STP'S FAR EAST FEATURE: 2011 TOP 10 FEMALE TRENDS @ TOKYO HARAJUKU

We've talked about Men's Top 10 Trends in 2011 a couple of weeks ago, and now it's time to reveal what the women of Harajuku were rocking last year. Harajuku is one of the fashion hotspots of Japan, it is colourful, bold, and playful. In this little trend report, we can see that the Far East shared some similar trends with the West last year, but in terms of colour and pattern use, Harajuku girls always go the extra mile.

 

See Through

When I think of see through materials, the iconic trend would have to be YSL's 1969 sculpture gowns. Since 2010, this trend was popular among all styles, in 2011, Harajuku girls mainly use it with contrast materials.

Mixed Materials

Combinations of different materials have been introduced by many big brands since the Fall of 2011, and it soon became trendy for the Harajuku girls, who are really good at pulling it off. The denim and leather match was particularly popular.

Tartan

2011 Tartan was big among boys and girls in Harajuku, men wearing kilts, and the women love tartan coats, vintage style is preferable.

Colour Block

 Everybody knows this trend last year, it was very popular before the earthquake struck Japan, but then did not seem to fit with the mood of the country. But the Harajuku girls brought it back to lighten up people's mood.

Volume Coat

This look was seen in many big brands in A/W 2011, Japanese girls generally like oversize knits to contrast their tiny frames. Last year, big sleeves were particulaly popular, with beige, camel, and grey colour to soften it up.

White Tights 

White tights appeared in Harajuku from late 2010, and became more popular in 2011. It represents the lolita spirit which is always popular in Japan, it was also a big element in Bottega Veneta 2011 Fall collection.

Collar

The 'collar trend' was probably one of the most dominant trend last year. Who knew a tiny collar could make such a difference to one's style! Some say the collar trend in Japan began when Princess Diana visited Japan in 1986.

Platform

Following the boys, platforms was big for girls as well. Platforms are always trendy, but you can see a lot of Converse, Dr. Martens platforms last year.

Vintage Glasses

2011, vintage glasses were very popular. They name girls that dare to wear big old school glasses "Akiba Girl" in Harajuku. 

American Apparel Bag

Cool, simple, chic, and cheap, the American Apparel tote bag was very popular among the Harajuku girls, especially the younger crowd.

Source & images from Fashionsnap.com

STP's Far East Feature: 2011 Men's Top 10 Trends @ Tokyo Harajuku

Since I've been living in the East and the West for the past 6 years, it's always an hobby (and also my job) to observate the fashion between both sides. I found a survey done by Japan's street style/ trend report website Fashionsnap.com, and I thought it might be fun to show people last year's top 10 biggest trend in Tokyo's fashion central, Harajuku.

Super Short Shorts

Cotton shorts became popular in 2010, but in 2011, they are even shorter! How short is super short? The key is to be at least beyond the knees. In the spring, summer, Harajuku men were embracing men's hot pants and showing off their lean legs that would even make girls jealous.

Kilt/ Tartan Skirt

Since 2008, man's skirt trend started to appear in Harajuku. Since tartan was a popular element last year, obviously men in skirts became the much more manly, men in kilt.

Side Parting

2011's theme was "Classic", approximately 8:2 ratio side parting hair style was very popular. Maybe Harajuku was also blown by Mad Men's stylish wind?

Bicycle

More and more guys on the street of Harajuku can be seen with a bicycle. The boom happened after the big earthquake struck Japan last year and many people couldn't get home without the metro. Now people are persuing a more fashionable, environment friendly lifestyle. 

Denim on Denim

This late 80s till 90s trend has been popular amongst the girls in Harajuku since 2008, but in 2011, the men are owning this look.

Platform

Men's high heels was a big trend in 2010, in 2011, thanks to Parda's S/S men's platform shoes, Harajuku men tried many different material platforms. This kinda punk-y look was also favoured by girls.

MCM

German luxury brand Mode Creation Munich became one of the hottest brand in Harajuku last year, the reason they became trendy again was because they re-branded themselves to a more street trend brand by collaborating with some of the coolest designers and bloggers from Harajuku. A luxury brand to a street brand, good strategy.

1 Time Fold Up

To give a slim silhouette a final finish is to follow Harajuku's golden "1 Time Fold Up" rule. In the summer guys can show their ankles, in the winer, they chose a bright colour socks to give it a twist.

Sweatpants

How hard is to wear sweatpants cool? It's probably as hard as trying to make a men's brief a fashion item. But it might just be because it's a difficult challenge, it became creative Harajuku men's popular element last year. The important note is to match them with formal wear or harder material. The guys looked quite playful, don't you think?

Sets

The idea is to use flashy patterns but traditional suit wear to create a contrast and bold look. Denim on Denim can also fall in this category, but by using patterns and textiles it's even more advanced. Isn't the old man on the right the pimpest but in the same time the cutest old man you've ever seen?

Source & images from Fashionsnap.com

STP's Far East Feature: What is 'beautiful'?

Japanese model Rinka (37) became the first Asian celebrity to participate for Marc by Marc Jacobs Nude Photo Charity

Yesterday I accompanied someone to a tanning studio. I told a lady behind the counter: “I have never been to a tanning studio before. ” Like many other Far East girls, I would like to be absolutely pale. During the three years I studied in Barcelona, I only went to beach to sunbath once, and I hide under an umbrella!

The models I showed today are all mixed races, and well known in Far East countries. Mix race models are very popular right now, they combine the best features from both East and West. A Japanese magazine called ViVi uses mostly mix races models as their regulars, and their circulation per month is 645,000 copies.

Since whenever, probably after western trends kicked in, girls in Far East want to look like dolls. It means having pale skin, big eyes with long lashes and a tall sculptural nose is the 'standard' of beauty. And no matter how hard some people fight, debate, there is a "mainstream" of beauty is Asia just like everywhere else in the world.

Tsuchiya AnnaFujii LenaHasegawa JunLeah Dizon