GANGURO girls - journey to JAPAN
As I was travelling in my mind east of Europe to far away India, I decided to continue my fashion travel up to unknown Japan. Japan modern culture is very different from Europe, much more extravagant, wild, strange, hardly acceptable by ordinary people. I admire Japenese for their invention of something unique. I do lovve everything that is new, one of a kind and extravagant. Talking about Japan I want to present two things about fashion there. First is Ganguro style with its two courses - Yamanba and Manba. Second is the street people from the streets in Japan.
Now let's pay attention to Ganguro fashion. What it is?
Ganguro (：顔黒 "Black Face", pronounced 'ganguro') is an alternative fashion trend of blonde or orange hair and tanned skin among young Japanese women that peaked in popularity around the year 2000. The Shibuya and Ikebukuro districts of Tokyo were the centers of ganguro fashion. Ganguro appeared as a new fashion style in Japan in the early 1990s and to date is prevalent mostly among young women. In ganguro fashion, a deep tan is combined with hair dyed in shades of orange to blonde, or a silver grey known as "high bleached". Black ink is used as eye-liner and white concealer is used as lipstick and eyeshadow. False eyelashes, plastic facial gems, and pearl powder are often added to this. Platform shoes and brightly-coloured outfits complete the ganguro look. Also typical of ganguro fashion are tie-dyed sarongs, miniskirts, stickers on the face, and many bracelets, rings, and necklaces. Researchers in the field of Japanese studies believe that ganguro is a form of revenge against traditional Japanese society due to resentment of neglect, isolation, and constraint of Japanese society. This is their attempt at individuality, self-expression, and freedom, in open defiance of school standards and regulations. But nothing explains better fashion than pictures so have a look and that wild girls.
Yamanba and manba are styles which developed from Ganguro. Old school Yamanba and Manba (particularly known as 2004 Manba) featured dark tans and white lipstick, pastel eye make-up, tiny metallic or glittery adhesives below the eyes, brightly-coloured circle lenses, plastic dayglo-coloured clothing, and incongruous accessories, such as Hawaiian leis. Stickers on the face died out shortly after 2004 and, for a while, Manba died. Yamanba is now more extreme, and hair is often multicoloured and usually synthetic. 2008's Manba has seen a darker tan, and no facial stickers. Hair is usually neon/bright colours, with pink being a favourite. Wool ("dreadlocks"), extensions and clips are worn to make hair appear longer. Clothing remains the same, although leis are worn less frequently now.
Manba and Yamanba are not to be confused. Yamanba has white make-up only above the eye, while Manba has makeup below the eye also. Stuffed animals, bracelets, bells and hibiscuses are worn. The male equivalent is called a "center guy", a pun on the name of a pedestrian shopping street near Shibuya Station in Tokyo where Yamanba and center guys are often seen.
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