Interested in hip hop clothing from Japan? Discover how Japanese hip hop fashion has evolved over time to become what it is today.
The roots of modern day Japanese hip hop fashion were laid down back in the 1980s when the country received its initial exposure to the concept of hip hop. This was the time when wild style came into the theatres of Japan. The local dance scene had kicked off and people would gather in well known places with boom boxes where they would perform their acts.
In a few years time the influence of the silver screen with movies like “Beat Street” and the like took a snow ball effect. It can be safely said that this movie was the major factor in inspiring the Japanese hip hop culture. The youth began to imitate the movie characters and attempted to be just like them. Although they struggled to carry off the hip hop look in the initial years it grew on them with time.
The hip hop culture was not easily absorbed by this relatively conservative society at the time. This was the reason why the initial promoters of the fashion were actually the bad boys of the streets and gang members. Hanging out on the streets with boom boxes dressed up as hip hop hooligans was reminiscent of gang behavior for most parents and concerned individuals at the time.
There was however no stopping the youth who were now free falling into the hip hop fashion direction. The 90s saw a number of Japanese hip hop artists make it big on a national and some even on an international level. This acted as a big push to the already growing fashion craze.
A few years down the line hip hop fashion became a well defined form. It had its do’s and don’ts and you could easily tell who is in the scene and who was not. Guess Jeans and Polo shirts became the essence of the hip hop get up. Your dancing skills and level of coolness with the form of music didn’t matter, what mattered was the looks.
Hip hop fashion formalized as did the form of music and dancing. Japan opened up a number of dance studios where people would learn the so called art form and become professional hip hop artists or at least be able to fulfill their fantasies. On the whole however it was the fashion more than the music and dancing that had taken the country by storm.
Not many people were actually interested in taking up hip hop dancing as a career option. This road was open only to those who were obsessed with the art form and had a passion for it. Other than that the common public was simply fascinated by the aesthetic sense associated with this popular culture of the time.
So where in Japan would you be able to see hip hop fashion in full swing? Although the style sense has now crept to the surface and one can commonly see people who promote this style on the streets the main centre of hip hop fashion are train stations. This is where the like minded people get together to practice and promote the hip hop fashion.
