Venture to the Harajuku district in Tokyo, Japan on a weekend (particularly Sundays) and you’ll find yourself in the midst of an ongoing fashion show that defies the “norms” of the industry. Here, teenagers have the opportunity to show their distinctive style within one of the many tribes or “kei” of Harajuku fashion. The Guardian’s Jon Wilks outlines the more than 10 tribes currently in play in his article Tokyo's fashion tribes: a guide.
As scholar Grace Ebunlola Adamo suggests, constructing an outfit “serves as a tool in the social construction of self and others[—]from the fabric, the color and color combinations, the design/tailoring and the fit” (p. 4). While being a member of these Harajuku fashion tribes does dictate distinguishable dress, members may choose to only participate in this style on the weekends. However, mere participation in this weekend ritual would categorize members of these fashion tribes a part of this Japanese subculture.
In addition to using fashion to categorize themselves, these Harajuku fashionistas also “strive to differentiate” (Adamo, p. 5) themselves. “Dress functions as a mechanism to convey individuals meaning; i.e., although dress identifies a person as part of a group, there is still some room for asserting some degree of individuality” (Adamo, p. 5). Each Harajuku tribe may have a set of overall guidelines, but members are still able to retain individualistic fashion sense through their personal choices for their respective dress.
Harajuku fashionistas are defining their own trends within this subculture. However, do you think this subculture mimics Western fashion trends or Japanese fashion trends? Or does it create a new, distinctive realm within the fashion world?
No comments:
Post a Comment