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The street culture of Uraharajuku gives rise to the trends that influence China Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and even the entire world.
Image source: http://sleepwalkingintokyo.wordpress.com
To explain how the world is trendy, we must know what “trend” is exactly.
The word “trend” originates from Hong Kong and it is only used in China Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other areas of ethnic Chinese. There is no corresponding word used abroad; instead, it falls into several classes, such as street fashion, urban fashion, indie fashion, etc. In short, they are terms to refer to what is currently popular in the streets. Compared to high-fashion which is made popular by couturiers, the occurrence, spread and transmission of trend all comes from the street population who originally had nothing to do with fashion.
Such a development should be mainly ascribed to Hiroshi Fujiwara, the godfather of fashion in Japan. He has changed urban fashion systematically, because the street population didn’t feel that there existed fashionable brands for them in the past, and most of them just wore unbranded casual apparel. In other words, street fashion became a “trend” after it was classified and introduced as hype by the Japanese.
In the preliminary stage, it was only the street culture of Uraharajuku, Japan
In the preliminary stage (about 1996-2004), the trend only represented the teen pop (boys, especially) culture dominated by the street pop culture of Uraharajuku, Japan. The now famous brands such as BAPE, Neighborhood, Visvim, etc. were just small clothes shops in Uraharajuku (side streets in Harajuku area) at that time. With the spread and prevalence of the trend, these shops and brands became the trendsetters that stood out amongst the many.
With the emergence of brands created by Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainers after 2004, the trend now refers to teen pop culture, or what is considered “the most popular” or “the hottest” in a particular period is equated to “very trendy”. As to what everyone says that “to be trendy is to follow your heart, do what you want and find your inner voice, etc.”, this is also considered another variation to the meaning of “trend”.
Then, what is street fashion (i.e. the source of trends in China Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan) really about? To sum it up, it is the American street pop culture. (Of course, it has expanded to “European and American” variations.)
The direction of transmission of the current trend is: European and American street pop culture→ Japanese trend→ trend in China Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan. Fashion brands are marketed using concepts such as “co-branding”, “limited edition”, “queue up”, “worn by the stars” , “speculation”, etc., as you can observe from how the current fashion brands operate.
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Famous trendy shops in Uraharajuku: Neighborhood and BAPE
Image source: www.travelishappy.com/harajukutour01.htm、www.freshnessmag.com/
Sense the fashion trend by observing the music trends
Then, what is the trend of world fashion? First, I’d like to share a basic concept with everyone. What is the locomotive that drives the trends of the youth? The answer is “music”. You can have an insight into how trends change by observing the music trend.
In addition, according to my observation, there are several points you will notice about the global fashion trend in the next 3 years.
1. “Vintage Style of Young Adults” inspired by Pitti Immagine Uomo
Actually, the reason is simple. The enthusiasts of the first wave trend are now aged above 25, and they need trendy clothes for young adults. (The birth of MR.BAPE is the best example.) Moreover, the competition in the market for trendy T-shirts, jeans, sneakers, etc becomes white-hot. (Quite a few small trendy brands and shops in Taiwan were closed last year alone.)
Pitti Uomo aims for more exquisite and mature styles.
Image source: www.pittimmagine.com
2. “Prankish style” inspired by Lady Gaga
Exaggerated and strong colorful styles, irregular seams and party-style apparel of the “post-80s” echoes Electro + Rock + Dance, the mainstream style of Club Music at present. The integration of fashion and trend is also the general trend that is taking place.
Not only is Lady Gaga’s music popular around the world, but she has also become a fashion icon.
Image source: stupidcelebrities.net
3. Functional type: “Practical, Minimal Style”
The functional clothing here does not mean special sportswear, but nice-looking leisure wear, such as trendy bicycle clothes and functional fiber clothes that are suitable for daily activities and provides the following benefits: warmth, sun protection, air permeability, antibromic, etc.
More and more sports brands attach equal importance to functionality and sense of trends.
Image source: www.juksy.com
4. Vintage clothing (adapted from classics or classic reborn)
In the fashion culture of Europe, America and Japan, shopping for second hand clothes in flea markets and mixing and matching vintage clothing with new ones is something every trend player would do. In fact, Head Porter Plus, the fashion brand of Hiroshi Fujiwara, and many Japanese trendy brands are copying American vintage clothing, while trendy brands of Hong Kong and Taiwan are following Japanese style.
Even until now, clothes adapted from vintage clothing styles are favored by trendy brands.
Image source: svpply.com
Trend is nothing new. What we witness are real examples of alternative culture becoming the dominant culture. Because the essence of trend is that it is kind of alternative and followed by a minority, there certainly will be another “new trend” to replace it when it becomes the dominant culture. At last, I’d like to share the two most important key words, I think, in the next 3 years.
1. Grow up
As mentioned above, main players of trend are aged over 25. They lead the trend for kid adults. Compared to kidult who never grew up, now everyone is starting to grow up.
2. Classics
This wave of vintage style revives the 50’s-80’s clothing styles and the Japanese magazines even call for reviving the clothes in the 90’s. The classic brands and the most classic, fashionable styles will be given even added value after the test of time. “I can afford to buy, but what do I get? The classics!”