Ethnic Fashion and K-town

So far, for this week, I've done pretty well with the compact challenge. However, when I found out about the compact challenge last week, I went on a shopping spree that I suspect may last me until the end of this class. I might have defeated the point of this challenge with that shopping spree. Oops.



Week 2's reading starts to focus in on the design aspect of fashion, more specifically on how Asian and ethnic influences change fashion. Yu, Kim, Lee, and Hong's article examines how a specific region affects fashion design. In the subsection regarding Japanese fashion, the authors mention how the kimono's and the obi's very structured designs affected Western Cubism. The article also provides a couple of photographs from fashion magazines. This article focuses on high fashion but what it neglects to cover is how Japanese street fashion has also affected fashion in the Western world. Japanese street fashion ties back to older Japanese clothing's textile designs, surface patterns and color. Japanese street fashion, according to Summer Suleiman of CNN is marked by a "slimmer fit of clothing, fabrics with artistic sketches and the layering of pieces." Suleiman also notes how Japanese street fashion seems to have taken root in the fashion world is no longer entirely affordable.



Anyone familiar with Gwen Stefani will know what Japanese street fashion looks like. At the time, many people felt that Gwen Stefani exploited Japanese street fashion and that her Harajuku Girls were dehumanizing and perpetuating negative Asian stereotypes. Although it may not have been positive, any publicity is good publicity especially with Asian culture. If the Harajuku Girls were considered negative publicity, then I'd kindly ask people to Google search "K-town the show", an upcoming reality television show which is being lauded as the Asian Jersey Shore. At least Asians are breaking free of the nerdy and geeky stereotype. Is this the best platform for breaking stereotypes? No, not by any means, but maybe the Western world will start paying attention.

Sylvia Lee
Blog #2
Inside Source: Yu, Kim, Lee, and Hong. "An Analysis of Modern Fashion Designs as Influenced by Asian Ethnic Dress." Reader.
Outside Source: [http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/06/fearless.weirdos.fashion/index.html?hpt=C2]