1990 - 1999
As if counteracting the DC fashion of the first half of the 1980s, the focus toward the end of the 1980s was on maturity and stability, rather than on youth and change. The bodikon (body-conscious) and shibukaji (Shibuya Casual) trends appear. The bodikon fashion symbolizes an era of female ascendancy, a time when ‘Hanako-san’ (a woman like the women depicted in Hanako magazine) puts her energy into both work and play in the same way as men, and Shibuya Casual symbolizes the passing of the torch from the shinjinrui (new breed) generation to the dankai junior generation as the young people who drive street fashion. Around 1990, Shibuya Casual comes into fashion mainly among high school students in the Shibuya area and college students based on the influence of the Yamanote fashion, which began as a Japanese interpretation of BCBG. The dankai junior generation leads this trend, characterized by tastefully-worn casual standards, like striped shirts, imported jeans, large Louis Vuitton bags, and moccasins. This is when the basic approach to fashion of “What should I wear,” that had held sway since the DC brand boom of the 1980s, changes to “How should I wear it.” Thereafter, a late-period Shibuya Casual comes into vogue, in which trad colors become more prominent, and people wear 501 jeans with dark blue blazers with gold buttons by Ralph Lauren. In autumn and winter, this evolves into shibukaji wild, a wild trend incorporating outdoor and sports brands. A style combining Western boots, silver or turquoise accessories, long hair, and sunglasses catches on, frequently appearing in trendy TV programs starring Takuya Kimura, Eisaku Yoshida, and others, and becomes a nation-wide fashion trend. Afterwards, in the winter of 1991, when Shibuya Casual has lost all semblance of its original form, girls, leaving aside boys’ fashions, are swept into the paragal (paradise girl) trend, adopting a typical style of slouch socks with short boots from BCBG (1990). American brands like MCM, LeSportsac, and LA Gear become very popular, later evolving into the colorful West Coast girl style named LA girl. In 1992, this suddenly transforms into the largely monotone French Casual. Typical characteristics include hair put up with a barrette, rib stitch cut and sew knitwear, and leather cord pendants. The basic fashion concept of mixing and matching simple items in an elegant way is actually the same as with Shibuya Casual.
