Gwen Stefani HARAJUKU LOVERS line

[breathe0xygen]

^ ... I agree

I've had enough after seeing this.

 

[DenimBlog]

I just got this on my email, guess I signed up for the mailing list at some point:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for joining the Harajuku Lovers email list!

Our new Harajuku Lovers product line is set to debut in stores this July 5th,
the same day the http://www.harajuku-lovers.com and online store are set to
launch.

Initially, Harajuku Lovers will feature women's clothing and a few accessories.
The women's line will include shirts (tees and long sleeve), sweatshirts and
sweatpants, thermals, long underwear and tank tops. The accessories will
include stickers, patches and the digital camera (while supplies last).

In the months to follow exciting new product categories will be added to the
line, including men's, babies, kids, plus size, intimates, head ware, handbags,
accessories and stationery.

As a member of our mailing list, you will be the first to know about these new
additions to the line.

The best selection, variety and sizes of Harajuku Lovers products will be
available direct from us at the http://www.harajuku-lovers.com online store
(once it launches July 5).

A full listing of retail stores carrying Harajuku Lovers products will also be
available on http://www.harajuku-lovers.com when the site launches. Harajuku
Lovers products will become available at select Sanrio stores in November 2005.

Thanks to all our future customers.

www.harajuku-lovers.com

 

[IdiotGirl]

^yea i think it's really creepy how she treats those girls like fashion accessories

And the fact that she is stereotyping Asian and Japanese people bugs me. I'm not Asian, but it still really bugs me. Treating them like they are HERS is wrong too. I used to love Gwen but her new album is not the best, and she thinks she sounds so intelligent with the whole Harajuku thing, but she still manages to over exaggerate it, and mispronounce the name.

I heard that she turned off a lot of her Japanese fan base with her Harajuku obsession.

 

[Neo_Classic]

What exactly is harajuku? Excuse my ignorance...

Is this a culture or a style trend among young Japanese youths?

 

[seasecrets]

What exactly is harajuku? Excuse my ignorance...

Is this a culture or a style trend among young Japanese youths?

i believe that harajuku is a shopping district in japan. it's where a lot of teens hang out, shop, etc.

 

[Moda_junkie]

wait wait.. I've only head Harajuku [omg, i'm so over the floor when i say it, harajuku haha]

So, I've only heard Harajuku when Eve in Rich Girl raps.
You said it's mentioned in three?

 

[breathe0xygen]

wait wait.. I've only head Harajuku [omg, i'm so over the floor when i say it, harajuku haha]

So, I've only heard Harajuku when Eve in Rich Girl raps.
You said it's mentioned in three?

"Rich Girl", "Harajuku Girls" and "What are you waiting for"... I believe...

 

[Moda_junkie]

Omg she's obsessed with these Girls

Here are some harajuku girls. lol

 

[Jacque Marcel]

it's cute, it's targeting young girls like my sister, nothing serious. plus her cd is pretty good

 

[iperlchen]

^yea i think it's really creepy how she treats those girls like fashion accessories

I agree. To me it seems she's only taking advantage of these girls, she picked a culture and perverted it into something she could use to sell records It's ridiculous. She portrays them as submissive giggling dolls.

Has she even been to Harajuku?

 

[Moda_junkie]

I think she wants to start a new trend. Harajuku trend in the U.S.

lol she wont manage.

 

[AlexN]

I've gotta admit, I think it's fun how she mentions Yohji Yamamoto, Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, and Comme Des Garcons in her songs. Although they spelled Yohji "Yoji" in the lyric booklet.

 

[oceanharlot]

dear lord... well gwen has reached her peak of fashionista-ness right about the time she bit into the whole actually trying to be fashionable thing. this whole debacle is just ridiculous.

 

[TheGloryOfThe80s]

I really like Gwen Stefani and much of the new album. Harajuku is a district in Japan where a bunch of younger japanese people dress up in different styles, lolita, etc. Its purely about expression, and cute attention getting outfits. To say she "perverted" the concept is a little out there. Stefani is a wealthy women and I'm sure travels the world quite a bit, what doubt is there that she gets inspired by different cultures ? She has been a presence in the music industry for more than 10 years, an industry where you can't become stale.

So she has japanese back up dancers ? Whats the big deal ? "Taking advantage of them ?" Please. I'm sure there more than compensated for just looking cute.

P.S. Loved the Galliano Couture in the "What you waiting for" video

 

[Plastic'sWife]

.. too much, over kill completley.

IMO her songs are way catchy, now whether or not they are good is a matter of taste- but 9 outta 10 songs she puts out they are catchy as heck!
Obviously she wants that, I dont think performers know the meaning of 'played out'....

 

[lucky star]

I don't like everything that the l.a.m.b. line, or the harajuku lovers line has come out with. But I think its WAY extreme to say Gwen has stereotyped asian people, not only is she not talking about Chinese, Thai, Korean, etc. people, but shes only talking about a small group of Japanese people. shes not saying anything about them besides that when she went there, they were really awesome, and they inspired her, so I don't see how thats bad at all. It seems a pretty positive thing. Plus, most americans probably have never heard about places like Harajuku, so I think its positive for people to learn about other cultures. Maybe hearing about it in a song, will get people interested in the real thing.

I understand her being a little obsessed with Harajuku, espicially if she had just gone there for the first time. The first time I went to Tokyo, Shibuya, Harajuku, Takeshita street etc. I was so overwhelmed, excited, and inspired, it was insane, I was only there for a month, but it was the most fun I've ever had. When I got back to the states, I was all about Tokyo style, and everything I had seen there, for like a year.

So to me it seems like she is being more honest than most pop stars, instead of having an album where every song is the same formulaic trash, shes singing about what she likes, where she goes, etc. that to me is way better, than 'oh i really love/hate this made up person'. I dont think she is trying to use anybody, or get rich by dropping the name Harajuku, if a singer was going to try and be cool by saying she liked a place, wouldn't she choose a place that most people had heard of, not a place that most people couldn't even tell you what country its in. As for the pronuonciation, being that she isn't a native Japanese speaker, of course she's going to have an accent, exactly the same way a Japanese person has an accent when speaking english.
I remember her saying that her album was supposed to be fun, not serious, not award winning, just fun dance music, so maybe disecting every word is a little much.

 

[IdiotGirl]

I guess in a way you guys are right. What bugs me is that she is naming them after clothing, and then makes them submissive and girly. I get way too offensive at times, but I have to admit the songs that don't name drop too much are kind of cool, but the whole obsessiveness just makes me a little freaked out.

 

[UniqueChic]

But then who will give her free clothes?

you can't expect her to wear LAMB all the time

 

[TheGloryOfThe80s]

Great post, Lucky Star : ) I actually liked the L.A.M.B. collection. I haven't seen any of the other Harajuku lovers line.

 

[iperlchen]

I'll admit I was a bit overreacting in my first post, but I still think it could be true. The whole thing just bugs me. In the Asian culture women were suppressed, something that has always touched me and had an impact on me. That's why I can't stand how Gwen portrays them, those China dolls trailing behind her and stuff.
Ok, so she's interested and wants to introduce the world to the Harajuku scene. Then go the right way about it!