The Transformation of Japanese Street Fashion between 2006 and 2011

Abstract

The emergence of Japanese street fashion in the 1990s in young girls has created a notion of generation identity and new fashion styles. Although Japanese street fashion was studied by scholars from multiple-disciplines, little research has been carried-out on its evolution overtime. This paper aims to examine its transition over a five year period from 2006 to 2011, and to explain the factors that led to these changes. In order to follow the transition of street fashion, survey questionnaires were distributed to a total of 1,094 female college students in Tokyo between 2006 and 2011. Further, fashion magazines were studied and surveyed to understand their evolution and the influence on their readers. The findings showed that economic recession in 2007, the fast fashion business, and the fashion models played a significant role in shifting the popularity of each style, and Casual style became the most popular style throughout the years of the study. In addition, fashion styles have merged and became difficult to differentiate by their appearances. Many fashion magazines also added Casual style to their publication. Finally, this paper suggests that teens created their own styles by combining several fashion elements, and as a result new styles such as Ageha and Mori girl were observed in the fashion scenario.