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HARAJUKU_FACE

                                               March 20, 2014

  Consider some of the various dials
  one might turn in the creation of
  a new fashion scene.

        dark or bright;
        simplicity or complexity;
        populist or elitist;
        neat/fussy or sloppy/crude
        craft/homemade or designed/manufactured


  And you might contrive
  others:

         sexuality: blatant or subtle
         gender roles: with or against
         tone: serious or humorous

         historical attitude:
         modern or retro



  Given these parameters,
  one can go down the list
  and classify the Harujku          I think it should be clear
  style--                           though, that you can imagine
                                    different scenes with similar
  Bright, colorful,                 settings that register
  complex, populist,                completely differently:
  neat/fussy, designed...           the essence is not captured
                                    by any obvious taxonomy.
    Some dials are not
    cranked all the way
    over: it is usually
    bright, but dark looks             Populist:
    (goth/punk references)
    aren't shunned; the                Sebastian, the "6% Doki Doki" designer,
    clothes are usually                comments that fashion is traditionally
    bought, but creative               a top-down affair, but it doesn't
    home-mades are not                 have to be, it can bubble up out
    banned--                           of street fashions...  He's apparently
                                       happy to regard himself as a follower,
                                       perhaps an amplifier, rather than a
                                       source of trends.

  The deployment of references:
    o imitation of older trends;      Harajuku is a deranged
    o historical dress;               amalgamtion of references,
    o cosplay of characters;          but leaning more on previous
                                      fashion trends, than things
                                      like historical outfits, or
                                      even cosplay (which one
                                      might think would be a close
                                      relative).

                                                        COSPLAY


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