Style Arena has a regular “Tokyo New Tribe” feature, which categorizes and explains the various Japanese street styles. Comte de Sang (above) was invited to participate in a J-Fashion Lovers photoshoot. He kindly takes us behind-the-scenes in this guest post:

Tokyo New Tribe, a part of the Japan Fashion Association’s informative fashion website Style Arena, serves as a gateway to the wild and wonderful world of underground street fashion in Tokyo. Often focusing on Harajuku, TNT shines the spotlight on some of the brightest (or, as is sometimes the case, darkest) tribes of elaborately attired youth to grace the concrete runways of Japan’s fashion capital.

I first encountered the pleasant folks of Tokyo New Tribe when I was invited to a Takuya Angel photo shoot in Harajuku. Contacted by ViVi (eyelash designer and performer), who was helping to gather an army of Angel-ers for the shoot, I was then introduced to director Hine and photographer Aya, whose skillful direction and camerawork resulted in a very informative piece describing the Wa-Mixture style. The photos and descriptions were also included in the seasonal magazine 流行色 (ryūkōshoku).

Fortunately, this was not to be my last encounter with TNT, as I was recently contacted by Hine to be a part of the next theme, “Foreigners Who Love Japanese Fashion!” On a high from his recent return from an Alice Auaa fashion show, Hine was enthusiastic about my collection of Gothic attire from that same label, and it was not long before we were standing in front of the barred iron gate of Harajuku’s Putumayo shop for the shoot.

Working with TNT is always a pleasant experience, as the staff members are always flexible, professional, and smiling. Usually they focus on one individual and zoom in on each individual piece of clothing and accessory, giving every part of the outfit a time to shine. For many models, who often expend a great deal of time and effort in pursuit of their style, this loving attention to detail is a welcome change from the typical standing full body shots that will end up in the Harajuku Snap sections of Kera or Gothic & Lolita Bible. By taking advantage of the possibilities of an online feature, TNT gives each model and their fashion the attention that they deserve.

For those who cannot read Japanese, Tokyo New Tribe has English translations that, while not perfect, are more than sufficient to convey the basic ideas behind each complex style. One might complain that “Gothic & Lolita” is given only a brief, general section, which cannot possibly do justice to the plethora of offshoots and multitudinous variations of that particular style. However, one must realize that there are entire magazines devoted entirely to G&L, and so TNT chooses to take up the less easily defined fashions, which are often ignored by major publications.

Representing everything from the standard Japanese variations on Goth/Punk to more obscure and inherently Japanese styles such as “choiwaru oyaji” (“sexy” middle-aged men), “onī-kei” (“gorgeous and wild” men’s fashion), and “Ura-Hara girlie style,” the website offers a first-hand glimpse at the looks that often slip under the radar. Sometimes these styles are difficult to translate into English, but are often intuitive to the Japanese or those who have lived in Japan and are very familiar with the various street trends. TNT takes a pinpoint approach to these variegated worlds of Tokyo fashion, using as models the real people who love and wear the clothing.

The Japanese classic short work Hōjōki begins with the phrase, “Ceaselessly the river flows, and yet the water is never the same.” These words could hardly be truer when compared to the constantly shifting kaleidoscope of Tokyo vogue, but Tokyo New Tribe certainly does an admirable job of “going with the flow” and keeping fashion mavens around the world in touch with the pulse of Asia’s capital of style.

Many thanks for the perceptive report! You can see more Style Arena tribes in my posts about Grimoire dolly fashion, Fairy Kei, Wa-Cyber and Gothic Lolita.

Which Japanese street styles fascinate you? What would you like to see more of on this blog?