Cosplay in Japan

Cosplay

The word cosplay is a Japanese portmanteau of the English words ‘costume’ and ‘play’.

Cosplay sources include; manga and anime, comic books, cartoons, games and a range of films. Cosplay grew in the 1990’s, particularly in Asia which influences Japanese street fashion.

Cosplay in Japan

Increased interest in cosplay events in Japan lead to event such as Gomiket being set up. Events such as this, have led to a range of cosplay restaurants to be set up in the Akibara district since 1998. These restaurants are devoted to anime and manga, café’s such a maid café’s focus on the having the customers served by maid’s.

Harajuku is a favourite place for people to gather for cosplay in public. In Harajuku cospay influence fashion is popular, for example, different types of Lolita fashion. 

Japanese Fashion Designer: H. Naoto

H. Naoto

Naoto Hirooka better known as h. NAOTO is a Japanese avant-garde fashion designer born in 1977 in Japan. His design styles are classed under punk and gothic lolita. He is said to be the 'most visible and successful of the labels fixated on that style'.

He graduated from Bunka fashion college in Tokyo, the joined s-inc. in 1999, then later launched his own brand h. NAOTO in the spring/summer of 2000. He has created clothing for famous icons like the dress Amy Lee of Evanescence which was worn in 2004 at the Grammy Awards. He has also created costumes for bands like 'Ayabie', 'psycho le cemu', 'Grackt' and 'S.K.I.N.'.

Naoto is inspired by the Japanese Street styles of Harajuku, specifically the girls of Harajuku. His very first fashion show in the United States of America was a collaboration with Yoshiki, to Naoto this was a great honour. He is thinking of opening a U.S. store (online) that's one of reasons he goes to conventions to communicate with fans - to get feedback.

H. Naoto has many branchs to his brand including Hangry & Angry and the frill line. Hangry & Angry were produced under the line 'Channel H' within Naoto's branches. "It depicts someone bullying and someone being bullied. It's actually meant to depict the society of Japan right now, but more in a comical way - to show the bullying that's happening in society right now" Says Naoto.
It was produced as "angry the one that bullies, and Hangry is the one that's being bullied. We do that as a graphic T-shirt showing the depiction of what's going on." Says Naoto also.

Japanese Fashion Designers: Daiki Suzuki

Daiki Suzuki  

Daiki Suzuki is a Japanese-born American clothing designer, he went to a design school the into work in retail, which prompted his own work at home (D.I.Y. of sorts.) After years of buying he was able to do what he does now. He is the head of the American clothing brand Engineered Garment. In 1970 he was one of the first buyer of Woolrich fashion in Japan. In 2001 Suzuki became the designer for Woolrich Woolen Mills in Amercia.

Suzuki says of his work, "I try to choose good dynamic designs with patterns that can be modified for today's use. Usually I re-work the fits as lightly as possible, being careful not to re-produce vintage designs—adding some things and taking some off, balancing it out to make it look new." 

Engineered Garments began in 1999 as a way of Suzuki to make his own products, a product you couldn't find. The business shifted when the internet was becoming more and more popular - things were no longer hard to find! The internet was great for expanding the entire clothing industry but specialty was being killed.

Suzuki wasn't as such influenced, EG was very personal to him. He says "it's about clothes I have seen, worn, bought and grew up with, for me its an amalgamation of all these things" along with "I approach my work with my personal experiences only"

He has a calm approach to his company saying that "If anyone is interested and we are approached we are more than happy to start dialogue and hopefully it's a good result. EG is not about being cool or making people look a certain way but it can help."