The Shibuya 109 Girls Festival 2012 held earlier on May 12th was a total fashion extravaganza! Besides a runway show, attendees were treated to appearances by popular gal models, fashion personalities as well as music performances by Kana Nishino and Korean girl group After School. The runway stage was split into two parts: the first half, “free stage”, included young and up and coming brands like Neon Soda, AGAINST, FIG&VIPER, and mercy; the second, “premium stage,” showcased verteran brands including rienda, SPIRAL GIRL, CECIL McBEE, EGOIST, and LIZ LISA. Those interested can conveniently purchase items from the show here. 

And the timing couldn’t really be more perfect for gal fashion enthusiasts. While the Tokyo Girls Collection has long played host to the likes of LIZ LISA and CECIL McBEE, the majority of its runway lineup for the past few seasons has consisted more of contemporary women’s labels rather than recognized gal brands. Despite this, events like the Shibuya 109 Festival make it clear that there’s still enthusiasm for gal brands—both old and new—as well as the Shibuya fashion culture they continue to shape. 

Check out event photos below:

So much variety! Additional photos can be found here. Now check out these snaps of models Yunkoro, Natsumi Saito, and Nemoyayo, showing off their 109 Festival style (Source).

In the market for a new wig? Take a look at these stylish PRISILA Loves CECIL McBEE collaboration wigs! Modeled by EDGE♥S magazine model Ryo, the collection includes full wigs as well as clip-in extensions and hair pieces. All wigs come with a special branded CECIL McBEE pouch and can be purchased here. 

Cool new casual rock-themed arrivals at the Shibuya 109 e-Shop from (left) VENCE, moussy, and FIG&VIPER. Which are your favorites? 

Minnie mice. 

Cute new arrivals to the Shibuya 109 eShop from brands (from left) JSG, one spo, and ROSE FAN FAN.

Would you like to see weekly posts of new gal items become a regular feature here on our Tumblr? Share your thoughts! 

Marxy has just released part 2 of his excellent “History of the Gyaru” series. As usual, he does a fantastic job of going beyond the clothes and capturing the backdrop of Tokyo in the 90s, from changing social trends to economic indicators and even the rise of the pager. Mandatory reading for anyone into Japanese fashion.

So how would a new kogyaru recruit figure out how to properly dress in the style? When the kogyaru reached mass consciousness in the mid-1990s, there were still no dedicated “gyaru” magazines that worked with “gyaru” brands to show a step-by-step guide on becoming a “gyaru.”

There was, however, a shopping complex with increasing centrality to the subculture. In the early 1990s, both kogyaru and their older paragyaru-type tanned party-girl big sisters had patronized a store called Me Jane in a generally-ignored fashion building called Shibuya 109. Known later in gyaru circles as just “maru-kyu,” Shibuya 109 opened in 1979 but never achieved any level of popularity in its first decade. Fashion business analyst Kawashima Yoko described its early days as “Like Marui, but worse.” With Me Jane, however, the building finally started to attract a dedicated clientele. Soon kogyaru moved beyond Me Jane and started hanging out next door in a clothing store Love Boat and in the shoe brand ESPERANZA (Kawashima 178). The brands all focused on a sexy, summery style, with shirts, for example, that showed off the belly button.

Shibuya 109’s owner Tokyu noticed this sudden interest in their flailing complex and decided to do a “renewal” of the building in the mid-1990s, asking more stores of the kogyaru fashion variety to become tenants. This turned 109 into the gyaru shopping mecca we know today. As kogyaru wannabees poured into Shibuya, they made a beeline to 109 and essentially understood any store in the building as selling “gyaru” clothing. In this period, Me Jane saw double digit growth every year, ultimately making ¥700 million a year in Shibuya alone (Namba 2006).

New coordinates from GILFY. These shots are meant to showcase “set” items you can choose and purchase together here. 

ggggal:

andrejpejicpage:

Andrej Pejic for Duras Ambient.

http://durasambient.beblog.jp/blog/

Wow, japanese gal brand using Andrej Pejic as their model!! :D

GROWZE is new womenswear abel founded by Yukiko and Misaki Kubo, the same Osaka couple behind popular off-brand gal clothing retailer GALSTAR. The brand concept goes something like this:

Women with resilient determination, women who are not afraid to step up to any challenges in life… They are the inspiration to our designers. Basic monotone pattern is enhanced with the carefully selected details, and the sophisticated color coordination completes the signature GROWZE style. GROWZE brand is designed to bring out the refined elegance and self-assurance in every woman.

 

In the end, the most impressive part of all this seems to be the the fact that a Japanese company is making a real effort to expand into a foreign market, not really the clothes themselves. And as the line between East and West continues to blur with brands like GROWZE, part of me wonders what this means for the future of adult gal brands and Japanese fashion in general. Can it really be considered Japanese fashion when the things that often make a brand uniquely Japanese—apart from maybe their business model—start becoming less detectable? Let us know your thoughts!

Sugar pie. 

Popteen model Reipyon (Reimi Osawa) keeps things sweet as she shows off one of several spring hair styles from salon Ankh Cross. Check out the rest here. 

Fun and casual shibuhara-esque coordinates from jóuetie, a newer brand fronted by model twins Ami and Aya (shown above). Various pieces can be purchased here.

This article generated a lot of discussion about the perception of Japanese fashion at anime conventions and other Japanese pop culture events in the Western world.

The new fashion show coordinator of Otakuthon has sent me a response to this editorial.  

harajuju:

Otakuthon is proud to present the Fashion Show! It is a fashion parade that brings together three different categories:  Lolita, J-Pop/J-Rock/Visual-Kei and Traditional.

This is the message that is presented when you visit Otakuthon’s — the Montréal anime and manga convention — page about their fashion show. They were also accepting cosplay entries.

(Read the original full editorial.)

———————

Hello,

I’m Lysandra, the new Fashion Show manager. Last year I was the assistant. I would like to tell you that even though you’ve written this editorial a long time ago, it just recently got my attention. I will not take it in consideration though. Why? Not because I think the show is flawless but because you seem to have missed the point of the fashion show and if I recall, you did not even attend the show itself.

I understand the presentation text might have been a little sloppy, it’s being changed this year because it wasn’t very clear. Plus, you have to know we do not refuse any entry due to the structure nature of the show. It isn’t a competition and even though we try to keep the main focus of the show around Japanese/Japanese inspired fashion and the registered participants must follow certain rules, there will always be a section of the show where the audience is invited to come on the stage to experience the feeling of being under the spotlight.

I understand it may not please certain ”fashion otaku” as you call them but we are aiming toward a more general audience. 

Thank you,

Lyly

Hi Lyly,

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to respond to our article. I hope you don’t mind that I will be delivering my response publicly — after all, I consider this something of a public interest rather than a private conversation between you and I.

Firstly, no, I did not attend the show. But you know, there are a lot of things in life that I have not personally experienced but have been able to form an opinion on. I have never gone parachuting because I think it seems pretty scary, for example. That said, I did see photos from the show and got opinions from others. I’ve also been to fashion shows at a multitude of other conventions (the original editorial, while inspired by Otakuthon, was a look at convention attitudes towards Japanese fashion in general). Largely, these things strengthened my viewpoint on the matter.

Perhaps you are right, though. Perhaps I did miss the point of the show. You see, I was under the impression that the point of a fashion show was to present styles of clothes for public perusal. In the case of a convention fashion show, I would hope the point would be to expose the incredibly interesting and diverse world of Japanese fashion to an audience who might otherwise never have the chance to experience these garments firsthand. Is that correct?

If it is not correct, then what is the purpose? I’m all for people feeling good about themselves, but just because something is for a general audience doesn’t mean you need to reduce it to pointless circle-jerking. If anything, the fact that it is for a general audience should re-enforce the need to have a laser focus. A general audience might be experience Japanese fashion for the first time. They deserve to be shown more than just lolita and decora and whathaveyou. There is more to Japanese fashion than bright colours and over-accessorizing. In fact, if you actually look at what was shown at Japan Fashion Week, you’ll find very little of that.

That’s not to delegitimize these styles; ultimately they have their well-earned place in the melange of Japanese street fashion. But this is an audience that has paid to go to a convention and used their presumably precious time to sit down and see what this Japanese fashion thing is all about. In my opinion, they deserve more.

If you would like to discuss what can be done to give a more true-to-life presentation of Japanese fashion, I’d be more than happy to do so.

brad-t

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