Week 7 - Japanese Fashion

Week 7
Fara Suiza
ASA141
May 11, 2019

As a Filipino Asian American who grew up in a pre-dominantly white town and being one of the only few Asians in the entire high school, the internet was one of the only ways I could find things that were true to myself. Like many others, I was really fascinated with Japanese anime and, for some time, Kawaii culture itself. With that being said, the reading Japanese Teens as Producers of Street Fashion” by Yuniya Kawamura was a really intriguing read despite the fact that I already had a bit of background Japanese street fashion and the influence the youth has on fashion trends.

Although I knew that bold, edgy, “norm-breaking and outrageous” fashion stemmed out of this growing sense within Japanese teens to individualize themselves away from the group, which is significant due to Japan’s history and Asian etiquette norms of putting the group before oneself, I was really surprised that the reason why this has become a trend is because of an economic downturn. I often thought of these varying styles as something commercialized, pushed and marketed towards young people, particularly girls, so it surprised me to read that trendy fashion--more often than not--organically originates from teens. An example of this is the loose socks fashion that was widely popular in 1993 and throughout the 90’s, which began with junior and senior high school girls, becoming—in some ways—a symbol of inclusion amongst friend groups. If you did not have them, it was considered embarrassing.

This reading focused not only on how outrageous fashion is being used by young Japanese teens as a way of expressing themselves as individuals, but also as a way to demonstrate the influence of youth.

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