Crazy! Japanese! Fashion!

[yanpa]

OMG! Rockabillies! Etc. etc.

Tokyo's fashion tribes: a guide

Tokyo's vibrant fashions are as much a feature of the city as its Michelin-starred restaurants. It's almost impossible to keep up with the fast-changing trends but here's an introduction to some of the main tribes.


The outlandish and vibrant fashionistas of Tokyo move forward at such a pace that it's almost impossible to document them without instantly falling out of date. However, there are a number of groups – tribes, or "kei" in Japanese – that have managed to evolve while staying relatively true to their origins. Members of these tribes can number into the hundreds of thousands, though more commonly they reach a few thousand youngsters before disappearing entirely.

Many kei can be traced back to the Harajuku district, at the centre of which is Takeshita Dori, a street that is to Tokyo what Carnaby Street was once to London (only with added dayglo cuteness), and this should be the first destination for any determined follower of fashion.
Here are a selection of the tribes that you would have a hard time missing on any trip to the Japanese capital.

The Rollers of Yoyogi Park

Before we begin, let's get one thing straight. These guys aren't rockabillies, even though they might look old enough to have witnessed Gene Vincent in his heyday. They prefer to be known as "Roller-Zoku" (the Roller Family), and they take the business of dancing to old rock'n'roll numbers very seriously indeed (on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, near the gates of Yoyogi Park, without fail). It is thought that the Roller-Zoku have been a part of the Yoyogi furniture since the early 1990s, when a rockabilly revival swept parts of Japan. With their receding hairlines bullied into thinning quiffs, they may not look particularly threatening, but woe betide anyone who tries to join their antiquated dance. Simply do as the massed crowds surrounding them do: watch agog, but from a safe distance.

...nado nado...

[Taro Toporific]

... the Roller-Zoku have been a part of the Yoyogi furniture since the early 1990s.
...nado nado...

The "early 1990s"? Oops, off by a decade. They've been there since the late '70s ~ early 1980s (by the time I met them when I worked in Harajuku in 1984, they were an established tourist attraction in all the guide books).
They're a gang-cum-club (at the most 20 guys with a core group of 8 ) who call themselves the Black Shadow (zuku)---not "roller zoku" (which could be the generic way to refer to their style although most Japanese call them "ロカビリー").

[GomiGirl]

I thought they were from the 50's...

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

... the Roller-Zoku have been a part of the Yoyogi furniture since the early 1990s.
...nado nado...

The "early 1990s"? Oops, off by a decade. They've been there since the late '70s ~ early 1980s (by the time I met them when I worked in Harajuku in 1984, they were an established tourist attraction in all the guide books).
They're a gang-cum-club (at the most 20 guys with a core group of 8 ) who call themselves the Black Shadow (zuku)---not "roller zoku" (which could be the generic way to refer to their style although most Japanese call them "ロカビリー").

That viddy was really well done.
I remember a report on these people back in Oz in the early- to mid-1980s in which they were presented as rebellious youth offering a glimmer of hope for outsiders incapable of settling into Japan:s conformist mode. That video showed not only are they no longer youthful, but that their non-conformance is carried out with conformance....collectively.

[Taro Toporific]

Speaking of "Crazy! Japanese! Fashion!"---This photo was published as "JapanDailyLife"

daily-life.jpeg

"A girl with her facedecorated walks on a street at TokyoHarajuku 2013Jan27"...

[yanpa]

Speaking of "Crazy! Japanese! Fashion!"---This photo was published as "JapanDailyLife"

daily-life.jpeg

"A girl with her facedecorated walks on a street at TokyoHarajuku 2013Jan27"...

Barcodes? Pfft, old hat.. I never prowl the streets of Harajuku without pristine, state-of-the-art QR codes affixed to my cheeks (fore and aft).

[Taro Toporific]

A “respectful*” video about Japan's Decora subculture who wear trashcans of colorful bits junk on their bodies.

Click to play video...

decora-bimbo.jpg

via

[Samurai_Jerk]

A “respectful*” video about Japan's Decora subculture who wear trashcans of colorful bits junk on their bodies.

Click to play video...

decora-bimbo.jpg

via

I learned something very interesting. Apparently Japanese culture values the group over the individual.