Harajuku: Street Couture

Harajuku, the name generally given to the area surrounding Harajuku Train Station, in Tokyo, Japan, is internationally recognised for its extreme youth fashion. Every Sunday sees young men and women indulging in mostly costume pieces of wonderous invention and style. Bursting onto the scene in the Olympic year, 1964, Harajuku fashion encorporates a fusion of Japanese notions of 'cute', 'cool American' and 'British rebellion', thereby blending styles such as Punk, Hip Hop, Hello Kitty, Disney, Lolita, Gothic, Cosplay and other equally fascinating fashion 'sub cultures'. The most striking stylistic movement, and the one that intrigues me greatly, is the Visual Kei. Visual Kei sees ultra dramatic make up paired with artistically sculpted hairstyles and almost androgynous styles. The elaborate and beautifully crafted costumes are one of a kind and often one can not help but be in awe of the creativity and detail.

The Harajuku area is quite literally a crossroad for Tokyo youth fashion, with the two main shopping streets of Omotesando and Takeshita Street. Whereas Takeshita Street caters to an undeniably youth based clientele, with many shops catering to various sub cultures and the street being populated with a number of fast food restaurants, Omotesando stands in sharp contrast. Omotesando has everything classic from Chanel to Prada, yet still aware of its youth market, high end trendy stores such as Nigo's highly sought after A Bathing Ape are also to be found.

For me Harajuku fashion is somewhat of a Sub Cultural Street Couture - taking elements from various styles and creating a piece of art, fully thought out and realised with hair, make up, clothing and accessories. Although I personally would not wear much of it, I like to think of much of it as an inspiration - a small piece or detail can inspire an everyday outfit. I find it refreshing and wonderful to see that places such as Harajuku exist, a place where fashion is free from restraints and people can be truly artisitc in their ideas. The closest I may ever get to such extreme and beautiful styles is probably the t-shirt I'm wearing today -

Currently playing: Teardrops - Massive Attack / We Made It ft. Linkin Park - Busta Rhymes

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