 PC: Manuel Figueroa  PC: JRockinLA Takeru, lead singer of the visual kei band SuG and designer of million dollar orchestrA, and Taro Hanbusa, designer of custom jewelry brand fangophilia, teamed up for a pop-up shop event in downtown Los Angeles. million dollar orchestrA is a “street gothic” Japanese fashion brand started in 2010 and fangophilia is a custom-made silver jewelry brand with a “body modification” concept - a perfect pairing for the pop-up shop. The event was held across two days, Saturday May14th and Monday May 16th from 12:00 PM until 8:00 PM at The Well in Los Angeles, California. An interesting choice in venue, The Well is home to a boutique and hair salon during the weekdays and the back becomes a party area on the weekends. Upon entering The Well, attendees of the event had to walk past the boutique to the back of the room to find the fangophilia and million dollar orchestrA pieces. A flyer notifying fans of the minimum purchase requirements for fan activities was the first sign that this area was for the pop-up shop. A minimum purchase of $200 was necessary in order to get a picture with Takeru, though any purchase would get one an autograph, and time to speak with him. There were two racks full of clothes from million dollar orchestrA’s eigth and newest line, “VIRGIN”. The pieces were all in shades of black, grey, white, and pink and they were mostly in the form of long flowing shirts and hoodies. Of the more stand-out items was a stylish black leather jacket that was seen being worn by mstr_of_disguise on Takeru’s Instagram. For those that are fans of Takeru’s band SuG, you will notice that “VIRGIN” is also the name of SuG’s most recent mini album that dropped on March 9th of this year. The influence of Takeru’s musical profession can be seen further in the pieces themselves, with one shirt in particular that had the word “SICK’S” (a song off their “VIRGIN” album) patched across the entire piece.  PC: JRockinLA Directly across from these hangers was a bench divider that was the backside of the hair salon but also served the purpose of displaying both the professional shots of each clothing item and the physical “VIRGIN” line jewelry pieces. There was a set of dangling half-heart earrings with the letter “fa” etched on one and “te” on the other so that when the earrings are placed next to each out they complete a heart with the word “fate”. Silver necklaces and bracelets were among the other custom designed jewelry with a lover’s flair that Takeru had designed. The centerpiece was an event special item that was a collaboration between Takeru and Taro - a whole finger ring with the word “VIRGIN” inscribed across the middle. Continuing down the divider, Taro Hanabusa’s fangophilia products could be found at the far end. Sporting classic fangs, teeth grills, and nail rings, the collection also had more uncommon face pieces and even a full metal hand. Fangophilia’s founder, Taro Hanabusa, is originally a dentist from Japan who began making fangs (hence the name fangophilia) and finding that he had a talent and passion for it. Now his brand has been worn by recognizable names such as Nicki Minaj, Lady GaGa, CL (Korean band 2NE1) and GDragon (Korean band Big Bang). He admits that almost 95% of his customers are from overseas which is why his Instagram is vital for reaching his international client base (@fangophilia). And if all of this was not enough, attendees of the event might have been treated to the sight of Taro lightheartedly playing catch with the hair salon’s Yorkshire terrier – a physical representation of the excitement and memorable experience that the fans attending had gained that day. -Christina (JRockinLA)  PC: JRockinLA For More About The Brands:
million dollar orchestrA: http://million-d-orchestra.com/ fangophilia: http://fangophilia.com/  A few weeks ago, I received the amazing and exciting opportunity to guide around Japanese fashion idol Shoushi Ogawa throughout the great city of Los Angeles! So he had arrived at noon on a cloudy March 12th at the greatly confusing LAX airport. He was kindly picked up by our voluntary chauffeur of the week, Beari King, and our very generous photographer, John Woo. We later met at the small Little Tokyo Hotel where I was greeted downstairs by our trusty food guide Jamie Lee. I was ecstatic, nervous, but excited. My heart was racing and I was unsure of what to expect. Would he be kind and talkative? Would my crappy Japanese be enough? Every thought in my head suddenly stopped when I spotted Shoushi's lime-green glitter platforms and pale purple braids. We were quickly introduced as he was taking his bags into the small room. There was a slight language barrier but regardless we were able to comfortably talk and plan out the week. He had a large number of pages bookmark in a small California guide booklet and was adorably excited to start his busy vacation. His priority was flea markets and vintage shops as he planned to open a new online store in April. We made sure to get the job done as well as introduce him to new and exciting locations. We began our first day, a late afternoon, at our first stop in Hollywood. The look on his face made me feel as excited as he was. The very innocent and gentle vibe he gave off added to the enthusiasm we all carried. He made stops to many stores including The Sweet Shop where he picked up a few Oscar souvenirs for his mother and brother. As nervous as we were we realize that we had forgotten to eat! Our usual cravings or not, it turned out all that Shoushi wanted was big hearty American food.  After a brief stop at IHOP we made our way back to the hotel using the metro rail. The sun had set and we were growing tired. It was quite fun teaching him how to use a TAP card (used to ride Los Angeles' Metro system), the confused look on his face was adorable. As we reached Union Station, Shoushi continued to talk about how jet lag and absolutely tired he was. He was amazed at how big the city was and wanted to do the most he could fit into his short week here. I said my goodbyes to him as we exited the train. That first hug is always awkward but it was quite funny and sweet. I left John and Jamie to escort him back to the Little Tokyo Hotel and made my way home. I was incredibly sleepy but satisfied. That was only our first day. Our series of adventures continued as we introduced him to Universal Citywalk and Koreatown two days later. He had found a life-size cardboard cutout of K-pop band EXO and was adorably excited to take a picture with it. That same day, a nice young girl had recognize him and asked to take a picture. It was pretty interesting to witness. Shoushi in general and he was very lovely to talk to. The verbal culture change was amazing as well. He was very jet-lagged, but still managed to have the energy to walk around the entire city (even down to Long Beach!). A few days afterward, we exerienced our most exhausting day yet. It started with a quick trip to the post office. John and I spent hours helping him send items back to Japan. As we filled out paperwork, he would strut back and forth as if the place where a catwalk from time to time. A mini break it seemed. The stares we would get from the others waiting in line made it quite amusing. We later escorted him to a friend's house where he would stay the night. Exhausting as it was it was still worth it to me. The others escorted him around some remaining days while I was busy with school and work. My last day with him fastly approached as we hit up the Melrose Flea Market on Friday of that same week. John and I walked around Melrose Avenue while Shoushi visited some different stores around the area with a new friend. When we later met up again, we decided to grab some food at Little Tokyo Hot Pot Galaxy where Jamie had also met up with us to eat. After the short uber ride there, we sat down in the restaurant where we talked about what he wanted to do for his last day here. It was about 7 PM so we didn't have much time, but we did our best to make the most of it. He was really excited about LA Fashion Week. Although he didn't receive an invitation, he was still hoping to make it to the after party that night. After we stuffed our faces with ramen I asked, probably for the fifth time, if we could please head over to the mall (The Little Tokyo Galleria) and take some purikura. It was really all I wanted that week, but we were so busy. We quickly rushed over to the mall before it closed and took our cute photographs. The machine was dying but after a few kicks it started working just fine. I was pretty surprised to find out that purikura in Japan were only about $4 compared to the $10 here and that the templates the machines used were at least 10 years old. After a bit of fun at the Galleria, we finally called it a day and called up an uber to head to Jamie's house where we would all stay the night.  Expecting to go immediately to bed, Shoushi began getting ready for this LA Fashion Week after-party. We were pretty shocked. We didn't actually think that he was actually going. Regardless, I was excited that he was excited and was super glad he had a chance to go out one last time before he left the next morning. He left for the party at around 11 PM, all glammed up and such. I felt like a mother letting her son go out for the first time. The hours passed slowly as Jamie and I decided it would be best to wait until he was back home safe. I mean, we all know how dangerous LA parties can get right? Especially with strangers and all.Though our bodies were half-asleep, we were fully woken up by a call to open the door as Shoushi had finally made it back. It was 4 AM and we were very tired. After making sure everything went alright we finally got some shut eye.
The sun came up and morning had arrived when we quickly woke and realized it was a bit late not to rush through our goodbyes. We had about an hour to help him pack everything up and get him to a friend's house where he would then get a ride to LAX. As saddening as it was, I was relieved the week was over. I was tired from going out almost everyday, morning to night. I knew I would forever be grateful. I left a bit earlier than him since I had to catch a train home. The last few hugs were anything but awkward and it was lovely to hear him talk about how much fun he had one last time. I was happy that he got to explore this great big city and without a doubt would do it all over again if I could! -Kaz
Primer: Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Eyeshadow: Urban Decay Electric Palette. I used Thrash, Slowburn, Urban, and Jilted. Gonzo on my eyebrows. Lashes: Daiso bottom lashes and Forever 21 "21k Collection Exclusive" top lashes. Eyeliner is Kiko Milano Long Lasting Gel Eyeliner in Black. No specific brand-brushes used! I use cheap store brand blending and eyebrow brushes that can be found at Rite-Aid WARNING: Use Slowburn, Urban, and Jilted at your own risk. May cause eye irritation. -Kaz   It's the year 2016, and fashion has taken quite a turn, especially having a great influential inspiration from a magical land called Japan. In other words Harajuku Fashion. “Harajuku Fashion!?” we asked ourselves, but that's just a common term that has been adopted over the year. Let's take a deeper look into this different substyles that we have all spotted from the streets all the way to social media. The Mean Streets (1960s-late 1970s): During this time we see young girls start to say “f***k the system” and rebel in terms of standard fashion. The common terms were “yanki, “bosozoku” and “sukeban”. Girls and boys would sport personalized school uniforms, motorcycles gang trappings, and flags with embroidered symbols (sometimes representing a biker gang) and such. The street tough aesthetic went beyond clothing sometimes as well.
Dancing Revolution (Early 1970s-Mid 1980s): This substyle is possibly the reason why Harajuku became a popular location for teens to hang out at. The style was made up of colorful beads, whistles, bows, neon baggy clothes and of course you couldn't leave home without your boombox. The style was called Takenokozoku, a term that came from a shop called Takenoko. Many of these groups would often been seeing dancing to the rhythm of the music on their radios in the streets of Harajuku.
Artsy Gals (Early 1980s-Late 1980s) In the early 1980s an indie record label called Nagomu was funded by a vocalist of a band called Uchoten. It did not become an actual craze until early 1983 when Nagomu Gal was born. It was inspired by punk, Vivienne Westwood, alternative rock, and grunge. However this term wasn’t exactly positive. In reality a Nagomu Gal was viewed more as an annoying groupie. By 1989 the Nagomu label and the style have both shutdown.
Super Dollfie (1989-To Present Day): In 1989 one of the most popular brands in Japanese street fashion was created, Baby The Stars Shine Bright. Inspired by the Rococo era, porcelain dolls, Alice in Wonderland, and Marie Antoinette. Lolita fashion was born. This style found popularity among girls and remains so to this day. This look also brought us gothic lolita and sweet lolita as well as influencing visual kei.
Barbie Style (1990s-Early 2000s) Girls all over japan said goodbye to dark hair and snow white skin and said hello to tanning and hair bleach. Inspired by California style, Barbie, and shows like Baywatch. Kogal style came into the scene. The look was very popular among high school girls. Eventually a stigma arose around the term that associated them with a high number of cases were girls would go on dates with rich businessmen in exchange for expensive dinners and designer goods. The code for Kogals looking for a rich businessman was the school uniform and wearing big oversized socks. Because of this, schools started to ban the look from campuses across the country.
Nasty Girls (1993-2002) Tanning became a very popular trend around this time but some girls decided that just being tanned wasn't enough. They took it to another level,with ultra dark skin, bright loud makeup, and colorful hair Ganguro was born. Society viewd them as “dirty”, during this time later tribes such as Yamaba,and Manba were introduced. The Shibuya 109 building became the spot where these outcasts of society would often been seen. In 2002 the tanning boom faded and tanning salons started to shut down, and the look with it. One of the most poplar brands that decided to shut down due to the negative image this tribe gave them was AlbaRosa. However you can still sometimes spot a gal in the streets of Tokyo sporting this look.
Material Girls (Early 2000s-2010s): Gyaru was born after cleaning up what the ganguro and kogals left behind. Girls began to lighten up their skin and become more “acceptable” in the eyes of popular society. Influential figures of this style are Ayumi Hamasaki and Tsubasa Masuwaka. By having dolly-like eyes, a slight tan, high heels, big curled hair, blinged-out nails, and the latest CocoChanel purse you were ready to go on with your day. 2005 to 2012 was the Golden Era for this fashion. Magazines like, Popteen, ViVi, Popsister, Jelly, Ageha, and Egg were booming with business and the ultimate Gal brand, Co&LU, was as well. In 2014 Egg and ageha did their final publication, largely in part due to the style dying out. The era of ultimate girl power and femininity faded.
Rainbow Bright (1990s- Present): An explosion of color came into the subculture when Decora came along. The term comes from decoration and accessories galore that adorned the followers of this trend. From well decorated heads with about 15 hairclips, sometimes more, colorful beads and necklaces, stickers, etc. The more you look like a walking toy store the better. Rumor has it that Shinohara Tomoe, a Japanese artist/singer/fashion designer/producer was a powerful influence in this style due to her flamboyant and kiddie like way of dressing. DokiDoki 6% was also founded in this period and still is a popular brand among teens and young adults. 2008 Spank branched off from Decora, a combination of 80s aesthetics and lots of neons and pastels. Just think about it as if Care Bears, Rainbow Brite, Barbie, My Little Pony, and Trolls got together and had a party. Today it has largely morphed into Fairy Kei a more muted version of what spank was but more (I mean way more) pastel. Decora is still live and well and is one of the most popular styles to this day.
Harajuku Fashion is art, expressive, and a celebration that comes from inside. It's inspiring and it surely is empowering and fearless. Remember to wear what you want, how you want. Wear what makes you happy and take on the world! <3
-Usagi Visual kei sets itself aside as one of Japan’s most unique music movements. It’s well known that visual kei is not a definitive for a set music genre [many different bands play various and differing music genres, but still fall under the umbrella of visual kei]. It is more defined by the unique, androgynous aesthetic of how the costumes, the hair, the makeup, and the attitude collide together to give each band a unique concept that pairs with their music and the image they wish to convey. From years of seeing bands come and go, there are common and reoccurring fashion elements that are seen being adorned by your everyday band members. Various statement pieces and items that you may have noticed that are not unique to any one band. Hair and makeup aside, I’ve compiled a list of fashion trends often seen decorating a visual kei band member. Many of these are the elements that give visual kei the eccentricity that we all know, love, and want to replicate. 1. Facial Covering
We’ve at least seen one musician or another wearing an eyepatch as a statement piece to go with their current style concept. Face covering [eyepatches, faceveils, nosebands, etc.] are often added for a member’s personal image in the band. The best example for this would be Reita, bassist of The Gazette, who is best known for always having his nose covered by a strip of cloth [the noseband]. Another example is seen with Kiryu’s guitarist Takemasa, who is always onstage with a veil that covers his whole face below his eyes. Offstage they carry on the masquerade with facemask as well. One reason this occurs is often due a member’s personal complex about their appearance, which may not appeal to their fans [as tragic as that is]. 2. Silver Jewelry  It’s commonplace to see a visual kei musician covered in silver bling. Silver seems to be quite a common favorite style-wise. You will often see a vk artist wearing several pieces of jewelry, from ring covered hands, brand necklaces and bracelets, and ears covered in silver piercings. One of the most popular and most often seen items worn is Vivienne Westwood jewelry. Honestly, every visual kei musician and their mother own a piece of jewelry with the famous orb symbol of Vivienne Westwood. Other common themes seen in jewelry include crosses, roses, fleur de lis symbols, and heart motifs being showcased. Band members will often be seen worn wearing multiple bracelets, rings on each hand and a statement necklace to pull together the whole look. Other popular jewelry brands worn are Material Crown and Artemis Kings. Sometimes, bands will have jewelry collaborations with brands in which they’ll release a limited edition jewelry line. 3. Articles of Clothing Connected/Covered by Straps and Buckles
Many times, when you take a first glance at a bands look, you may often think that their stylist ransacked a Final Fantasy cosplayer’s closet. Clothing covered in chains, belts, and straps are the bread and butter of a visual kei artist’s onstage costume. One notable example would be the garter pants. Often seen as a staple in the closet of a visual kei fan, these hybrids of thigh-revealing short shorts and flowy leg covers gained notoriety when worn by Guitarist Uruha of The Gazette in their early days. Though often seen as very common place in costuming, band concepts tend to be styled in many unique and various different ways. Thank their stylist! 4. The Transition From Piercings to Tattoos  Without over-exaggerating, every band member has at least one body piercing. Whether it’s just a regular ear piercing or being covered in body piercings such a Royz’s guitarist and his 20+ piercings, it is an everyday staple of the visual kei look. But, a strange correlation is often seen with bands that come into their own and mature. As they find their niche on the market may gradually tone down the flashiness of their looks as they evolve, which includes trading piercings for ink. We can see this with bands that have been around for years that may have left visual kei style such as with Dir en Grey where the vocalist Kyo has gone through vast transformations since their days as a visual kei band, going from numerous piercings to many intricate tattoos. The charm of visual kei that we, the fans, love is how small pieces come to bring together a unique aesthetic that represents the band’s music. With every new single or album, we anticipate their new music and a new look that collide together into one whole. The styles and aesthetics of our favorite bands change and evolve with every new era the go into. It’s a natural occurrence for a band to grow out of the loud aesthetic they debut with as they grow as a band. But, the common aspects of visual kei stay true to these trends. We see reoccurring staples and clothing that can give an individual band member a unique look that stands out, as well as making us, the fans, want to replicate such a look for our own fashion taste.
-Paloma |
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