Style Dossiers: Sunday’s Best – Harajuku Style
Culture, Style
Harajuku is far more than a stop served by the Yamanote Line in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is a street style movement that has crossed all fashion boundaries, infiltrating some of today’s most renowned fashion houses.
Image courtesy of esquaredfashion.co.za
Harajuku, pronounced [ha-ra-joo-koo] has been a long-standing social event in which young people would meet weekly (usually on Sundays) and parade in their “Sunday best”.
However, what may be “Sunday best” to these young Japanese may not be considered the same in the western hemisphere. For those unfamiliar with the harajuku style, the look usually consists of an excessive array of mismatched garments put together in a not-so-typical manner.
The street style movement is a fusion of several looks and styles which blend to create a very unique getup.
The creativity behind the many faces of Harajuku style has been used as a muse for Gwen Stefani’s clothing line L.A.M.B as well as Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2010 campaign.
Not only has the style been embraced by fashion greats, Harajuku has now become something of a fashion capital catering to the Harajuku lover’s needs by building a number of stores where a wide variety of Harajuku-inspired garments can be purchased.
Although local teens may not think that the trend is as popular today as it once was, fashion fanatics around the world are still flocking to Tokyo in hopes of catching a glimpse of these cyber-punk/gothic/techno/hip-hop/fairytale style sensations!
