat with kanji slogans. These are usually worn open, with no shirt underneath, showing off bandaged torsos and matching baggy pants tucked inside tall boots.

Visual kei[link]

Visual kei is a style created in the mid-1980s by Japanese musicians consisting of striking makeup, unusual hair styles and flamboyant costumes, similar to Western glam rock and glam metal. Androgyny is also a popular aspect of the style. Some of the more well-known and influential artists of the style include X Japan, Luna Sea and Malice Mizer.

Dolly kei[link]

Dolly kei is a newly-emerging style based on Japan's view of the Middle Ages and European fairy tales, especially the Brothers Grimm. It includes a lot of vintage-style clothing and sometimes has religious symbols.^[4]

Fairy kei[link]

A more sweet lolita, decora blend, with a hint of 80's. It uses mostly bright pastel colors (like lavender, baby blue, light pink, mint green, pale yellow, etc.), and elements and accessories from Western toy lines of the 1980s, such as My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, Popples and Care Bears. Fairy kei originated from Sauri Tabuchi, the eminent Tokyo fashion figure's store Spank!^[5]

Mori girl[link]

Mori (which means forest) fashion uses soft, loosely fitting layers of garments such as floaty dresses and cardigans. It is similar to dolly kei in that the aim is to create a doll-like appearance, but in a more casual, earthy manner^[6] .

Fashion industry and popular brands[link]

Although Japanese street fashion is known for its mix-match of different styles and genres, and there is no single sought-after brand that can consistently appeal to all fashion groups, the huge demand created by the fashion-conscious population is fed and supported by Japan's vibrant fashion industry. Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, and Rei Kawakubo of the Comme des Garçons are often said to be the three cornerstone brands of Japanese fashion. Together they were particularly recognized as a Japanese fashion force in the early 80s for their intensive use of monochrome color and cutting-edge design.

As early as the 1950s, there were a few brands specially catered to street fashion, like Onitsuka Tiger (now known as the ASICS), but arguably it was until the early 1990s that the industry saw a blooming emergence of street fashion brands. The most popular ones include: A Bathing Ape, Comme des Garçons, Evisu, Head Porter, OriginalFake, Uniqlo, Visvim, W)TAPs, and XLarge. Street Fashion brands frequently feature collaborations with popular artists and designers and use limited edition as a selling strategy. There are also brands that target specific fashion groups. For example, Angelic Pretty is for Lolita style and Sex Pot Revenge for Punk style.

Japan is also known for its significant consumption of foreign luxury brands. According to data from 2006, Japan consumed 41 percent of the entire world's luxury goods.^[7] The blue line of Burberry is among the most successful in this arena.

International influence[link]

The immediate influence of Japanese street fashion is said to be China, Korea and Taiwan. Geographical and cultural affinities are said to be among the most important factors. The similar body shape and figure also made Japanese style an easier sought-after than that of European or American. However, the influence is not direct emulation. See Chinese clothing, Korea Museum of Modern Costume and Shiatzy Chen.

Japanese street fashion is also said to influence the West Coast of the United States.^{[citation needed]} High-end fashion brands like Comme des Garçons have played a big role in the global industry since the 80s, especially through frequent cross-over guest design with other brands. Rei Kawakubo recently^[when?] designed for Louis Vuitton and H&M.

Tomoko Yamanaka's work was featured at London Fashion Week, 2010.^[8]

Social motives[link]

The motives driving the pursuit of fashion in Japan are complex. Firstly, the relatively large disposable income available to Japanese youth is significant. Many argue this was made possible through youth living at home with their parents, reducing living expenses.^[9] In addition, the emergence of a strong youth culture in the 1960s and 1970s that continues today (especially in the Harajuku district) drives much of the striving for new and different looks. The rise of consumerism to an important part of the "national character" of Japan during the economic boom of the 1980s and even after the bubble burst also contributes to the pursuit of fashion. These factors result in swift turnover and variability in styles popular at any one time.^[10]

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Show case of an elegant Fairy Kei look
• Japanese Fashion Brands
• The Japanese Fashion Experience
• www.harajukustyle.net Tokyo street fashion, information and photos.
• Detailed description of Gyaru GAL Styles (ganguro, yamanba...) in Japan + Photos
• Photos of current Japanese street fashion styles