Branding Japan as “cool” No limits, no laws

[xchrom]

http://www.economist.com/node/21532297



THE Tokyo headquarters of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) was the cockpit for the country’s post-war economic miracle. But these days it is a stodgy place. The decor barely brightens even when you enter the offices of “The Cool Japan Promotion Strategy Programme”. There is not an Apple MacBook in sight, and demure “office ladies” still serve the tea.

But METI wants to let its hair down. With the former bastions of Japan’s economy, such as cars and electronics, facing stiff competition from South Korea, China and elsewhere, it is looking for alternative sources of growth in so-called creative industries, such as fashion, music, food and anime (cartoons).

The search has become more intense since March 11th when a nuclear accident battered Japan’s image abroad. (So blanket was the repudiation, according to Interbrand, a consultancy, that it hurt even Hyundai, a South Korean car firm sometimes mistakenly thought to be Japanese.) “We have to rebrand Japan,” says METI’s Tetsuya Watanabe. He describes March 11th as a “boiling-frog” moment—when Japan suddenly woke up to its industrial decline

The aim is to spur a nearly fivefold increase in cultural exports by 2020, to ¥11 trillion ($140 billion)—almost as much as Japan earns from car exports. In the hands of civil servants, the plans for this are not exactly zinging. One milestone in the Cool Japan campaign is, bewilderingly, a gathering of the IMF and World Bank in Tokyo next year.

[AsahinaKimi]

1. The outfits the girls are wearing are called "fruits"

I even got into wearing it for the JPOP summit last year...

(um, yes that's me third from the left..)

But now, it is hardly the in thing, (fashion wise) any longer in HARAJUKU, where many of the fashion styles come from. still popular is gothic lolita


or Harajuku style


Kogals


Ulzzang


But the far out Ganguro/Yamanba style..has fizzled out..

[xchrom]

2. i love it.

i find amazing similarities to old school fancy kimono dressing.

[AsahinaKimi]

3. Speaking of Kimonos... There is this ...the warori

The warori looks like a Kimono on top but fans out like a gothic dress below. Its a combination if Japanese/French style outfits.

[xchrom]

4. girl -- you are talking my language -- Fashion!

especially avant guarde stuff -- i love it.

[AsahinaKimi]

5. I also added ulzzang

which you can see more of here:
http://akane-x.tumblr.com/tagged/ulzzang

Ulzzang (pronounced uhl-jang) translates to "best face" or "good looking" in Korean. This slang is often used by netizens, contests including girls competing for the title of "ulzzang". However, even if this is true, Ulzzang has developed into a subculture/style, rather than a competition/contest event.



They're usually Korean girls (sometimes Chinese or Japanese; some even being in North America), who all share similar features. Eyes being the main focus and concept of the look. They usually use lots of products to make their eyes very large, such as eyelid glue, Korean cosmetic circle lenses, eyeliner, long fake eyelashes, etc. They also usually have fair skin, a small nose and thin small lips, just like anime characters. They use a lot of editing websites such as Photoshop and Haduri to edit their pictures to make them even more prettier. Some Ulzzang's have even gotten famous, such as Goo hye sun, Nam Sang-mi, Park Han-byul, Kang Eun-bi and Kim Hye Sung.

[xchrom]

6. yeah -- i have some korean friends in l.a. who've turned me onto some of this.

it's amazing how into this stuff people will get --the time & the resources they put into it.

[AsahinaKimi]

7. Well I have an entire forum group

Devoted to Asian Culture and Music on IMVU.com with up to 7600 members now world wide, and yeah, some of them do
are die hards of this kind of fashion!

[xchrom]

8. How cool is that?

Pop culture in Asia is nuanced - really some creative stuff.

[AsahinaKimi]

9. Let me throw out a few more pics

[xchrom]

10. ...

:applause: the sort of french boudoir inspired stuff is pretty fascinating -- like where did that come from?

the goth girl pic i've seen before -- & the 'eyes' girls not those photos but similar -- but you have a great collection.

seriously -- you should do a cocktail table book.

[AsahinaKimi]

11. We have a running fashion section in our group

It seems to be popular. People usually submit photos or I will find some, as they slide by me on Twitter.com. There are a couple of Asian bloggers who have latched on to me, and often I find them posting things..one especially
is http://tokyofashion.com.



They have a ton of stuff each day. Also found this;

http://tokyofashion.com/6dokidoki-girls-in-the-popples-room/




6&DokiDoki girls preformed live with performer Omodaka, I love his stuff, and you see it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBR5FXuEhaA

[xchrom]

12. Great stuff.

This is a great resource.

You've done a lot of work on this.

It really would make a great book.