and... I remember how much people used to complain about how boring the traditional fashion week is in Tokyo, compared to the other fashion capitals of the world, esp as Issey Miyake, Comme de Garcons and Yohji Yamamoto don't even show their collection there. Even if clothes, fashion is not your thing, Tokyo Girls Collection is an overwhelming glimpse into school girl culture and most importantly anyone can go (not just press and buyers).
High school. For many girls, it represents a time of awkwardness and cringe-worthy crushes. In Japan, however, schoolgirls are seen as style mavens. A symbol of youthful freedom, they are a widely exalted as fashion and pop-cultural icons, featuring in manga such as “InuYasha,” anime like “Sailor Moon” and Hollywood movies such as “Kill Bill.” But they’re not just an object of fascination. They also have tremendous power as consumers.
Thanks largely to their parents, they often wield a decent disposable income, and they have an uncanny ability to instigate new trends. So far, they have been responsible for cell-phone charms, loose socks, Pikachu onesies (as street wear, no less), purikura photo booths, Cheki instant cameras and a plethora of kawaii character goods, to name just a few. In fact, even back in the Taisho era (1912-1926), it was schoolgirls who were the first consumers of kawaii items such as prints, cards and umbrellas adorned with designer Takehisa Yumeji’s feminine illustrations.
While researching my book on Japan’s kawaii culture, I saw hordes of immaculately made-up schoolgirls on the streets of Harajuku or Shibuya’s 109 department store after school. Toyoko Yokoyama, vice president of Conomi, a Harajuku-based brand that makes “fashion school uniforms” for girls to wear on the weekends, told me that “Japanese schoolgirls are iconic because they are good at expressing themselves. They know the brand power of being a schoolgirl.” In fact, one of Conomi’s corporate advisers is Shizuka Fujioka, who travelled to places like Thailand as a “kawaii ambassador.” Dressed in Conomi’s preppy outfits, she spread the gospel of Japanese cute culture as part of a soft-power diplomacy project by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2009.
Nowhere is the consumer power of young Japanese girls more visible than at the biannual Tokyo Girls Collection show, the biggest fashion event in Tokyo, which takes place this Saturday. It counts more than 60,000 attendees a year, who pay between 5,500 Japanese yen ($56) to 15,000 yen (around $150) per entrance ticket. On this weekend’s lineup are catwalk shows, entertainment by all-female pop group HKT48, comedians, a Miss TGC beauty contest, and a stage by fashion director (and former Lady Gaga stylist) Nicola Formichetti.
The carnival-esque atmosphere is amplified by the frenzied enthusiasm of a squealing teen audience. It’s in stark opposition to the traditional Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Tokyo, which is largely attended by po-faced buyers and press. Most of the brands at Tokyo Girls Collection are casual labels like the hyper-girly Cecil McBee and Jouetie. Rather than showcasing next season’s designs, the brands allow the audience to buy the clothing shown on the runway in real time. The girls make their purchases on their cell phones via the event’s website, which has over half a million subscribers and 2 million unique visitors per month, according to organizers. The purchased items arrive on the girls’ doorstep the following day.
Many of the 80-plus models and celebrities at this season’s show are half-Asian, such as Japanese-Polish singer and actress Anna Tsuchiya, and Bengali-Japanese-Russian model Rola. Instead of the intimidating fashion models that strut the catwalk at orthodox fashion events, the look at Tokyo Girls Collection is decidedly kawaii – many of the models are no taller than 165 centimeters, and step onto the runway dressed as cheerleaders, carrying giant lollipops or sporting Minnie Mouse-size ribbons in their hair. It is a loud, extravagant six-hour affair that can frankly be overwhelming. But it can’t be beat for a glimpse into Japan’s schoolgirl culture, in all its bedazzled glory.
Manami Okazaki writes about the more colorful aspects of Japanese contemporary culture. She is the author of five books on Japanese pop culture, including most recently, “Kawaii, the culture of Cute” (Prestel UK).
