Japanese Street Fashion

Japan took to western fashion only in the middle 19th century. By the 21st century it became what is now known as ‘Street Fashion’. Street fashion is when the wearer tries to make their clothes individual by mixing traditional clothes with current trends. These are usually made at home with only the material being store bought. Styles in Japan today are very varied with a mixture of not only local designs but foreign labels too. The styles are usually avante garde and wild too which is just like the haute couture that is seen on ramps in Europe. The change in fashion model trends has been noted by Schoici Aoki right from 1997in FRUiTS, a popular street fashion magazine in Japan. Today though the hip-hop culture which has always been present in the underground club scene has now merged into mainstream fashion. Because of the popularity of hip hop, the youth in Tokyo have got into the habit of tanning and wearing oversized clothes to resemble their icon. They also consider it freedom of expression where they want to be known as anything but Japanese.

Modern Japanese fashion

Street Fashion has apparently become one of the most popular styles all over Japan today. Outlandish clothes rule in urban fashion areas like Ginza, Shibuya, Odaiba, Shinjuku and Harajuku.

Lolita Fashion

Lolita Styles have very many sub styles such as Gothic Lolita, Sweet Lolita, and Punk Lolita etc and are usually commonly referred to as SweetLoli, GothLoli, and PunkLoli. GothLoli focuses basically on dark shades and Edwardian pieces. Umbrella, Bonnets and big brooches are some of the popular accessories. The Alice in Wonderland style is very big in Japan right now where bags, skirts, tops and accessories all have playing cards printed on them. PunkLoli features a lot of plaid. Wristbands, pearls, big bows, chain are popular. A PunkLoli icon is Nana Kitade who happens to be an extremely popular singer. SweetLoli is inspired by baby doll clothes.

Kogal

Kogal is a subculture where young women who have a large disposable income usually spend it all on music, fashion and other social pursuits. They are usually high school or college going students who are extremely flashy.

Ganguro

Ganguro reached its heights of popularity in 2000. Bleached hair, platform shoes, a very pale tan and bright make up and clothes is how this is usually identified. Followers of this culture wear lots of necklaces, bracelets, rings, platform boots and mini skirts.

Bosozoku

This is portrayed and caricatured a lot in the Japanese media. The depiction of a Bosozoku follower is usually a jumpsuit or tokko-fuku which is like a military overcoat with lots of slogans, no shirt inside, baggy pants which are tucked inside really tall boots and bandaged abdomens. Leather suits with gang logos, dark glasses, headbands and a rocker hairstyle completes this look.

Source : catwalkfashion.co.uk

The Naked Truth About Modeling

Being under the spotlight isn't all glamour. As Sara Ziff discovered, top models also fall prey to sexual predators.

A 16-year-old girl is on her first modeling shoot in Paris. She is unchaperoned and inexperienced. She takes a break for a cup of coffee, and a photographer follows her down the hall. She stops, and he fiddles with her clothes. Then he reaches in between her legs and gropes her. Stunned, the model says nothing. He says nothing. They walk back into the room and finish the shoot.

It's stories like these that stood out as Sara Ziff, a successful runway model, and her boyfriend, filmmaker Ole Schell, began shooting behind the scenes at Ziff's shows. For five years, they recorded parties, castings, inside hotel rooms, and backstage behind the runway as Ziff became the face of campaigns from Calvin Klein to Dolce & Gabbana. What emerged was a portrait of the dark side of the modeling world, one that most people never see: young girls, often half a world away from home, unprepared to handle the sexual objectification and frequent harassment that Ziff says is an all-too-common part of their jobs. Ziff and Schell turned their footage into a documentary, Picture Me, which won the audience award for best picture at the Milan Film Festival last month. Ziff spoke with NEWSWEEK's Jessica Bennett. Excerpts:

Bennett: Were you worried how the industry would react to your film?
Ziff: After the premiere, I figured I might never work again. But if anything, I think [the film] has actually helped my career. A week after the premiere, a casting agent or casting director who was there booked me for a Gap ad. I've gotten e-mails from well-known designers and casting directors and tons of other models, saying, "I'm so glad this is finally coming out, because so many people have these stories." And it's really not that secret. People know these things happen, but they tend to turn a blind eye. And if you don't talk about it, you think you're the only one.

Were you ever put in that kind of position?
I started modeling at 14, after being scouted on the street walking home from school. One of my first castings was in a photographer's apartment downtown. I got there, and there was a line of models waiting at the door. I went in and he asked me to show him my book. I did, and then he said, "Well, this is a bathing-suit story, and it's a little hard for me to picture you in a bathing suit. Could you take your shirt off?" And I thought, "Well, that makes sense," so I did. And then he said, "Can you take your pants off?" And this continued to the point where I'm standing there [topless,] basically totally naked. I was 14. And in hindsight, it's crazy that I was put in that position, but I just didn't know any better.

Did you tell your parents?
No, absolutely not. It was something I had never talked about until recently, even with the people closest to me. For the most part, people on these shoots are completely professional, so no girl who has one or two bad experiences—which she's bound to have is going to call home and say, "Mom, Dad, I just got molested." Because she knows she's going to be on the next bus back to Kansas.

Source: http://www.newsweek.com/id/203516