Shibuya, the city of fashion and music | Online Clothing in Japan

Shibuya, the city of fashion and music | Online Clothing in Japan

 

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 What do you think about "Shibuya" when you hear? I'm sure you can think of various things such as "young people," "neon," and "flow of people at scrambled intersections." For those of us who were born and raised in Tokyo, it was, first, coming up with the "Friends' gathering in front of the Hachi's Statue" and go shopping and enjoying music at each destination. Indeed, Shibuya has the reason why it is called a "sacred place" where fashion culture has taken root along with music. We will introduce the charm of Shibuya in chronological order.

1925-1939: The time when the trend of people in Tokyo began to shift from Ueno / Asakusa to Shibuya. From this time, the Tokyu Group developed Shibuya and opened the origin of current Tokyu Department Stores. Its development has changed the trend so far. By the way, it was around this time that the statue of Hachiko* was made.

*Digression: About the dog "Hachiko"

In 1925, Mr. Ueno, a professor at the University of Tokyo and the owner of "Hachiko," had died suddenly at work. Many people could be impressed by the appearance of "Hachiko" who kept waiting for the owner to return to Shibuya station. The statue had built in 1934 with the cooperation of these many people. Unfortunately, in 1935, Hachiko had departed to another world to be met his beloved owner again. "Hachi" until his death had kept waiting for the owner to return in front of Shibuya station for 10 years.

1940-1950: The Tokyu Group reconstructed the area around Shibuya Station, which became a burnt field in World War II, at a rapid pace.

1950s: The Tokyu Group further developed Shibuya by constructing a planetarium and a cable car for children, making the area around Shibuya Station a "large facility for children to enjoy." From around this time, it became known as "Tokyu's Town Shibuya".

1960s: One of the reasons for "Shibuya, a city that never sleeps" was the large-scale development at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The vast land where the U.S. Forces Japan facilities were located was returned to Japan, where were built up the National Broadcast Center and the Olympic Village (now Yoyogi Park). In the latter half of the 1960s, the Seibu Department Store finally opened in the town of Shibuya.

Early 1970s: Since the 1970s, the Saison Group, which has created many trends in Japan, has begun full-scale development in Shibuya. Seibu Department Store, the main store of the Saison Group, opened in the late 1960s, and Shibuya Parco opened in 1973. After that, the year when the Saison Group opened "Loft" and the Tokyu Group opened "Tokyu Hands" and "Shibuya 109". The development competition between the Saison Group and the Tokyu Group has begun in earnest.

Mid-Late 1970s: With the full-scale entry of the Saison Group into Shibuya in the early 70's, the fashion source of young people in Japan changed from "Shinjuku" to "Shibuya", and the many young people who enjoy fashion with multicultural and free ideas was gathered. With this trend, the Saison Group quickly noticed up-and-coming Japanese designers, and the Saison Group created a big phenomenon like “DC (Designers & Characters) brands” or "Mansion Makers".



<Some designers called as "mansion makers">

Comme des Garçons (Designer: Rei Kawakubo), Y’s (Designer: Yoji Yamamoto), Issey Miyake (Designer: Issey Miyake), BIGI (Designer: Takeo Kikuchi) Etc.                                                                                         

Early 1980s: At this time, the popularity of "mansion makers" became full-scale and became the mainstream of Japanese fashion. The Saison Group, which gained momentum, opened one after another the concept stores "Shibuya Parco Part 3" and "Space Part 3" that propose lifestyles in general, and grabbed the hearts of many young Japanese people.

Mid-1980s: At the time when the Japanese bubble finally reached its peak, the popularity of fashion buildings such as "PARCO" and "Marui" reached its climax, and when the bargain sale began, there was a phenomenon of long line.

Late-1980s: Sorry to keep you waiting. Speaking on the origin of "Shibu-Kaji" is in Shibuya. The history of "Shibu-Kaji" begins at this era. "Shibu-Kaji" is a fashion that incorporates the American casual style that originated in the town of Shibuya.

<Specific "Shibu-Kaji" items>

Adidas Superstar, MA-1, Engineer boots, Chemical wash jeans Etc.

Furthermore, during this period, select shops such as "Beams" and "Ships" and many import shops opened in Shibuya, and "Shibuya-Kaji" became quite sophisticated. Among women, the "Safari Fashion" advocated by "Banana Republic" (commonly known as Bana-Repa) became popular.

<"Shibu-Kaji" items after refinement>

Fred Perry's polo shirt, Hanes T-shirt and Hoodie, Levi's 501, Painter pants, New balance sneakers, Native Indian moccasins, Work boots, Louis Vuitton bag, Outdoor bag. Etc.

  At this time, clubs and others were still concentrated in "Minato Ward". The situation has changed a little since the 1990s.

1990-1992: The second term "Shibukaji" was born. There are two styles born during this period, "Kirekaji" and "Hard American Casual". Here is a concrete example.

<About “Kirekaji”> Wearing Ralph Lauren items are a status

Specific Items: Navy blue blazer, Tartan check bottoms, Black watch shoulder bag, Button-down shirt etc.

 Around this time, private junior high and high schools in the 23 wards of Tokyo started renewing their uniforms to "Kirekaji" in order to attract students.

<About “Hard American Casual> With the style of wearing bell-bottoms/boot-cut jeans, Native Indian jewelry, Cowichan sweaters, etc., men's long-haired styles have just started to become popular from this time.

 After that, hard American casual fashion became skater fashion, changing from leather shoes to VANS sneakers. The rapid development of such "Shibu-Kaji" changed the way further at this point.

1993-1995: With the collapse of Japan's bubble economy and the end of "Shibu-Kaji", a new music culture called "Shibuya-kei sound" was born, which plays fashionable and urban sounds. Along with that, fashion trends had begun to change from American casual to French casual. In the town of Shibuya, large stores such as HMV and Tower Records and maniac record stores have expanded one after another, and many music lovers have come to gather. What was the popular "Shibuya-kei sound" at that time?

<About “Shibuya-Kei Sound>
There had been a band boom in Japan since the 1980s. However, in the 1990s, it had been a music of a genre created by advocating "Complete Music Principle" had influenced and been popular by a wide variety of genres around the world.

<Main genres affected>
House, Hip Hop, Soul Music and Lounge Music

<Representative musician of Shibuya-kei sound>
Flipper's Guitar, Pizzicato Five, Original Love, Hideki Kaji, etc.
.

 Young people who were addicted to Shibuya-kei sounds all imitated Shibuya-kei Musician's fashion style and wore French casual clothes such as "agnès b." and "A.P.C". Here are some specific French casual fashion items.

<Specific French Casual Fashion items>
agnès b. cardigan, agnès b. border shirt, A.P.C. jeans, Beret etc.

 It was the peak of popular "live houses" in the town of Shibuya from this time, but the tendency has gradually changed since the latter half of 1995.

Late-1995 to Early-2000: During this period, the popularity of Namie Amuro, an Asian diva born in Japan, became popular, and fashion changed from French casual to "Gal" fashion. What kind of fashion items did the young women who worshiped Namie Amuro as "the god of music and fashion" enjoyed the time?

<Specific “Gal” Fashion items>
Brown hair, Tanned skin, Miniskirts*, Loose socks, Platform boots, Platform sandals etc.

 *I remember that Burberry was especially popular for miniskirts.

 In addition, the "Gal" fashion of this period is named "Amurer" fashion. It was also during this period that the record company "Avex", to which Namie Amuro belonged at that time, gained momentum, and became popular with musicians who could perform full-scale dance such as TRF. Musicians belonging to this record company influenced the young people of Shibuya as "Japanese Fashion Leaders" from this time.

Early-2000 to Mid-2010s: Then, the development of the town of Shibuya progressed further, and IT companies' office constantly moved into Shibuya one after another. Along with that, the "Gal" fashion had become even more radical, the skin color had been baked from "wheat" to "quite black", the ornaments had adopted POP colors. Their color of hair had also changed from "Brown" to "Glittering Color" like Silver. The radical fashion had influenced men, and the "Galuo" style had emerged, which burned the skin as much as women. Here, we will introduce some items to see how fashion has changed.

<Specific “Gal” Fashion Items>
Glittering Color hair, Extremely Tanned skin, Miniskirts*, Super Loose socks, Platform boots, Platform sandals etc.

 Gals at that time were commonly called as "Yamanba". The meaning of "Yamanba" is said to be the ghost of an old woman who lives in the depths of the mountain. Now, I would like to introduce the fashion items of "Galuo".

<Specific “Galuo” Fashion Items>
Either Long or Medium Length Brown Color hair, Either Extremely or Normal Tanned skin, Overall slim and slender (tight) clothing, Many black clothes in winter season, Large sunglasses, Prefer either animal print or monotone letter graphic T-shirts, Attach lots of accessories, Engineer boots, Pointed shoes etc.

 Around this time, the number of "live houses" in Shibuya decreased, the number of "clubs" where DJs made sounds increased, and DJs from all over the world began to play an active role in Shibuya. Then, there were also signs that a new "flow" will be born in Shibuya.