There is no one way to package J-fashion. Born out of Japan’s deep-rooted youth culture, with decades of subcultures constantly reshaping one another, it has now found an increasingly devoted community in Singapore. But why here? Harajuku did not begin as a ready-made fashion capital. Redevelopment surrounding the 1964 Tokyo Olympics transformed the once largely residential neighbourhood, while spaces such as the Harajuku Central Apartment brought boutiques and young creatives into the same orbit. Fashion grew from these encounters, accumulating enough history for each subsequent generation to enter from a different direction.
“I didn’t know fashion could look like that.” Gynne Ho was 12 when she first encountered scans of the cult Japanese streetstyle magazine Fruits on Tumblr, opening her eyes to an entire world of dressing unlike anything she saw around her. Launched by Shoichi Aoki in 1997, the magazine photographed young people on the streets of Harajuku, with each subject appearing to inhabit a visual universe of their own. “It was the clothes, but also the people wearing the clothes,” shares Ho. “Everyone just kind of built their own world.”
That first glimpse into that kaleidoscope eventually led her to launch Dirt Fruits in 2021. What began as a place to sell clothes from her own wardrobe soon developed into a store where Ho curates and sells pieces from the J-fashion brands she loves, offering a window into the subculture’s expansive world. “It’s an ecosystem,” she muses. “It’s an umbrella for so many styles, communities and ways of dressing. They’re fluid and evolve over decades.”
Ho doesn’t stick to one particular aesthetic; she describes her style as “cutesy with an edge”. She gravitated towards Lolita fashion last year, though she now wears it less frequently than before. “What I wear reflects where I am emotionally,” she explains. As she flips through the vintage Japanese magazines in her collection, she finds herself especially drawn to the effortless way various fashion styles were blended together. Lolita pieces could appear next to Comme des Garçons without feeling out of place, as designer fashion was woven seamlessly into everyday personal style. “They coordinated them in such an instinctive way,” she notes.
And a few months ago, Ho opened that archive to the public through Archive of Youth, a five-day reference library of rare Japanese fashion magazines staged by Dirt Fruits in collaboration with Emporium. Bringing together more than 60 Heisei-era publications, including Fruits, Kera, Cutie and Zipper, the exhibition drew far more interest than she expected, with many visitors staying for hours to pore over the issues. “What surprised me most was people staying for hours to read, just flipping through everything. It was quite moving.” she recalls. Others pointed out details she had never closely considered. “It gave me new perspectives on materials that I’ve had for a while. That’s why I think it’s so important to share them.”
“Some might feel stifled by society here. J-fashion gives them an outlet to be themselves and explore their interests on their own terms.”
That curiosity seems all the more noteworthy given that the street culture featured in those pages was already scattering. When Aoki ended Fruits’ original run in 2017, he put the decision down to a shrinking number of eye-catching young dressers gathering in Harajuku. The district’s earlier buzz had relied partly on chance, with youngsters dressing up knowing they would bump into a designer or be street-snapped. As finding fashion moved online, Harajuku lost some of that role, but the internet carried its archive far beyond Tokyo to reach readers like Ho in Singapore.
Here, social media has helped a once-scattered community become increasingly visible. Ho remembers standing out far more when she first began dressing differently, though she believes local acceptance still has its limits. “You can maybe be a bit more funky, but if you cross a certain line, you’re ‘too much’,” she says. That tension may partly explain why the scene resonates so strongly here. “Some might feel stifled by society here. J-fashion gives them an outlet to be themselves and explore their interests on their own terms.”
And in what could become a full-circle moment, Ho has plans for her own Dirt Fruits zine created alongside friends she has met through the community. Having grown up outside a particularly creative environment, she credits those relationships with expanding how she sees style and the world around her. “Making these friends has made me more confident in trusting my own instincts, not just in fashion but in other parts of my life too,” she shares. “The best and most valuable thing to come out of being part of the J-fashion community is the people I’ve met.”
Photography Zantz Han
Styling Nicholas See
Hair Yuhi Kim using Oribe
Make-up Sarah Tan using Burberry Beauty
Manicure Melanny Tan
Photographer’s assistant Tan Peng Sheng
Stylist’s assistants Megan Lim and Lance Aeron
The September ‘Beyond the New’ issue of Vogue Singapore is now available online and on newsstands.
