Week 7 - Kawamura Japanese Teens as Producers of Street Fashion

Qiuying Lin (Britney)
ASA 141
Week 7

This essay introduces Japanese street culture in detail. Firstly, author points out the cause of street fashion. Because of the economic recession in the 1980s, children became hopeless to Japan's future. Therefore, they started to focus more on individual value rather than the group identity, the core in traditional Japanese belief. In this case, Japanese teens wanted to challenge and redefine the existing convention of fashion, in search of their identity and a community where they feel that they are accepted. Then, Japanese street culture started in the mid-1990s. The beginning style was called Kogal, like the school uniform. The distinctive looks in Japanese street fashion shared the symbols of membership affiliation so that the subcultures appeared. Then, the author looks toward the role Japanese teens play in fashion production. Using the example of loose socks, the author explains that "the product was not marketed by fashion professionals but teens themselves." This is the main core of this essay that Japanese street fashion creates a new model of fashion that blurs and defies occupational classifications in fashion. Anyone with great ideas is in the position to disseminate fashion. The author also introduces the formation of Shibuya and Harajuku, two of the most fashionable districts in Tokyo, and the fashion ideas under them. In the end, the author explains the diffusion strategies in Japanese street fashion, such as magazine and the Internet.

Chinese teenagers' fashion also is influenced by Japan. In my middle school, Cosplay was extremely popular among students. We had fun and entertained ourselves by dressing up as our favorite character. The other reason is that we want to make us special and to be out of the mainstream of traditional fashion. With the independent and quick speed of diffusion inside the community of teenagers, cosplay interprets an idea of an increasingly important role in the construction of personal identity. Therefore, I resonate with Japanese street fashion very much. The last but not least, I really love the conclusion at the end of this essay, "there is a complementary relationship between the consumption and production of fashion." Then I wonder it's appropriate or not that we allow teenagers to lead their own fashion trend because in the words of a designer if he wanted to be normal in his high school, he should wear as a Ganguro; otherwise, he would not be accepted by other kids.