The district of Harajuku in Tokyo is famous for its street style, particularly among its teenage girls, as most documented by Japanese street-snaps magazine FRUiTS. Every day the sidewalks and thoroughfares are flooded with evidence of myriad subcultures: punk, Lolita, the latest pastel-pajama trend, and countless others. I recently spent an afternoon with some of the coolest young ladies in Harajuku—Hirari, Juria, Momo, Maya, Elle, and Coi—and photographed them as they showed me their favorite hangout spots and gave me a glimpse into their magical world. They were a whirlwind of hyperactivity, which ended up being what I liked best about this shoot.
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Japanese street style is always so cool, there are so many different styles within it that it makes me wish I earned more so I could afford to dress like all of them. Sigh, what beautiful photographs! X
I am obsessed with these photos
HIRAAAARI THE LOVE OF MY LIFEEE AHHHHHH
THESE ARE AMAZINGGGGGG
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
this was my favorite rookie photoshoot so far :)
Oh man, these are fucking awesome. :D
ooh I absolutely love harajuku style! I was so excited to read the lil description and the photos do NOT disappoint!
~catrine
!!!! omg
they are so fashionable i can’t even
and i’ve seen these girls on other tokyo street snap websites awww
so their favorite hang-out spots are a bunch of bridges and walls? hahahah
Great pictures Eleanor! I love girl gangs, and am really happy that Rookie continues to portray different ones. The world needs moore girl gang love.
Though, I can’t help but wonder if you would compare hanging out with an american girl gang (or any girl gang of you native country, in case you’re not american) and taking pictures of them to being “a wildlife photographer trying to get a shot of a rare species of bird”. To me, it exotizes these girls quite a bit. I feel two different things about it: 1.I wouldn’t enjoy someone writing that about me and my circle of friends, I would feel it took away some of our complexity, our politics, our ugliness and subjectivity, making us into objects for someone elses projected fantasy, I guess. Even if it was sincerely meant as a compliment, wich I really think the sentence above is. 2. It seems even moore problemtatic since the girls in the photos are not just girls of colour (and therefore easily exotized by a white gaze in a western community), but also Japanese. And one of the strongest racist images of japanese girls (or chinese or korean girls etc) seems to by that they are hyperfeminin, passive child-women, very Other and exotic. So describing them (or your experience of being with them) like this just made me a bit uncomfortable.
I just personally feel that everytime someone describes me like otherwordly because I’m foreign, I’m very left out of what they’re describing. Especially if they compare me to an animal.
The reason I’m pointing this out is because I think it’s hyper important to reflect upon one’s own gaze. What am I projecting upon other peope? Why do I do it? Etc forever. And I also think it’s something we should do together.
I have no idea if you are or identify as white, so by ”white gaze”, I mean something similar to the ”male gaze”, a perspective on the world and it’s inhabitants formed by a very hiercly organized society where whiteness equals normality, privilege etc and every other etnicity Other and Exotic.
I also hope that this text that I’ve written is respectful, cause I really want it to be. English is not my native language though, so sorry if I’m expressing myself in a clumsy way. I would just like us to talk about this, since it’s always relevant.
What do you think? Eleanor and others?
I really loved the pictures but i felt the same way about that comment (about the photographer feeling like a wildlife photographer). I’m a woc and i would be very sad if someone said that about me and my woc friends.
I don’t want to speak for Eleanor, but the way I took what she said was that it’s hard to get a picture of these girls — especially of all of them together — because they are so hyper! I don’t think that has anything to do with their race or nationality.
i actually did mean this exactly in the way anaheed mentioned, but seeing your comments i realise how it could have been misleading.
i’m really really sorry if i have hurt or upset anyone as i didn’t mean for what i said to be interpreted in that way. i’m not the best at expressing my points through words sometimes… :(
i gotta agree with saskia. i feel as though the remark had a tendency to exotify the girls. whether or not the photographer meant for it to be interpreted that way there would still be people that can perceive the girls as “other”/”otherworldly” and often leads to objectivity.
I agree that it was a poor choice of words on our part, and I apologize for not catching it before it was published.
Edited to add: I just saw Eleanor’s comment above, where she said this in a much better way than I did, disproving her claim of being “not the best” at expressing herself in words!
These are beautiful photos. I love the vibes vibes VIBES, girl. I want to be there for real; this post made me feel as if I were there. Live the kawaii gang life.
Oh my god! I love Hirari and Juria! I love Rookie! My two favorite things combined!
Wait….Is this a dream?
every life goal ever
This is my favorite photo shoot!!! Everything is so lovely!!! Ahhhh I love Japanese fashion!!!
Unf Rookiemag every time there is a gorgeous and super rad photoshoot I am torn between being excited that girls this awesome exist in the world and jealousy over the fact that they live so far away D: But mostly just excitement! Keep doin’ yo thang, Rookie. I will just sit here and continue to jump up and down/cry/drown my sorrows in ice cream.
aaah japanese fashion is amazing.
these are basically to great to be true.
japan is one of my favorite countries ever !
i love manga and anime which also introduced me to the harajuka style and i’ll be forever grateful ! awesome pictures ! <3 i especially like nr 20, the girl looks so cute <3
japanese (esp. harajuku) street fashion is one of my biggest inspirations for my own self-confidence and personal style… FRUiTS magazine (and also Zipper, even though it’s not street fashion) is one of my favorite things to look at to make myself feel better and inspired… Love this photoshoot! a lot!
also, i totally love coi, guppy and juria. im so in love
This the best photo shoot ever ! I love japanese fashion !
These are all absolutely gorgeous- so is everything about them! The outfits are also so sweet.
Great photoshoot Eleanor! Always enjoy seeing your work :)
omg Elle they dress just like you do :D
this is so great! i want to wander the streets and get some fashion tips from them.
Aw these photos are amazing! Their style is so individual and effortlessly cool! What an awesome ‘documentary’
they’re all so pretty!
They are the coolest! Every photo is perfect
aaa thye’re so cooool
LOVE THIS!
OMG I LOVE MAYA KIBBEL <3
OMG OMG HIRARI IKEDA. JURIA NAKAGAWA.
This is amazing. I love Harajuku and the styling skills of Japanese girls are beyond superhuman ability. These girls looks on the top of their game. (also, Momo doesn’t look like 30 AT. ALL. ) Easily my favourite Rookie eye candy so far. Though I wish you also capture more of the surroundings because Harajuku is simply one of the most dreamiest place on earth!
I need the kimono from #5, creepers from #7 & the furry bag from #26 (which looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss book) Love Japanese street style!
Omg this shoot is amazing! I absolutely adore harajuku style, and this shoot captures so much of it at once.
Mega inspired now….I don’t understand how they look so cool all the time!
Aaah I absolutely love Japanese fashion! It always seems so much more daring and expressive than anywhere else.
Amazing!! Don’t know where to begin I loved so many things…
Cool pics to be sure, some original style. I am just curious about the blonde hair. I have lived in Asia for two years now (from New York) and I have seen a lot of skin whitening, hair lightening, and blue, grey or light brown colored contact lenses on Asian women and men. What’s is the larger context here?
You are curious about the blonde hair? I am getting the feeling that you seem to think that Maya (the blonde girl) wants to become white, that by dyeing her hair she aims to become like a white person? Because there have been a lot of people who have this misconception. Many girls just like blonde hair and colour contacts because they’re sick of their current eye colour and hair colour, just like many girls do. Many white women dye their hair black, but no one accuses them of attempting to be Asian.
That said, I am not making claiming that there is no sense of white superiority in Asia at all. Darker skinned Asians do try to whiten their skin, and there is a general perception that European features are the most beautiful features, for example, sharp noses and wider eyes are generally perceived to be more beautiful. But it is like this everywhere, and I blame the media for perpetuating such ideas about the standard of beauty. But skin whitening doesn’t necessarily indicate that the person wants to become Caucasian. In China, even before colonization, people have a preference for fairer women. I suppose there is also a bit of condescension- the bourgeois want to avoid looking like the poorer, darker skinned Asians who work in the sun all day.
While the idea of white superiority is an issue, I would suggest that one avoids assuming that everyone who whitens their skin/ bleaches their hair/ wears coloured contacts wants to be white, not that I think that that’s what you assume.
Which part of Asia do you live in btw?
some of my favourite pics on here so far :)
Great pictures. Also, I need a necklace like Hirari’s in my life!
Does anyone know what’s the deal with the surgical mask, though? I often see them on street style pictures from Harajuku and I don’t know what to make of it. Is it just … an accessory?
People normally use those surgical masks when they have a cold or if they are allergic to pollen and things like that, but, yeah, some people do use them as fashion accesories, too.
I believe Hirari’s necklace is from OS Accessories. I love thay brand!
Hirari’s hair!!!!! love
I love the melancholic tattoo and the last photo so much… I don’t know what I would do to visit Tokyo and the district of Harajuko one day.
super cute shoot! ^.^
These photos are now my life.
These girls are so cool. I would love to meet them! Beautiful photos as usual, Eleanor.
I knew Rookie Mag was in town shooting and was waiting to see what would come of it. Happy to see these creative girls getting international attention!
Would love to see Hirari and Juria working more with international brands/designers/creatives in the future. Hope this piece helps.
Thanks for supporting Harajuku!
Their age range is also quite interesting. It’s cool that a 17-year old can hang out with a 30-year old, for example.
you guys can also go o tokyofashion’s site…a lot of street snaps there, and I saw Hirari once I think. Love these photos <3
I wish I was even close to being as cool as these girls. Awesome photos!!
juria and hirari are my fave i can believe you got to hang out with them -.-
This is absolutely amazing! I wish I have friends and people to express ourselves through clothing and favourite spots to hang out in. Unfortunately, I don’t. ;___;
I love this. <3
I don’t think i’ve ever seen so much awesomeness in my entire life….like, seriously..i cannot even express how awesome this is!!
Radness everywhere. Elle you rule @ photography
Is that Maya Kibbel?
And Hirari’s necklace! I love OS Accessories!
These girls have to be the coolest people ever. I wish they were my best friends. I LOVE these photos!
Ah! I’ve been a fan of both Juria and Hirari’s street style for such a long time! They all seem like the coolest people in the world, such great style!~
Their style is so amazing!!!!
Truly mesmerizing.
One of them is bffs w the Jonas brothers and she’s the cutest girlie ever!! n_n
14 and 15 OH WOW AMAZING I LOVE
haha saw no.32’s shirt on ebay once
miao2323.blogspot.com
The Japanese fashion is probably the most unique in the world, and this is simply no exception! I love how these girls have this bold, rash style that nobody I know would ever even try wearing.
Anybody with me on this one?
These photo’s are so fantastic. And their style! I have revisited this series countless times.