Study Buddy (Challenger): Japanese fashion subculture decora is making a comeback
- The style takes the Hello Kitty cute look to the extreme
- This page is for students who want to take their reading comprehension to the next level with difficult vocabulary and questions to test their inference skills
Decora fashion is a subculture born in the late 1990s that takes Japanese notions of cuteness to the extreme. Photo by Jonathan VitContent provided by British Council
Read the following text, and answer questions 1-9 below:
[1] Nico arrived at the Harajuku railway station in Tokyo in Japan dressed in a bright outfit of pinks and blues. It was an outfit few could ignore. Her head was adorned with a crown of hair slides, bows and hairpins so thick that it hid her two-toned hair. Her wrists rattled with thick stacks of multicoloured plastic bracelets. “I am used to the stares,” says Nico. “But I think it’s scary for people joining us for the first time.”
[2] Nico, 18, founded Neo-Decora Kai, an event dedicated to decora fashion (from the English word “decoration”). This subculture, born in the late 1990s, takes Japanese notions of cuteness – think the bows and pastel hues of Hello Kitty – to the extreme.
[3] “Decora fashion ... I think that is very much what people think of if I say ‘Harajuku fashion’,” says Jana Katzenberg, a researcher in the Japanology department at the University of Cologne, Germany. “It was very colourful, lots and lots of layers, lots and lots and lots of accessories, and everything just done up to the max.”
[4] Shoichi Aoki, the founder of Fruits magazine, which documented the heyday of Harajuku’s creative fashion scene, called decora “an original Japanese fashion that couldn’t be found anywhere else”. Despite decora’s star status, the style had all but disappeared from the streets of Harajuku by the end of the 2010s.
[5] Like many other subcultures that once defined this Tokyo district in the popular imagination, the style had fallen out of fashion. The district fell victim to the ubiquity of minimalist styles, such as those for sale at Uniqlo and Muji, and the rise of fast-fashion retailers like H&M and Shein. “The problem with fast fashion was that it sold creativity for cheap,” Aoki says. “It was basically fashion by people who were not afraid to copy trends and designs. From the point of view of a brand that took creativity seriously, fast fashion was a destructive act.”
[6] Meanwhile, a new generation of fashionable youth were rediscovering Harajuku style through scanned images from the pages of influential fashion magazines like Fruits that were posted online. Soon, this revival blossomed into a broader community on social media and at real-life meet-ups like Nico’s Neo-Decora Kai.
[7] Nico herself stumbled upon decora while watching make-up tutorials on YouTube. She was soon obsessed, spending her time online diving deep into the history of fashions that first graced the streets of Tokyo a decade before she was born.
[8] She also realised that the decora community that was spreading online needed a place to grow and gather in the real world. Neo-Decora Kai has since become a regular meet-up for a new generation of decora fashion icons. Nico regularly interviews other fashion influencers on YouTube and continues to network with a growing international scene.
[9] Nico’s presence in Harajuku is now a regular occurrence, witnessing the subculture’s rejuvenation. She reflects on the transformative power of collective gatherings, stating, “That’s what happens when a lot of people get together. In that moment, a ‘culture’ is born. The culture provides a sense of belonging and eases the transition for newcomers.”
Source: South China Morning Post, May 21
Questions
1. Based on your understanding of paragraph 1, how does Nico feel about the attention
her outfit gets?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. How does the word “decora” reflect the characteristics of this fashion style
according to paragraphs 1 and 2?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Paragraph 3 describes how decora fashion and Harajuku fashion are similar in terms
of …
A. visual aesthetics.
B. functionality.
C. choice of fabrics.
D. their influence.
4. Find a word in paragraph 4 that refers to “a time when something was most
popular”.
________________________________
5. How did brands like H&M and Shein contribute to the decline of decora fashion,
according to paragraph 5?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. What part did social media play in the revival of Harajuku? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. What does “stumbled upon” suggest about how Nico learned about decora?______________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Based on your understanding of paragraph 8, why does Nico put up her interviews
with other fashion influencers on YouTube?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. Based on the article, Nico has played an essential role in reviving decora fashion by …
A. launching a social media campaign to promote vintage fashion trends.
B. creating a clothing line specifically inspired by decora fashion icons.
C. organising events that celebrate and showcase the style.
D. all of the above
Answers
1. She is not affected by it / She is comfortable with being noticed. (accept all reasonable answers)
2. It captures the essence of this fashion style by highlighting its focus on extreme decoration and adornment. (accept all similar answers)
3. A
4. heyday
5. These brands have more affordable clothing options based on the latest trends, possibly leading people to move away from decora fashion. (accept all similar answers)
6. It provided a platform for the youth to learn about Harajuku fashion through scanned images from the pages of influential fashion magazines like Fruits that were posted online.
7. She encountered it by chance. (accept all similar answers)
8. She most likely does this to put decora fashion in front of a wider audience and potentially inspire others interested in this style. (accept all reasonable answers)
9. C