By the early '90s, Japanese youth stopped being simply consumers, and began to innovate on the themes and styles they saw coming from the US...
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By the early '90s, Japanese youth stopped being simply consumers, and began to innovate on the themes and styles they saw coming from the US. At the time, Choi was sharing a studio with the graffiti legends Stash and Futura. He recalls, "Those original Harajuku street brands were heavily influenced by US street style, and a lot of the Japanese guys came through, whether it was Bathing Ape (BAPE) or Real Mad Hectic. That influence, combined with homegrown visionaries like Hiroshi Fujiwara shaping the ebb and flow of the youth market, led brands like Nigo's BAPE into a new type of relationship between brands and consumers. Japanese brands nurtured a cult following amongst trendsetters by focusing on limited offerings, inspired collaborations, an emphasis on backstory, and high price points atypical for the youth market.
The ironic use of the term "hypebeast(hypebeast is for those people who only go for hype stuffs just to make a kill and actually they dun know what they are wearing)
recognizes critics of the blog outright. In an interview with The Tastemakers Society (http://www.ttsmag.com), Ma explains that "a hypebeast is a person who only buys into the hype. He doesn't pay attention to what he's buying and just follows the crowd. Those who have been in the industry warn of the implications. Steven Vogel, the impetus behind industry publication Streetwear Today and author of the upcoming book Streetwear writes, "Streetwear is 99% regurgitation these dayswhat is being either blatantly copied today or under the name of paying homage to what was rebellious 15 years ago is nothing but old and tame today. Fashion by itself is meaningless.
One of the most popular features on Hiroshi Fujiwara's online magazine, Honeyee (http://www.honeyee.com), is the wall of personal blogs of a global network of cultural creatives including Stussy Creative Director Paul Mittleman, Jeff Ng of Staple Design, and Edison Chen, the Hong Kong pop icon and partner in design collective Clot.
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