A Brief History of harajuku Culture
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Harajuku fashion is a collection of different Japanese subcultures that celebrate self-exploration and independence. Harajuku fashion is named from the Harajuku station located in Tokyo, Japan. It rose to fame in the early 1980’s as the place for young Japanese teens to indulge in different subsects of their culture. Ranging from street performers to a celebration of art, it quickly became an iconic part of Japanese culture.
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Harajuku culture and fashion became westernized during the post-war Allied occupation of Japan. While American soldiers lived in the area, there was an exchange of culture that resulted in a boom of Harajuku fashion. Aspects of American fashion from the Western stores influenced the young Japanese teens. Taking their own spin, the bright, clashing colors indicative of Harajuku fashion was born.
Harajuku fashion became more widely known due to the magazine “FRUiTS”. This magazine was hugely influential to young teens at the time. Similarly to the rage of “Teen Vogue” and “Seventeen” in the United States during the 2000s, “FRUiTS” became the hub of all things fashion. After the debut of FRUiTS in 1997, the western world took note and quickly began to adopt aspects of this fashion.
Westernization of Harajuku was not always done in good conscience. Gwen Stefani infamously partook in Harajuku fashion while appropriating many aspects of the culture. During her tour, she often used Harajuku girls as her backup dancers. Stefani took aspects of Harajuku that worked for her and displayed it to her vast following of fans. She used token Asian women to create an aura of diversity and depth, while lacking any sort of cultural understanding.
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Nevertheless, Harajuku fashion was still a vastly positive influence in the United States. American fashion has found many different influences from Harajuku fashion. From bomber jackets to denim jeans, much can be traced back to this specific fashion district within Japan.
Harajuku fashion is characterized by its self-expression of the person wearing the outfit. It can include anything that a person desires to wear, and is not characterized by any specific genre. In Japan, it is a mix of different Japanese subcultures including Lolita, Gyaru, Kogal, Gangaro, Cosplay, Decora, Visual Kei, and many more.
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While Harajuku fashion has been iconic for decades, it has still persisted in the fashion world. This can be accredited due to its basis of self expression. Harajuku consists of an abundant amount of styles all collaborating in the idea that fashion is a personal statement. In a larger idea, this is what makes fashion so important in all parts of the world. What you wear participates in a conversation that you are not even aware of. You are communicating aspects of yourself to the world without saying a single word.
In this lies the importance of Harajuku fashion. To many, Harajuku fashion can seem eccentric and strange. Yet this adverse reaction some may have is what makes Harajuku fashion all the more important. By having the freedom to express yourself and liberate yourself from the standards of society, you make a radical statement. You are saying “I choose myself and what I love over the societal standards put in place.” This is why Harajuku so often consists of young radicals.
Therefore I say to you: take ideas of Harajuku and translate them into your own life. Recklessly and selfishly wear what you want. Just like the young radicals who started Harajuku, let your fashion be an expression of your ideals and who you are.
Strike Out,
Written by: AK Anderson
Edited by: Sarah Singleton
Graphic by: Aisy Nix
