Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Where's my entourage?!?!

Harajuku fashion gets its name from the Harajuku district of Tokyo. There are many young people dressed in unique ways to stand out. “Harajuku became famous in the 1980s due to the street performers and wildly-dressed teens who gathered there on Sundays when Omotesando was closed to traffic.” [1]

But when you think of Harajuku girls, Gwen Stefani’s back up dancers comes to mind. “The Harajuku Girls are four young women who were hired in 2004 as backup dancers for Gwen Stefani’s Love. Angel. Music. Baby. album.” [2] You may have also seen them in Gwen’s numerous music videos like “Rich Girl,” “Wind It Up,” Hollaback Girl,” and many more.

Some people think Gwen Stefani is exploiting the “Harajuku Girls.” Nathaniel Jue said “They are a quartet of Japanese girls who parade alongside Gwen in her videos, public performances and appearances and promotional interviews.” [3] But some people say she is diverse, catchy, and confident. “Stefani has taken the idea of Japanese street fashion and turned these women into modern-day geisha,” says Mihi Ahn, Salon.com. [4]

So wouldn’t you think they all came from Japan? Are they really Harajuku girls? “Maya Chino (stage name "Love") grew up in Tokyo. She started out doing ballet when she was three years old. Before dancing with Gwen Stefani, she was a backup dancer for South Korean singer BoA. Jennifer Kita (stage name "Angel"), is a Japanese-American from Los Angeles, California. After graduating high school, Jennifer moved to San Diego and studied hip-hop at Mesa College. She later joined the dance troupe Culture Shock San Diego, and performed with them for two years. Rino Nakasone (stage name "Music"), grew up in Okinawa. She became interested in dance after watching music videos by Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson and mimicking their moves. At the age of nineteen, she went to Los Angeles to study dance. She later taught dance at a performing arts centers, and formed the dance group "Beat Freaks". Mayuko Kitayama (stage name "Baby"), grew up in Osaka. She eventually moved to New York, where she practiced in several dancing studios, after dancing in Japan for several years.” [5]

So what if only one wasn’t born here and they aren’t really Harajuku girls? All that really matters is that they look, dress and act like it right. To the public, if you didn’t research, then you would think they are the real deal. They probably talk, walk, eat, and breathe Japanese. But they don’t and that’s reality. I think what Gwen Stefani is doing is alright because I don’t care. It’s probably a fade and will eventually die out like everything else and the Harajuku girls will disappear forever…or until a lawsuit appears.
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If you want to look like original Harajuku Girls, all you have to do is follow these steps.
1) Be creative
2) Be theatrical
3) Mix and match
4) Look cute
5) Have a sense of humour
6) Be confident wearing clothes that mix genres and influences
7) Be confident wearing clothes that have weird shapes
8) If you go for bright colours, make sure you have unusual, fun contrasts
9) If you wear make-up, wear it black
10) Be confident in your chosen look, period
11) Above all, be stylish! [6]

Who knows, maybe even you will one day be chased by Gwen Stefani and end up as a Harajuku Girl.