The Harajuku district in Tokyo became a center for street fashion in the 1970s and 80s. Harajuku served as a meeting place for youth subcultures, facilitating the rapid spread of styles. Young people were drawn to street fashion, especially for its individualistic style, which contrasted with Japan’s homogeneous culture. Individualistic fashion offered a counter to, for example, compulsory school uniforms. Gradually, J-fashion became known even in the Western world, especially with the help of the internet. However, the influence has been mutual: not only has the Western world been inspired by Japanese street styles, but J-fashion has also drawn inspiration from Western culture. For example, the visual kei style draws inspiration from glam rock, and girly styles draw from American prairie dresses.
After the initial iconic J-fashion styles lost popularity and the hobby spread thanks to the internet and commercialization, many feel that the significance of Harajuku as a center for street style has diminished. Is it still street style if the clothes can be bought from a chain store? On the other hand, fashion’s natural cycle goes from influencers and consumers to the catwalk and back to commercial fashion and the consumer. Influencers are also significant in Japanese street fashion: among the Japanese influencers are Mana and Misako Aoki, and among the Finnish ones are Kao Kitsune and Namikolinx.
Japanese street fashion has drawn inspiration from various media, including music, manga, anime, and games. For example, in series by manga artist Ai Yazawa (such as Paradise Kiss and NANA), many characters are dressed in street styles. Especially NANA is a very popular “cult manga” in Finland, which inspired many to dress in punk, visual kei, and lolita styles. Fashion inspiration also works in reverse here: Ai Yazawa has drawn inspiration for her works from living street styles.
Although J-fashion is often associated with female enthusiasts, street fashion and its enthusiasts are now very diverse. In Finland, there are also many representatives and influencers of street fashion who belong to gender minorities.
Also read: Fashion designer Sanna Hautamäki’s blog post Change Led to the Birth of Japanese Street Fashion. (in Finnish)
