Dude looks like a lady? Things are changing in Japan, so start changing everything you previously thought about ‘postcard’ punk, goth and Lolita style tribes, and embrace the new looks which are sweeping Japanese youth culture. There are dualities at work as urbane is swapped for countrified Victoriana and gender roles are pushed to their limits. But what’s behind this change? Luckily, SuperSuper has all the trend information, from the street corners of Harajuku and beyond…

 

Picture the scene. You’re wandering down the streets of Harajuku, taking in all of the sights, sounds and the fabulously well-dressed youth around you. There are vintage patterns fluttering in the breeze, girls with hundreds of scarves wrapped around their necks and wait – is that a boy wearing heels and a skirt?! Yes, it’s true – Japanese street style is changing, with previously held attitudes towards trends, fashion and even lifestyle being redefined. Fashion aficionados in the Land of the Rising Sun are casting off the larger-than-life style tribes that have been knocking about in one form or another since the ‘80s, and moving towards new manifestations – making the transition from cosmopolitan to rural, contemporary to vintage and even male to female. Youth-oriented style tribes exploded into significance in the ‘80s, during the time of Japan’s affluent bubble economy.

 

A new generation of avant-garde Japanese designers like Issey Miyake and Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons) were emerging, leading Japan to pack punches in the international fashion arena as a serious contender for the first time. Their bold attitude towards stylistic expression filtered down to the streets, colliding on the way with the nation’s long-held fascination with Western culture (steadily growing since the mid-nineteenth century, when the nation dropped its 250+ years of ‘closed country’ policy and opened its doors to the rest of the world). This produced vivid interpretations of popular Western styles like Goth and Punk. In the ‘90s, style chronicle FRUiTS began documenting street fashions in Tokyo’s Harajuku district, showcasing the phenomenal expansion of eclectic, stylish individuals carving out distinctive looks on the streets.

 

Okay, new scene: let’s see Japan ten years or so back. Here, you might witness style tribes like Lolita, complete with gothic frills straight out of a Grimm’s fairytale, or perhaps the glam punk J-rock inspired look of the Visual Kei fans, and that’s not forgetting fashionistas, covered head-to-toe in their favourite designer wear. Dressing in the style of these tribes wasn’t something to be taken lightly – it was an all-or-nothing approach, with people striving to emulate their look of choice down to the very last detail. This rendered followers of each tribe instantly recognisable – if a boy was rocking tartan, a biker jacket and as many safety pin piercings as his pierceable parts could handle, you could be sure that he was a Punk. Similarly, it wouldn’t take a second glance to see that girls flaunting Hello Kitty motifs, Tamogotchi pets and every conceivable shade of pink were going for the Decora look.

 

 

 

Today, you’re likely to see a much more diverse approach to street style. “Japanese style has become more mature”, says Kjeld Duits (owner of style title Japanese Streets). “It’s less kawaii, and more romantic. There is less of the extreme fashion that we saw in the ‘90s, but far more people are dressing well now. The edges are less sharp, but the middle shines more – people are coming into their own.”

 

Some new tribes look to the past for inspiration, rejecting contemporary cosmopolitan styles (like the Gyaru look of the ‘80s/’90s, which rated expensive luxury brands) in search of trends that are comparatively rustic and traditional. Followers of the extremely popular Dolly Kei style are seen to shun all things modern in order to get their vintage groove on, choosing antique or pre-owned pieces over designer items to channel timeless vibes into today’s contemporary setting. Similarly, those favouring the Mori (‘Forest’) trend are drawn to decidedly rural styles, opting for the au naturelle colours and textures of one who might live in the woods.

 

The DIY feel is also in, with fans of the Moru Girl look personalising their outfits with masses of clips, buttons and badges. Street style’s relationship with Japan’s changing society has had a discernible impact on the changes occurring in today’s tribes. For instance, many contemporary styles are known to relinquish pricey designer labels in favour of vintage or DIY looks (e.g. Dolly Kei, Moru Girl). This is partly owing to Japan’s ongoing economic gloom (the country is still struggling to climb out of a slump some twenty years strong, with the yen worth less now than it did in 1990) impacting on its citizen’s shopping habits – unlike the honeyed, moneyed days of the ‘80s bubble economy, today people simply have less to spend on expensive new garms.

 

 

 

 

“Times are tough for young people in Japan – record numbers are unable to find full-time jobs”, says Kjeld Duits, “so people are changing their expectations and value systems to adjust to this new reality”. This new reality is exemplified in the fast-growing Soushoku Danshi, or ‘Herbivore Boy’ lifestyle, which is blending both male and female fashions to create striking personalised looks.

 

With a keen eye for fashion, diet and personal grooming, and typically dressing in tight clothes and/or ‘feminine’ attire, these Herbivores are redefining attitudes towards the concept of masculinity in 2011 Japan. “It is said that young men are becoming women in Japan”, says Hiroko Ikeda (of style site SCRAPTURE).“The word ‘Herbivore’ expresses the boy who is changing to a girl on the inside.” This ‘grass-eating’ lifestyle has flourished over the last couple of years, with an increasing number of Japanese males eschewing conventional ‘carnivorous’ masculine pursuits like sex and professional success for gentler interests, including a vested interest in fashion and self-grooming – consequently provoking worry amongst older generations, anxious that these sexually-indifferent, uncompetitive-minded males will worsen an already troubled economy and birth rate (currently standing as one of the lowest in the world).

 

Make no mistake, Herbivores are no niche phenomenon – in her book The Herbivorous Ladylike Men Are Changing Japan, bestselling Japanese author Megumi Ushikubo estimates that at least 60 percent of today’s men aged between 20-34 can be placed within the Herbivore category (and a survey by Lifenet Seimei Insurance Co saw 378/500 young men – that’s 76 percent – claiming they thought of themselves as Herbivores). This certainly seems like a far cry from the once near-ubiquitous view of Japanese culture as being masculine and business driven. In response to these developing social conditions, contemporary street fashions indicate a growing confidence in Japan’s youth to express themselves on their own cultural terms, branching out from prescribed conventions in style and the Western tribes of previous years to find more home-grown, individuated looks. It’s about mixing those good-looking Western jeans with some geta (traditional wooden sandals).

 

 

 

 

Often, stylistic influences can be traced back to the East, West and something Other, relative to the individual’s willingness to experiment with looks of their own invention. Taking a closer look at the faaashions of Herbivore Boys, one distinct trend that has sprung up from the lifestyle is ‘Skirt Boy’ – boys who wear items traditionally classed as female apparel. Articles like skirts, leggings and heels are becoming more popular amongst men, with manufacturers even selling specialist items like male lingerie and ‘The Men’s Premium Brassiere’. Simultaneously integrating the apparel of both sexes into a new, original style, though Skirt Boys can’t be defined as looking expressly ‘male’ (or ‘female’), by blurring distinctions between sexes, they create a look that poses serious questions to the notion of conventional gendered fashion. “I have asked Skirt Boys why they like to put on women’s clothes, and their answer was – ‘Because I’m skinny, and I can wear it’”, says Hiroko. “The idea that a man should be ‘manly’, and a woman should be ‘womanly’ is becoming a thing of the past.”

 

Not unsurprisingly, the rise of the Herbivore Boys has provoked speculation of a corresponding female counterpart in ‘Carnivore Girls’, although this trend hasn’t yet been recognised as such a significant cultural shift – there isn’t a definitive ‘Carnivore’ style trend for girls as such. They are characterised by their confident, assertive approach to work, dating and relationships – but haven’t taken to wearing Y-fronts just yet. So, whether it involves vintage pieces, an earth-mother vibe or subverting age-old social norms, one thing that can be said of Japanese street style is that it continues to defy expectation. Already illustrating a distinct evolution from the trends of the last ten and twenty years, the new style tribes of Japan will surely continue to develop into ever more innovative fashions as distinctions between conventional roles and attitudes continue to be redefined, and the confidence for individuals to express themselves continues to grow.

 

 

 

HERBIVORE BOY “Herbivore Boys are distinctive – they are long and skinny. They select items like berets and leggings without hesitation!” Hiroko Ikeda

 

 

If you’re walking down the streets of Japan, and happen to see an impeccably groomed boy with a haircut/outfit/skin to die for, chances are he’s a Herbivore Boy. While this tribe has no explicit style characteristics per se, many of Japan’s ‘grass-eaters’ go with tight-fitting clothes – the better to show off their meticulously managed figures – and ‘effeminate’ articles, including leggings and scarves. Some Herbivore Boys take this idea further to wear girl’s clothing (see Skirt Boy), or the distinctly feminised ‘Forest’ style (see Mori Boy).

 

 

SKIRT BOY  “At first, women borrowed from men’s fashion – but today, women’s items are being taken by men. We are seeing straight boys wearing items like clutch bags, scarves and even high heels.” Reona Mitsuyama

 

 

Skirts, handbags, heels – they’re not just for girls anymore. Not to be confused with out-and-out cross-dressing, Skirt Boys incorporate articles of women’s clothing into their own ensembles (rather than going for an all-out lady look). While the Herbivore culture may have given rise to this trend, the style has caught on to the point that Skirt Boys are starting to appear around and outside of Herbivore followers. “Sometimes it’s hard to say who’s Herbivore and who just likes to wear skirts because they are stylish. Actually, some of the skirt-wearing guys might be bolder, because they are actually willing to go outside in heels and a skirt!” says Timu (of TokyoFashion.com).

 

 

MORI GIRL/BOY “A lot of Japanese tend to prefer a cute fashion to a cool one. Most girls long to be a princess in their childhood, don’t they?” Hiroko Ikeda

 

 

‘Mori’ literally translates as ‘forest’, with followers of this style endeavouring to look like people that might live in a fairytale wood. The idea is to choose pieces that evoke the garb of an ethereal, romantic nymph (rather than a crazed hippy crone), and to go with a look as natural and as possible – neutral makeup, floral prints and layered clothing are all big pluses. Earthy tones like green, mustard and ivory are preferable, while avoiding unnaturally bright colours and prints are to be avoided (acid pink hot pants don’t grow on trees – literally).

 

 

DOLLY KEI “Dolly Kei was especially popular last year. It’s very feminine, with lots of purple, wine red and dark, warm colours. In Tokyo’s Shibuya district, shops like Grimoire and The Virgin Mary have helped to generate this trend by focussing on such clothes, and creating a romantic mood in their shops.” Kjeld Duits

 

 

In a nutshell, Dolly Kei is vintage meets feminine. Inspired by fashions of the West, Dolly Kei is one of Japanese street style’s most popular new trends. The idea is to channel the aesthetics of pre-WWII European fashion – think vintage skirts, rich fabrics and lace, lace lace, often accessorised with a china doll or an oversized crucifix necklace. As the name suggests, Dolly Kei is geared towards looking like an antique doll, with extra cool points given for wearing something genuinely old or handmade.

 

MORU GIRL “Young people in the street add a peculiar arrangement to their fashions…” Hiroko Ikeda

 

 

An evolution of the ‘90s Decora/‘Decoration’ trend (which saw girls covering their outfits in colourful rave-inspired accessories), Moru Girls literally ‘fill up’ their ensembles with as many accessories as humanly possible. Jewellery, ribbons, scarves… the list is endless, but the true mark of a Moru master is to go one further and even accessorise their accessories (e.g. bags covered in pom-poms and soft-toy keyrings, or hats fixed with lots of badges). One of the attractions to the Moru Girl look is its versatility – it can be applied to pretty much any colour palette and/or combination of clothes. Hair (think VOLUME!) is important to this tribe – which is another great feature to accessorise, of course!

 

 

For more inspiration, check out…

http://tokyofashion.com/photos/

http://scrapture.org/streetsnap

www.japanesestreets.com

www.fashionsnap.com

www.style-arena.jp/en

http://brigit.jp

 

 

 

Words: Charlotte McManus