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TOKYO -- It's easy to watch pop-idol and No Doubt lead singer Gwen Stefani and think her innovative outfits -- from zebra-striped jumpsuits to demure, 1950s-style throwbacks -- and new fashion line, L.A.M.B (Love. Angel. Music. Baby.) come from inspirations all her own.
But many of her flourishes are straight out of one famous Japanese neighborhood, Harajuku. Tokyo's hippest teen and twentysomething hangout district has long been known among locals for its shoppers' outlandish outfits.
A Sunday stroll down Takeshita Street, Harajuku's main drag, gives people-watchers glimpses of fashion trends so wild, it's hard to imagine them ever catching on in the USA.
Yet, lately, fashion designers such as Stefani have been looking to Harajuku for ideas, borrowing not just silk or kimono fabrics, but also corsets and camisoles.
Hello Kitties and Cats
Been dying to dress up in bunny ears and makeup like your favorite cartoon character, and can't wait for Halloween? No problem: Kosupure (Japanese for "Costume play" or "cosplay") is a Harajuku standby. Spend a few hours walking on Takeshita or Cat Street, and you'll see any number of anime icons brought to life, often with full makeup, headgear and skimpy Lycra outfits.
Just as the 1975 cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show brought out Tim Curry dress-alikes and movie-goers toting shopping bags of rice and bread across America, certain anime movies (such as Miyazaki Hayao/Disney films) are bringing out fans in cosplay around the USA, especially in and around universities. Girls dress up as sexy schoolgirls in Sailor Moon uniforms, guys cross-dress as their favorite female cartoon idols or wear full-blown costumes of Japanese superheroes.
The website Cosplay.com lists more than 100 cosplay conventions worldwide in 2006, many of them in the USA.
Mixing, not matching
What exactly is Harajuku style? Its trends defy easy description. How about camouflage legwarmers and matching microshorts with black garters, boots and teeny-bopper ponytails? Sure. Platinum-dyed hair, hot-pink lipstick and piercings? Of course.
What would be jaw-dropping elsewhere is ho-hum in Harajuku. Here, mohawked punks, flower-child hippies and ghost-pale goths are quaintly vintage. Old school, if you will.
Currently, the most popular fashion in Harajuku is a French twist on the Goth look. Dubbed "Lolita" but generally known as GothLoli, it means that in addition to traditional whitened faces, black clothes and hair, you dress like a Victorian-era French maid. Think shockingly short frocks, frills and lace -- and don't forget the matching hairpiece and a parasol.
GothLoli was forged out of anime fantasies and brought into the mainstream by cult movies such as Kamikaze Girls (a mix of Tarantino-esque craze and Amelie-like sweetness). And as anime's popularity grows in this country, so does the GothLoli look among teens searching for a new way to stand out.
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