- Title: JAPAN: 15,000 fans attend first annual Tokyo Runway's "real clothes" fashion show
- Date: 20th March 2012
- Summary: SIGN IN ENGLISH READING "TOKYO RUNWAY 2012 SPRING/SUMMER" (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MODEL AND ACTRESS NATSUKI KATO SAYING: "I believe that Japan, as a fashion leader, with this fashion show has the potential to cross over internationally." (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) MODEL ANN NAKAMURA, YOUTUBE SENSATION KYARY PAMYU PAMYU AND NATSUKI KATO POSING FOR CAMERAS CAMERAMEN TAKING PHOTOS MORE OF NAKAMURA, KYARY PAMYU PAMYU AND KATO YOUTUBE SENSATION KYARY PAMYU PAMYU OVERSIZED PINK NECKLACE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) KYARY PAMYU PAMYU, YOUTUBE SENSATION SAYING: "Well, what makes Harajuku fashion is how the girls' choose to represent themselves with confident in a way that's enjoyable , and not just in a 'cute' way, but with some edginess as well. For example, I have eyeball and bones on my outfit, it's not just 'cute' but a bit dark as well." SIGN IN ENGLISH READING "TOKYO RUNWAY" (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) NAMIKO MURAKAMI, TOKYO RUNWAY ATTENDEE SAYING: "There are a lot of (street-wear) bloggers that have become quite popular, I think clothes associated with lifestyle or street-wear brands are very trendy now." (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) AYA HIRAHATA, 28-YEARS-OLD, TOKYO RUNWAY ATTENDEE SAYING: "A lot of my non-Japanese friends always tell me that Japanese people are so stylish. I think it would be great if more and more people knew about our fashion." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING THROUGH THE STREETS OF POPULAR TOKYO FASHION AND SHOPPING DISTRICT SHIBUYA
- Embargoed: 4th April 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan, Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA1CCGGUXFUHPAT3Y49GTFOHO5L
- Story Text: 15,000 fans attended the first annual Tokyo Runway's street wear fashion show in Tokyo on Tuesday (March 20) as their favourite models and celebrities walked the catwalk with ready-to-wear styles for Japan's trendy savvy youth.
The fashion extravaganza featuring runway shows of popular domestic brands as well as a few select overseas brands was a 5-hour event including live performances and special guests designed to please the chic young adult market in the greater Tokyo area.
Opening up with well-known domestic brands 'Sly' and 'Lily Brown' the thousands of girls packed into the Yoyogi national gymnasium on the Japanese national holiday screamed as their favourite celebrities and models walked across the stage.
The show aims to make the high-fashion runway experiences available to "real clothes" consumers, the first volume of the Tokyo Runway introduced the 2012 Spring/Summer style trends.
While Tokyo has long-since been recognized as a fashion capital, its ready-to-wear brands also hope to cross into the international scene with the Tokyo Runway show, an event that falls right in the middle of the high-fashion 'Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week' but represents daily wear instead of avant-garde garb.
"I believe that Japan, as a fashion leader, with this fashion show has the potential to cross over internationally," popular actress and model, Natsuki Kato said.
For many in the overseas audience, Japan's most well-known fashion trends come from trend setters like youtube sensation and "kawaii" Harajyuku fashion icon, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu who represent the colourful and unique subculture street fashion that varies from gothic to maids to outfits that look like they came straight out of a futuristic anime.
"Well, what makes Harajuku fashion unique is how the girls' choose to represent themselves with confidence in a way that's enjoyable, and not just in a 'cute' way, but with some edginess as well. For example, I have eyeballs and bones on my outfit, it's not just 'cute' but a bit dark as well," Kyary Pamyu Pamyu told Reuters in a one-on-one exclusive sit-down interview backstage in her dressing room.
The recent worldwide popularity of Japanese street-wear has been pushed forward by youtube celebrities such as Pamyu, but also through the increasing number of multilingual bloggers and photographs concentrating on street-wear style and often snapping pictures in the streets of Tokyo and Shibuya.
"There are a lot of (street-wear) bloggers that have become quite popular, I think clothes associated with lifestyle or street-wear brands are very trendy now," Namiko Murakami said when asked about why she thought Japanese fashion had gained such an international reputation.
And the stylish Japanese youth have not gone unnoticed.
"A lot of my non-Japanese friends always tell me that Japanese people are so stylish. I think it would be great if more and more people knew about our fashion," 28-year-old fashion enthusiast Aya Hirahata who came out to watch the Tokyo Runway with her boyfriend said.
All domestic brands featured at the Tokyo Runway can be found in department stores and stores across the nation. Flagships in Shibuya often feature limited edition items to appease the 'fast style' fashionistas that turn over their closets as quickly as the brands deliver new items to store racks. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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