Harajuku kids: Japanese Kuro Gyaru Unit Black Diamond in Shibuya

Over a few days I've have been trying to email people who I can interview but no one has gotten back to me so I have found this interview of gyaru which answers some of the questions I needed to be answered. 

Styling Photoshoot

For my styling photoshoot I have decided to style my models in a vintage harajuku inspired look. I have chosen pastel colours for the colour palette because I wanted to contrast the vintage and femininity of gyaru with some western culture. I wanted the outfits to be minimal, vintage and chic which conveys the style that I am trying to show to the audience. 

I tried to recreate the scene in harajuku station where you would normally see the harajuku kids most of the time and the location I have chosen for the photo shoot is on a fun fair/ night market near Waterloo station.  The photograph was taken at night time which shows the beautiful christmas light decoration around the area. I wanted the clothes to be the focus of the photograph instead whole scenery so I ask the photographer if he can blur out the background and focus on the outfit. 

Thanks to everyone that helped me:

Photographer

-Paul

Model

-Mars Sasuique

-Manika Gurung

Hair & Makeup

-Lala Rose

Location location...

Here are some of the places that I thought might look great for the atmosphere/background of the final shoot. These places have vintage and playful sense that I though would relate to my chosen subculture which is vintage harajuku and I thought that it would be great to shoot in.

Fun Fair and night market near waterloo station

Inspiration

These images are some of the outfits that vintage harajuku kids would wear and I found inspiring for the photo shoot. 

Subculture: Harajuku kids

For my chosen subculture I have decided to go with harajuku kids as their diverse style and avant-garde  clothing interest me the most. Harajuku is well known for having produced subcultures even before the 1990s. Japan’s street fashion scenes include a multitude of interesting subcultures, one of the most fascinating is the Harajuku Girls. While the Japanese themselves don’t usually refer to this subculture with this title, the phrase hit the mainstream of American consciousness with Gwen Stefani’s Love.Angel.Music.Baby. album.

The fascination of Harajuku kids stems from their fashion ensembles that reflect sexiness mixed with characterisations. Subcultures of Harajuku kids are sometimes manga inspired like Cosplay, but tend to revolve around genres such as Gothic Lolita, Decro, Gothic Maid, Vintage, and sexy school girl. The Gothic Lolita influence includes Victorian style influences, such as lace, corsets, ruffled hems and collars, and headpieces. However an ensemble of Harajuku kids can easily include a mix of such ideas including corseted tops, maid type uniforms, thick layers in short skirts, soft and furry capes, purses, and charms with animal motifs such as lambs, rabbits, or fawns. Outfits are topped with Little Bo Peep hats, mini maid hats, mini tophats, and crowns, depending on one’s preference of Harajuku kids genre. They can also include thigh-high leggings or intriguing tights, worn with clunky platform shoes. Some are into black gothic ensembles, others into pink.

Vintage

hime gyaru

Decora

different subgroup of harajuku kids

goth 

cosplay

Ganguro's are another subculture under Harajuku. The Ganguro use tanning machines and make up to make their skin as dark as possible. They also bleach their hair and apply pale make up on their lips and around their eyes for a strange panda effect. The Ganguro wear high platform boots, very short skirts in neon colours with gold jewelry. The Ganguro are heavily influenced by hip hop culture that they want to become black. When asked about changing their skin colour some Ganguro girls replied that it made them look healthier, thin, smart and cool.

Ganguro

“Kuro (hada) gyaru” literally means “black skin gals”. Ten years ago, their dark tans (several Black Diamond members actually work at tanning salons) may have led to these girls being labeled ganguro. However, kuro gyaru is a thoroughly modern version of the super-tanned gyaru. When it comes to fashion, Black Diamond’s kuro gyaru members share a love for the Japanese brand D.I.A., with most members wearing D.I.A. items daily.

In recent years, Japanese gyaru magazines like Egg have focused more on the less-extreme shiro gyaru (white skin gals). But Japan’s fashion scene changes quickly and there are recent signs that tans gals may be making a comeback. Egg launched “Foxy egg” this summer, a sister publication that covers the new kuro gyaru boom and showcases sexier, less conservative gals. Soul Sister Magazine also covers kuro gyaru, including running several features on members of Black Diamond.

Black Diamond’s over one hundred members come from all over Japan – from as far north as Hokkaido and as far south as Okinawa. While Shibuya remains the center of gyaru culture (Black Diamond members can frequently be seen on the streets around 109), they also hold meetings in other cities throughout Japan. The basic goals of the group are simple – to support each other through shared interests, to make friends, and to promote kuro kyaru fashion and culture both inside of Japan and abroad.

Kuro Gyaru

As there are a lot of subgroup within Harajuku kids I have decided to go with the harajuku vintage girls because there clothing that they mostly wear are very interesting and it fits more into my style than the other subgroup. I am gonna be doing my styling photo shoot taking inspiration from this subgroup and making it my own.

Beyond Retro is my chosen shop..

Beyond Retro offers variety of quirky and unique vintage style of clothing. Therefore I have chosen this particular store to review on. As I look at the exterior of the shop, it is very different compared to the interiors the shop presents. Amusing retro displays using unique merchandises which creates a dramatic world inside the shop. Their dark and gothic mannequin displays were very eye catchy which allows to create the halloween atmosphere. It lifts up the entire environment boosting the vibe for the customers. 

When entering the shop, the music in the background suits the atmosphere and creates a fun place shop. Overall the sales assistants are very friendly and helpful which makes me more at ease.  

The clothing, accessories and shoes are arrange in different categories, for example colour, style or occasion both for menswear and womenswear depending which are very handy for the shoppers. 

What I love about this store is that it immense unique style of clothing that it offers. The clothes, shoes and accessories in the shop as they are sourced from different era and not mass produced, some are customised in diverse way. 

The type of customer who'd shop here would be the type of person who likes and are interested vintage and people who loves to be individual about the clothing that they wear on daily basis. 

The logo of the shop is simple but eye catchy and bold in it's own way. I think that the clothing sold in the shop influences the logo because of the chosen font style and the use of colour gives off the vintage feel and quirkiness of the whole shop. 

Beyond Retro

Beyond Retro is very different shop out of all of the shops that I have visited so far. Looking from the outside of the shop, it doesn't look very vintage unless you go inside then you'll be able to see all the vintage clothing and the vintage atmosphere that it has. I really like the shop because it's very interesting for me and it also have variety of style clothing in there for me to have a look at.

farfetch.com

Farfetch.com is different from other online shops that I have seen/visited because they have clear and understandable layout for the online shoppers. The online shop reminds me of Selfridges because they have the designers section, womenswear and menswear. It gives off this similar atmosphere as when I was in Selfridges.

Pop up shops

Pop up shop that I came across with while I was in Portobello road. The interior and window display of the pop up shop looks very stylish and feminine which I think would attract the younger age group. The clothing in the shop are more affordable than Selfridges, Topshop or Urban Outfitters. I personally like the friendly and fresh atmosphere of the store and I wasn't intimidated going in and looking around unlike when I visited Liberty and Dover Street Market.

Start

Start is located in a very quiet and calm area where there aren't many people. The interior and exterior of the store is calm atmosphere and simple decoration. I found this store a little similar to the ACNE store in Dover Street because of the same style of clothing that are on the mannequin display and on their rails/shelves.

Bluebird

Bluebird's interior and exterior looks more glamorous than other shops that I have visited for this task. It is very quite and calm because there wasn't many people that were there.