Japanese Fashion, Film and Flora Flourish in Seattle

By Kimo Friese

SUMMER in Seattle, Washington is in full swing having kicked off with summer solstice events and continuing throughout the summer as long as the beautiful weather holds. Folk, rock and electronic musical events, outdoor film screenings, Shakespeare-in-the-park, and top attractions like Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square, Seattle Center (location of the world famous Space Needle) as well as various open-air artistic and cultural events in the city’s neighborhoods will thrive during the long summer days… and well into the nights.

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Tokyo’s Harajuku District, a fashion paradise where the catwalk got its claws, rivals L.A.’s Venice Beach for uniqueness. So why then does the Harajuku/Omotesando district trump what Venice Beach has to offer?

Harajuku Girls, you’ve got that wicked style

Street Fashion meets the Concrete Catwalk

A fashion center of the world, Tokyo’s Harajuku District has long been renowned for its unique street fashion. Ranging from Gothic Lolita to Visual Kei, Decora, Mori Girl (Forest Girl) and Dolly Kei, Harajuku has been a haven for pop culture trendsetters, helping to launch prominent designers and fashion ideas on the international scene. While not strictly fashion, cosplay (costume play) also emerged from the district to gain world attention. In her 2004 hit song “Harajuku Girls,” American singer Gwen Stefani helped popularize the concept of Harajuku in the Western world and described why she is such a huge fan: “You’re looking so distinctive like D.N.A., like nothing I’ve ever seen in the U.S.A.”

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