Far Eastern culture is big. Japanese entertainment made a big splash in the US and the ripples are being felt on this side of the Atlantic. In fact, Eastern flavours have been leaking their way on to our collective palette in many places. From manga cartoons and comics to films, music, food and culture it's difficult not to feel the Eastern influence.
It's even having an effect on the alt fashion scene in the UK, the colourful, cartoonish clothing mixing with goth and punk clothing and accessories to produce some vibrant and beautiful hybrids. To fully appreciate these alternative clothing styles, it's easiest to go to the source. So below, we've put together a beginner's introduction to Japanese Sub Culture for you:
Goth Lolita Clothing:
Probably the most heavily adopted in the West, Goth Lolita is a very smart, sophisticated look. Starting with a milky-white complexion, bonnets, frills and childish Victorian accessories, the look is completed with corsets, hair ribbons and the occasional filly parasol. The effects on UK alternative clothing and fashion can be seen from the punk rock denizens of Camden to the accessories and clothing worn by the kink community.
Ganguro Fashion:
An ironic nod to the Eastern obsession with blonde Western women. This look flies in the face of traditional alternative clothing conventions. Hair is dyed peroxide blonde, dark tans and white eye-shadow mimic the skin of the tanning-booth obsessed Westerner. Band t shirts in vivid and bright colours adorn the torsos of the Ganguro Girls. A far less adopted look, the irony here seems to be lost on the Western alternative clothing scene.
Visual Kei Goth Clothing:
Visual Kei emerged during the 1980s and the colourful alternative make up styles echo the flamboyance of the decade. Pioneered by the distinctive clothing of alternative J-Rock band X Japan, emphasis is on vibrant colour, exciting make-up and blending punk and goth clothing and accessories to create a crowded, busy look. A hit in the West, the strains can be felt strongly in the UK fetish clothing industry and the bright custom shirts of nu-wave punk.
A small taster of an exciting and vibrant sub-section of alternative clothing. For more information consult your local library, alt scene or punk rock clothing boutique.
