Harajuku Fashion is Dead! Is Jfashion As a Whole Dying?...

Hello Hello, Lil Buns!

Just some personal thoughts on the major news in Jfashion...

  

The Jfashion world has shook again.

In recent news, two more major Jfashion publications - Gothic & Lolita Bible and KERA have announced they will no longer have paper publication.

As far as I know, from what I've read on different sites, KERA will continue on through digital publishing while GLB will just end. I'm not sure if this is really the end for the latter but Jfashion fans around the world are going crazy.

For those of you that don't know, KERA is a Japanese publication that captures all of the latest trends in Harajuku while Gothic & Lolita Bible covered everything Lolita and the like.

It came off as a surprise to me but at the same time it didn't. I have heard that because Harajuku has become a major tourist spot, many of the residents that used to thrive in the area with the different fashions have stopped frequenting there. People are looking for them but I don't think they want to be found to be photographed like they're part of an exhibit. I think because of this, many of these publications lost their content for their magazines. 

It probably also doesn't help that all of the oldschool fans have either stopped dressing up or "graduated" to something more suitable for their age. Maybe they've also just wanted to live their lives and not through social media. Though personally, I don't think fashion has an age limit. You should be able to wear what you want that makes you feel your best and happiest. And it's completely fine if your taste changes. Just as long as you dress for yourself.

Another issue I've noticed is that many people in Japan have started dressing in more "boring" and "normal" clothing like what we have in the west. Whereas everywhere else in the world, Jfashion lovers are gravitating to the original looks of Lolita, Gyaru, Fairy Kei, etc. 

Which brings me to my next thought...

You'll notice in older magazines the majority of Jfashion styles were greatly influenced by western cultures. But they were then adapted and tweaked. Now, it's the other way around. Those of us outside of Japan are craving Jfashion and wanting to do what they did in the past. I have also heard that it used to be "made in Japan, worn in Japan" but now it's "made in Japan, worn outside of Japan."

But would that be enough to save the fashions and the magazines?

☆POINT☆

Harajuku fashion and Jfashion are not dead or dying.

Even with many publications having been shut down, including gyaru's own EGG and even temporarily Ageha, we are still actively participating. In and outside of Japan, there are still people that love all of these different styles. Some brands have finally taken notice that many of their customers are overseas and are looking to expand or have done so already.

☆POINT 2☆

In this fast-paced digital world, publications of any kind can have trouble.

It's much faster and easier (and sometimes cheaper) to just click a link on our computers, phones, tablet, etc. than to buy a magazine. 

☆POINT 3☆

Fashion is always changing.

It's always evolving and moving with the times. While I do miss the oldschool looks of Gyaru and wish they were all still in stores, I can still appreciate a lot of the aspects of the looks of today. And I can do my own looks using what I know and what is available to me.

So do I think the fashion is dying?

Nope.

I think it's far from dying and it's just going through a transition right now to keep up with our lives. Your favorite style will always be around as long as you believe it does and participate in it. Even if you're the only one, it will still exist! 

How do you feel about what's happening? 

Let me know!

That's all for now! See you next time!

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