Christina

Student

How global fans see Japan: kawaii heaven.

Christina is a Canadian student attending a fashion school in Japan. She says, “I absolutely wanted to study fashion in Japan. Even when I was in Canada, I imitated and enjoyed the ‘Harajuku girl’ look, using Japanese Harajuku-style fashion magazines as my guide. My finances were limited, but I tried my best to combine clothes in vibrant colors and patterns as I imagined they should be, working by myself. After actually visiting Japan, I felt that while many countries have fantastic fashion, there isn’t any place like Harajuku, with its great creative energy, filled with so many kawaii clothes.” What is the origin of Japan’s spirit? She says, “The original source of kawaii fashion, I guess, may be in kimono — which I love and often wear, recently. If you think of kimono as a box of clothing, that box is richly filled with a variety of kawaii colors and patterns.”