Fashion Antics: Harajuku Sunday

Today was a Tokyo Fashion Forum as I headed to Harajuku park to see the city`s youngsters out in all their finery.It is a little like being beamed into one of those AmericanHigh School movies, as everyone moves within their own cliques, with dress and behaviour code to suit.

First stop were the cosplay-zoku (costume play gang) who can be dressed in anything from frilly dolls to sado-masochistic Goths to cartoon characters to maids to anime characters.It is quite the kaleidoscopic vision.But given the attention-seeking and flamboyant dress of all of these teenage girls, I found it surprising that they are very self-conscious, and often reluctant to have their photographs taken (hence many of my photos unfortunately being of their backs!).Some, however, are more than happy to pose with an inverted V-sign, for the cameras.Others huddle in groups with mirrors, caking on even more make up.

Moving on, we passed onto the pathway where musicians of all descriptions play to the passing crowd, thrashing drums and guitars a-plenty.A little further, and the music switches to rock, where coiffed, grease-slicked rockabillies groove away in leather-clad groups, watched by girls in poodle skirts.

Moving into the park which resembles Hyde park, there are various groups of otaku (geeks) either doing a peculiar rendition of dance routines, next to the cooler performers who actually successfully pull of some quite incredible breakdance routines.In a city where freedom of expression is difficult to come across, it seems that the central park on Sunday is the place to go to let your inner wild child loose, and maybe become a little bit more who you might want to be.This having been said, the clichés that each group seem to live up to indicates that the freedom of expression still runs along particular lines.An urban ethnographic study in itself!