Post by Cat on Apr 8, 2008 16:41:23 GMT
Harajuku
Harajuku style is the heart of modern Japanese fashion.
Harajuku fashion is a style that originated in the 80’s in Japan, straight after the Punk movement. Situated in the shopping district in Tokyo, Harajuku gets its name from the district Harajuku. The style comes from teens who used to join every Sunday at Omotesando as on Sunday the street was closed to traffic, and there they would show off their clothes, listen to their music and hang around with friends. Harajuku used to be a sort of Halloween every Sunday, but is now considered more of a style.
Harajuku started its decline in the 90’s however, and Harajuku, which once used to be the most popular thing around, started to die out. With the loss of Visual Kei bands (bands that depend on their image to make sales), the ground breaking fashions that were seen there became less frequent, and it turned more into a style.
Harajuku is all about individualism. Being with friends but being unique, the key things are to be different, be cute, wear layers, mix and match, customize and add many accessories. And although Harajuku is in itself a fashion, it also a name of a style that blankets most fashions in that area of Tokyo, like Lolita Goth, Cosplay, Kawaii, Decora and even Punk. It’s about brand loyalty (Vivienne Westwood is huge over there) but also maybe adding a pair of sweatshop made jeans with a few tears in them.
Harajuku fashion was originally built by teens, who used traditional Japanese dress, such as kimonos and obis and mixed them with western fashions to create something theatrical. Nowadays however there is a lot more shops selling Harajuku dress rather than customizing the clothes yourself. People who wear and create Harajuku are very proud of their style and so many can still often be seen on a Sunday around Harajuku.
Now in the 2000’s Harajuku has once again become popular and well known internationally, thanks to pop star Gwen Stefani, who, ‘adopted’ four ‘Harajuku Girls’ to follow her everywhere, however by definition these are no longer Harajuku girls as they all wear the same clothes and act the same, which is strictly not Harajuku.
Harajuku style is the heart of modern Japanese fashion.
Harajuku fashion is a style that originated in the 80’s in Japan, straight after the Punk movement. Situated in the shopping district in Tokyo, Harajuku gets its name from the district Harajuku. The style comes from teens who used to join every Sunday at Omotesando as on Sunday the street was closed to traffic, and there they would show off their clothes, listen to their music and hang around with friends. Harajuku used to be a sort of Halloween every Sunday, but is now considered more of a style.
Harajuku started its decline in the 90’s however, and Harajuku, which once used to be the most popular thing around, started to die out. With the loss of Visual Kei bands (bands that depend on their image to make sales), the ground breaking fashions that were seen there became less frequent, and it turned more into a style.
Harajuku is all about individualism. Being with friends but being unique, the key things are to be different, be cute, wear layers, mix and match, customize and add many accessories. And although Harajuku is in itself a fashion, it also a name of a style that blankets most fashions in that area of Tokyo, like Lolita Goth, Cosplay, Kawaii, Decora and even Punk. It’s about brand loyalty (Vivienne Westwood is huge over there) but also maybe adding a pair of sweatshop made jeans with a few tears in them.
Harajuku fashion was originally built by teens, who used traditional Japanese dress, such as kimonos and obis and mixed them with western fashions to create something theatrical. Nowadays however there is a lot more shops selling Harajuku dress rather than customizing the clothes yourself. People who wear and create Harajuku are very proud of their style and so many can still often be seen on a Sunday around Harajuku.
Now in the 2000’s Harajuku has once again become popular and well known internationally, thanks to pop star Gwen Stefani, who, ‘adopted’ four ‘Harajuku Girls’ to follow her everywhere, however by definition these are no longer Harajuku girls as they all wear the same clothes and act the same, which is strictly not Harajuku.
