![]() ![]() ![]() The reality of the “Harajuku is Dead” meme is simply this: Many 1990s Harajuku subcultures are in decline. “Harajuku is Dead!” sells far better than the more accurate “Harajuku is Changing”. It’s a cliche at this point to dismiss stories as “Fake News”, but modern media feeds on shocking and upsetting headlines to get more clicks. From CNN and I-D Magazine to a much shared Quartz article to various unsourced blog posts, the English-speaking internet has been gleeful in declaring Harajuku “dead”. Japanese street fashion has made the international news quite a bit this year, but not always for good reasons. Harajuku is Not Dead, No Matter What You Read Here are fifteen things we consider important to understanding the State of Japanese Street Fashion in 2017.Ī sampling of Harajuku street snaps we’ve shot so far in 2017. Let’s take a look at the issues, trends, personalities, brands, and boutiques that are likely to shape their future - and ours. Look no further than the recent Louis Vuitton Kansai Yamamoto collection, Marc Jacobs controversial Harajuku inspired runway show, Rihanna’s Harajuku-influenced Fenty collection with Puma, and the breathtaking Comme Des Garcons exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.Įstablished Japanese designers are making waves around the world as Japan’s next fashion generation arrives in Harajuku full of anticipation. Over the last year, Japanese street fashion has continued to be influential throughout Asia and around the globe. That said, it’s too early to predict what might happen as this new group of kids carve out their own place in the scene. We’ve yet to see a new breakout star like Hirari Ikeda, Juria, Kyary, Peco, or Yutaro. This year’s group of kids seems more experimental and excited about street fashion than we’ve seen in the last couple of years, which is good news for the near future of Harajuku. Judging by the young people we’ve met on the street so far, the Harajuku Class of 2017 is brimming with creative and passionate young fashion lovers. This cyclical turnover of around 20% of the scene’s entire population means that Harajuku’s own personality has the potential to change dramatically from year to year. The average Harajuku kid spends no more than four years as an active member of the scene. Those graduating from college or trade school decide it’s time to move on to “real life” and disappear from the streets. When a new Harajuku generation arrives, the previous one departs. Some are high school students who’ve reached an age where their parents feel comfortable with them hanging around Harajuku on their own, and another group have moved to Tokyo from their hometowns all over Japan for work, school, or other reasons. The majority of these new 16- to 20-year-old Harajuku kids are college students (often attending a nearby fashion, design, or beauty school) experiencing the freedom of young adulthood. Harajuku welcomes a new “generation” of kids every spring - around the time the Japanese school year starts in April. Our overall impression of Harajuku’s street fashion scene in 2017 is that it’s noticeably stronger than it was in 2016. Trends, brands, personalities, and shops get noticed here first - then spread outward. There are plenty of other hip/trendy areas in Tokyo and Osaka, but Harajuku remains the leading indicator of Japanese street fashion’s overall health and direction. Harajuku - Tokyo’s one-of-a-kind youth culture neighborhood - retains its long-held title as the center of Japan’s street fashion scene in 2017. Considering the speed at which trends, brands, shops, and people come and go in the Japanese street fashion scene, an update is past due. It’s been over a year since our Japanese Street Fashion 2016 article. ![]() Japanese Street Fashion 2017 - 15 Things You Need To Know ![]()
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