Week 7 - Teens as Producers of Street Fashion

ASA141

Reanna Lao

In the study Japanese Teens as Producers of Street Fashion, researcher Yuniya Kawamura explained the social and economic background of Japanese street culture. Kawamura writes that teens are often ignored and neglected by the older members of society. In a way, fashion is a way to seek acceptance from a larger group of people. Teens in Japan use fashion as away to be seen in society. What was interesting to me is that teens seek people who share the same identity to form groups. It is even more interesting that the groups themselves can distinguish between members of different affiliations, When I think back to my teenage years, I also recall different groups of teens with the same fashion sense. Just as in Japan, American teens also have less of a voice and presence in the larger society. However I think times have changed since the creation of social media platforms. I think this is partly due to fashion that teens are now being seen. Some teens these days have even more influence than older members of society. 

In the article, Kawamura also mentions how teens market products themselves among group members. I found it quite interesting that the part-time sales worker positions in Shibuya 109 are so competitive. I have never thought of teenager sales workers as contributors of design. One thing that I was curious about is whether members of a group change often due to the different preferences in new fashion trends.