A Western understanding of the Tokyo street scene has until recently been a story best left told by the individuals who have visited the District; people from the West who return with countless stories of a maze of micro shops littering a small area in Downtown Tokyo -street fashion with no borders. But with every first hand account received, the story becomes ever more complex: the array of people, the variety of small house fashion brands; none of which seem to relate, but often broaden the image of the Harajuku. No one story can explain how the District came to become a fashion focal point of the new era.
Tiffany Godoy’s book “Style Deficit Disorder” (released this month from Chronicle Books) may well be the first steps into understanding the history and legend that is known as the Harajuku District (as written and told in English). Used to loosely describe a small shopping district in Tokyo, Harajuku, truth be told, encompasses something superbly more vast than what most Westerners suspect. Harajuku is not a movement, it is a living breathing District in the heart of Tokyo that has roots reaching as far back as WW2. The story of the Harajuku is not a simple one. Luckily for us, “Style Deficit Disorder” offers an excellent introduction.
We had the chance to speak with Tiffany about her book just days before its release.
Read The Interview Here…
