Japanese Fashion

Japanese fashion consists of a mixture of both traditional and modern styles. Most of the traditional Japanese fashion has evolved to what is known as street fashion today although occasionally, traces of traditional Japanese fashion can be encountered in large cities of Japan.

Background

Japan began to emulate Western fashion during the start of the 21st century and thus, it altered into what is known as 'Street Fashion' today.

The term 'Street Fashion' is used to describe fashion where the wearer personally customizes the outfits by adopting a mixture of current and traditional trends. Such clothes are generally home-made with the use of material bought from the stores.

At present, there are many styles of dresses in Japan, from a mix of both local and foreign labels. Some of these styles are extreme and avant-garde similar to the haute couture seen on European catwalks. The rise and fall of many of these trends has been chronicled by Shoichi Aoki since 1997 in the fashion magazine FRUiTS, which is a notable magazine for the promotion of street fashion in Japan.

Traditional Japanese Fashion - Kimono

The traditional Kimono are the traditional garmets of Japan. Originally kimono was used for all types of clothing, but it came to refer specifically to the full-length garment that is still worn by women, men, and children.Traditionally, on special occasions unmarried women wear kimono with extremely long sleeves that extend almost to the floor. The robe is wrapped around the body, always with the left side over the right, and secured by a wide belt tied in the back, called an obi. Kimono are generally worn with traditional footwear

The above picture shows a wedding kimono

Modern Japanese fashion

Street fashion has become a popular trend in Japan - or even other places in the world now already. Quite a number of teenagers wear the outlandish clothes in large urban fashion districts at present.

Lolita
Lolita Fashion is the subculture Gothic & Lolita, which is greatly inspired by Victorian children's clothing and the sophisticated costumes of the Rococoperiod. Other influences of Lolita include the western goth,punk, cosplay subculture and french maid outfits.

Girls in Lolita

 

Cosplay
Another Japanese subculture is Cosplay, which is based on dressing as characters from manga, anime, tokusatsu, video games, Japanese live action television shows, fantasy movies, or Japanese pop music bands.

The above shows a cosplay performace in Taiwan

 

Here are the researches results from what we did from a questionnaire about Japanese fashion:

Back to Japan