CONSTELLATION: Session 7: Harajuku Street Style

Posted: March 7, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Constellation | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In this session, we summarised Groom’s (2009) perspective on Harajuku street style.

6dokidokiharajuku20100807690

What are the style statements/influences and how can this be termed post modern style?

The style is self constructed, hyper-real, post modern, eccentric. excessive and exaggerated. The is a “superficiality of posed identity” within Harajuku style. They are not being themselves and are deliberately making it obvious that Harajuku is a role that they are performing. There is no sense of a “real me” an image of the people who wear this street style is projected as they want to be seen, for this to be true, they must be aware of the rules of posing. There is nothing natural about this street style, and fakery is a massive part of Harajuku. The image is adopted “through quotation marks”, just like words are borrowed when they are in quotation marks, so are the parts of this style, this is known as Bricolage, (Hebdige) bringing lots of different objects together and giving them new meanings. They know the original function of the items and change the meaning of them for example – using western childrens toys as fashion items. The style is highly exaggerated and is almost like fancy dress, something you put on and take off. There is no “ideological commitment” in Harajuku, it’s a style, not a message. You don’t buy this look on the highstreet, you make it yourself, “DIY Practice” and are not influenced by whats in fashion at the time. Harajuku is marked by Fusions and Fluidity. It is a fushion of then and now and a fusion of the east and the west. It fits in with Post modern theory as there is a blurring of subcultures and a “supermarket of style” (polhemus). They have taken many different parts from varied places and thrown them all together to make a style. The key to post modern style is that its been deliberately selected and put together.

What is suggested about social and cultural contexts regarding this subculture?

The Birmingham school says that subcultures arise out of a wider condition such as race or gender. Hebdige says that is where the statement lies and forms a reaction against something. Social and cultural contexts are really important, our societies affect the way we think. Groom suggests that formalities exist within japanese culture and the youth have to conform to these formalities when they are in the house by taking their shoes off etc. but when they are not they adopt Harajuku to rebel against these formalities and it is only enacted on the streets or in public spaces. According to Groom, Harajuku is a reaction against the rigid formalities of being at home. However, the youth still live at home so that they have a disposable income to afford fashions and music etc. You still have all the benefits of being young and Harajuku is all about keeping the Childhood alive. The street is a need for escape to get away from parents.

We then went on to analyse to images of Harajuku style in preparation to analyse our own imagery and formulate a case study.

We found characteristics within the image, thought about possible meanings and applied subcultural theory. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to locate the same images that were analysed to I have included similar to show the vast range of style that comes under Harajuku.
Image 1

Harajuku_Girl_5_by_BellKatie

Pink – Girly, Gender coded. Pastel Pink associated with young girls. Western connotations in this style.
Ribbons in hair, Knee High socks with Lace trim – femininity, western school uniform, girly, childish.
Fabric Polka dot skirt – Minnie mouse connotations
Cheap mass-produced  plastic jewellery – excessive, objects that relate to being a little girl – cute rabbit hairslides. Bricolage is occurring here, some of the rules of little girlishness have been selected but elements have been added that do not belong to the style and the meanings have been changed. The hair slides are in the front of the hair whereas their original function is to hold the hair back, changed. The hair slides are excessive and there is a knowingness of this exaggeration which fits in with post modern theory. Grooms theory of “style in quotation marks” comes in here with parts of a certain style being borrowed and paired with new style connotations. Hair – Pink is little girl, but dyed hair is not little girl. This has come from a punk sensibility, there is a fusion of things that don’t belong – Groom, bricolage is again clear. The harajuku in the image given to us was also wearing converse trainers not cute shoes, which again takes away the little girl authenticity. A leopard print back pack was on her back, leopard print is associated with adults and a sexual print. Prostitutes wore it in the 30s and 40s. There is post modern theory evident, a definite “resignification of objects” and a “supermarket of style” (Polhemus).

Image 2

Harajuku1

The second image we analysed was a harajuku girl who had adopted much more of a punk sensibility and less little girlyness and so creating another signature look. There are different styles within Harajuku, it is far more diverse than the punks or the mods or the teds, its more post modern.

Ripped clothing, safety pins – not holding things together, meanings being changed, more retro and evidence of a British punk sensibility.
Brothel Creepers – teds used to wear them. In the 80s the punks and the teds combined together to form psychobillies, there is a psychobillie sensibility here, a “supermarket of style” (polhemus). She is not trying to look like a 1970s punk, she has adopted certain elements from the look. Within the Birmingham School, Hebdige claimed that subculture was rebellion – “resistance through ritual”. Groom says that there is possibly a resistance to rebelling against the formality of japanese Culture and may be why a punk sensibility is adopted by Harajuku.

I had never really looked at the Harajuku street style before this lecture and found it incredibly interesting and quite chaotic as a subculture, I found that there are no strict rules as to what you wear or how you act and it is visually very interesting. I was drawn to the idea that Harajuku girls are hiding the real them and performing and it is definitely apparent, as it is in many subcultures that this style is an escapism, from Japans formalities, but it is like a fancy dress, just for the streets and public spaces and not to be worn at home.

CONSTELLATION: Academic Research Into Subcultures – Session 6

Posted: February 28, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Constellation | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In this session, we looked at two academic research groups – The Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies also known as The Birmingham School and Post CCCS also known as Post sub-cultural Theory.

What are the Characteristics of Subcultures according to the CCCS (The Birmingham School’s) Research?

The Birmingham School feel that Subculture is constructed in relation to a dominant culture and that it always defies society in some way. They state that Subculture is carried and associated with the youth of society and that it emerges when individuals in similar circumstances feel themselves to be isolated or neglected by mainstream society.  They say that subculture has a delicate relationship with the media and was a reaction against it. The school puts high emphasis  class and gender and makes the point that subcultures are derived by working class youths, predominantly masculine rebelling against society and the parent culture (the establishment). This is referred to as “symbolic resistance” (Osbergy, 2004 p.116) – a political or ideological act fighting the system through rituals. Rituals create a group identity mostly through appearance and style, they are how you can spot the punk in the room for example but they also suggest homology and Bricolage. Homology being a set of values and beliefs that are shared within a subculture and Bricolage meaning changing the meaning of objects to reflect these values. The Birmingham school are adamant that Bricolage is a part  of sub-cultural identity. However, there are criticisms of their research.

Criticisms of the Birmingham Schools Research

First of all, saying that working class people only did subculture isn’t accurate. Every sub-cultural gang is a variety of genders, backgrounds, classes etc. What about political statements against the system? Bricolage is evident in subculture but can you not just like a style and experiment with different fashions? They made general assumptions and stereotyped. They didn’t suggest that females were part of subculture whereas for example we know that there was a feminist attitude in punk, punk women defied the Barbie doll look and rebelled against the parent culture by doing so. O’Brien’s work suggests in fact that if women wanted to be equal they were attracted to the punk subculture. Gender Bias is a criticism of the Birmingham School. They oversimplified the complex social make up of many youth cultures but the Birmingham Schools work is important because it says that street style is a valid subject to study and that is their contribution.

What are the findings of Post-CCCS research into Subcultures? (Known as post sub-cultural theory or post modern subcultures)

Post sub-cultural theory refers to subcultures as Neo-tribes.  Neo- tribes allow members to wander through multiple group attachments. The post sub cultural view is that there is a style in subculture but there is not necessarily a political statement or ideology behind it. However, they do say that there is a political statement in attitude, rather than style.  They maintain that you can have punk views and sensibility for example without wearing safety pins and ripped clothes.  The Birmingham School suggested everyone in subcultures has a look and an attitude but post sub-cultural theory suggests that there is a more complex process of selecting style. They state that the boundaries between subcultures are blurred. One week you could have a goth look and the next week you could be dressed like a punk, in their opinion, this doesn’t mean your beliefs have changed. CCCS suggested the fact that you were part of one gang, you followed the rules of a subculture in the 1970s but in the 1990s, the post subcultures said that you could float between cultures. The Post modern approach is that there is a mash-up stylistically, and there can be a mixing of styles. The media is important in their approach. The CCCS said subculture was a reaction against the media but the post sub-cultural view is that the media have always played a part in sub-cultural style and have helped define it,  for examples inspiration from musicians in the media. They say they have a symbiotic relationship – subculture uses the media and the media uses them. Post modern research suggests that subculture is far more fluid with less clear boundaries and less clear identities. The picking and choosing of style is apparent and identities are not fixed by Gender and class. They maintain that you can wear a style without making a political statement.

What unites the Birmingham Schools research and the Post Sub-cultural theory?

Bricolage unites both teams, it is evident in both’s research. CCCS suggests that Bricolage always has a meaning relating to society. Post modernists maintain that people gather objects to create a style and say something about themselves.

SUMMARY: Academic Theories and Terms

(Muggleton, 2000) suggested that subculture is merely a “stylistic game to be played”  committing yourself to a sub-cultural scene is far less evident in the 21st century.

The act of adopting many styles  and creating a mash-up of them is known as a “supermarket of style” (Polhemus, 1995)

Neotribalism  – (Maffesoli,1996) The feeling of togetherness but its is informal and not necessarily because of style. You can have a community, but it doesn’t have to be manifested stylistically. You may be part of a certain community if you go and listen to music and another if you are watching football for example.

Postmodern Spaces – “The airport departure lounge” (Turner,1999) – The Idea that you are only part of a community for a certain amount of time and then you float into another community/identity.

Distinctions between Travelers and Tourists (Sweetman,2004) – suggests that subcultures are one of the other. The travelers follow the rules of one subculture/part of a goth gang for example. The people are still around today but tourists are the ones floating around, hanging around with the goth for a little while and then moving on. Both are in existence. It is not the death of the 1970s subcultures, but 1990s floating subcultures exist alongside them.

Objectified Sub-cultural Capital (Thornton 1995) – Sub-cultural capital is objectified by well made hair cuts and music. Objectified sub-cultural capital refers to the objects that say “I am a punk” for example. (external)

Embodied Sub-cultural Capital (Thornton, 2004) is the idea of being in the know. Using but not overusing slang. Words, Speech and Attitudes. Part of being cool is not making it look like you are trying too hard.

This session was highly interesting and it was definitely beneficial in looking at the research of both groups. In terms of analysing subculture it was valuable to look at the opinions of researchers in the 1970s and the 90s and contrasting them. I would say that the post modern view is a lot more valid today, but without the Birmingham School I may not have been studying subculture anyway as they put across the point that is was valid to study.