When the ethos of British punk rock was brought to Japan in the 1980s, it was in no small part thanks to fashion designer Vivienne Westwood (1941– 2022). From her, the Japanese learned that punk is not only a type of music but also a state of mind. Westwood was one of the first people to translate this mindset into fashion.
Westwood’s groundbreaking designs sent an energetic shock through Ura-Harajuku—the place for street style in Tokyo (and where these photographs were shot). The literal translation of Ura-Harajuku is “the reverse side of Harajuku,” or the opposite area of Tokyo’s mainstream shopping district.
Here, young people made trends instead of following them, and they fell in love with Westwood’s new-wave aesthetics.
Her statement pieces, like platform shoes and oversized petticoats worn by all genders, showed us that we could wear whatever we wanted without shame. She taught us to love what we love without caring what other people think, to believe in our- selves and our own individual voices, and how to be avant-garde and free. After all, that is the essence of punk.
But as fate would have it, underground trends often become mainstream, and soon, Westwood was everywhere. Even Carrie Bradshaw talked about Westwood’s fashion philosophy on ‘Sex and the City’, further spreading Westwood’s influence to a generation that didn’t even know she’d run a boutique in London called “Sex” in the ’70s.
While it’s easy to assume Westwood’s worldwide fame is the opposite of what she thought would happen, perhaps even the opposite of what she wanted to happen, it has given her a monumental legacy. Her designs garnered mass attention, though Westwood remained innovative and provocative throughout her entire career.
She was always at the forefront of the industry, pushing boundaries, raising her voice for what she cared about, and wearing her own designs. She was edgy and evolutional, traditional but never conventional.
In Japan, through her creations, we took to heart Westwood’s powerful message: that fashion is playful, fashion is rebellious, and that to simply express and love oneself (through fashion or other means) is, in itself, the most important form of rebellion.
/ Sweater Vivienne Westwood Man / Shoes Vintage Vivienne Westwood Man / Socks Newsian / Earring Model’s own
This story appears in the pages of MINI V: Issue Two (Summer 2023): now available for purchase!
Text Megumi Yagihashi
Photography Bungo Tsuchiya (Tron Management)
Fashion Shun Watanabe (Home Agency)
Hair Waka Adachi (Eight Piece)
Makeup Tomohiro Muramatsu (Sekikawa Office)
Manicure Tomoya Nakagawa, Saki Yoshino
Models Elena, Ryuhei Chishima (Number Eight) / Kido (Donna), Mao (Tomorrow Tokyo) / Masamune (Be Natural) / Noserin (Oyb Club) / Uta (Office Briller) / Joe (Friday) / Maru Nouchi (November) / Mikiya Nakano / Yusuke Ueda (Tomorrow Tokyo) / Sega (Pump Management) / Tiara (West Management) / Kan Sarashina
Photo Assistants Tsuyoshi Kiritohshi, Kenji Kishigami
Styling Assistants Shota Sasaki, Mone Tamagawa, Seina Tanimoto, Kaisei Nishida
Production Nanami Tashiro
Production Assistant Yukiko Nagata
Casting Shimana
Special Thanks to the vintage Vivienne Westwood archives of Babymary, Kurumi Nakata, Go Akimoto, Tatsuya Shimada
