To fund this project in Japan, please see at the Motion Gallery website.
日本語での支援をご希望の方は、以下のリンクから応援をお願い致します。
MotionGallery web site![]()
A visual reference & a documentary of street culture
We aim to produce a photo book as a visual reference for the history of fashion as well as a photographed documentary of teenagers who played a role as a ’a piece of art’ in the street of Harajuku.
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About the Book
Layers of chunky plastic accessories and Adidas’s zip-ups. Eye-dazzling as it is colourful, a total one-off style that like nothing anyone had seen before. In the late 90’s, this unique movement known as “Decora fashion” began.
Radical Japanese fashion culture is again attracting interest and inspiring the the creative fields all over the world. In this project, we would like to produce and publish a photo book dedicated to the story of Decora fashion with photography from the entire archive of FRUiTS.
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Aoki recognizes the late 90s, when Decora style was born, as the Golden Era of Harajuku street cultures. In this book, we’d like to present a collection of fashion snaps that follow the timeline from Decora’s birth through to today to showcase how it was created and developed during the period.
Aoki says “I photograph [my subjects] with my deepest respect. The best thing I could do is to showcase the reality of them as they are, being a ’A piece of art’ in and of themselves.” he added, “My intention is to create an archive of the golden era of Harajuku subculture under the theme of Decora. I’d like my work to help to revive Harajuku street fashion, allowing it to be used as a reference to create a completely new Harajuku culture.”
“Before the memories fade, I feel it is my duty is to preserve them as a record. To visualize the history of Harajuku street fashion.”
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DECORA.STORY
- Format A5
- 300 to 500 pages
- 300 to 500 images
- Estimated publication date / June 2016
DETAILS ON THE PERKS
SIGNED ACRYLIC PHOTO PRINT
Size: 21×30cm
Printing method : Fuji Frontier Print
Edition Number : none
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One and Only Positive Film
Film Type : 645 film
High Quality Acrylic Frame
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About FRUiTS
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FRUiTS, founded by Shoichi Aoki, is a magazine documenting fashion kids who hang out on the streets of Harajuku, Tokyo. The magazine serves as an almost anthropological reference to the unique and imaginative styles of the Harajuku neighbourhood.
The first issue of FRUiTS was published in 1997 and was one of the first examples dedicated to the scene. It has since gained cult status around the world, making it somewhat of a status-symbol to be photographed by Aoki.
*The title of the book may subject to change.
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A COMMENT FROM AOKI
Decora style is one of the symbols of Harajuku fashion.
Many people in Japan recent years are not aware of this culture, however, it is still widely attracted many foreigners because of its original and uniqueness that you’ve never seen outside of Japan.
To me the originality is the primary importance. We can’t find too many examples of one-of-a-kind fashion cultures in the world other than traditional costumes. I’d only come up with five of those. Two of those, in my mind, were born in Japan and then one of those is Decora style which was created by teenagers. It really is a miracle.
Before the memories fade, I have a thought that my duty is to preserve them as a record.
I have a image in my mind the book speaks about mainly Decora and diverse Harajuku styles of the same period, to reinterpret the history of Decora, using about 500 of images with explanatory notes along time series.
