Fashion is no longer perceived by a hierarchical system from the long-lived fashion history . The most up-to-date styles are not defined by the highest couturiers or the longest-living brands around, but from the people of larger community, youth and street culture (Jose Teunissen. Jan Brand, 2006). This paper addresses the importance of youth culture as the next market in asian fashion, covering both Singapore and Tokyo's youth culture as comparison. Since the 1960s, equality and democracy was sought after; the skepticism towards elitism and power took over the streets with political and social action (Samuel. P. Huntington, 2012). The age of street culture has caused the opposite direction of a shift in fashion, sending its inspirational muse to the eyes of designers hence the runways. Diane von Fusternberg, designer of DvF once said "Everything in fashion begins in the street.", means that fashion inspirations from designers in the runway shows are influenced from the mass in the street. (Maria Luisa Frisa and Stefano Tonchi, 2004).
This study is undertaken to reinforce the power of youth culture in asian city. This market of people would be the driving force behind our fashion system. The youth would not just be a part of our influence, but one of the authorities. In the primary age of fashion, the mass has eliminated the pecking order of opulence and the legendary names that had been around. In our contemporary generation, "Fashion was already democratized in the 1960s" (Jose Teunissen. Jan Brand, 2006), while street and youth culture are determining the next runway trends. The many facets of the current paradigm shift is contributed by the hybrid identities between globalization and localization, youth culture from both Singapore and Tokyo as well as the influence of internet and media, youth movements, roles of graphic design and the responsibilities which young local fashion designers have been influenced by their youth culture would move the new fashion age in their respective cities. Modern youth culture has now been looked up to in the asian economy. Besides the internet, media and entertainment industries, the current generation has become the new force behind the latest trends and consumption goods, hence leading a rise in the contributions to the fashion industry. These young fashion designers are the architects of their own phenomenon, and are evidently one of the crowd-pullers in the modern century. "And they are demanding their voices be heard and their role be recognized not only as tomorrow's future leaders, but as today's leaders" (Heyzer N, 2012).
Known for her foundation of her trading port at the Straits of Malacca which started since the 1960s, Singapore has been remaining at the world's top three port today (Bjorn Lee, 2010). With many cross-cultural experiences and consumption from different regions' customs and traditions, Singapore becomes one of the most opportune location to assimilate other cultures' custom and to turn the set of circumstances into its strength. Aside its intermingled influences of the four races mainly the Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasians, the metropolitan city of 5.3 million populace (Department of Statistics Singapore, 2012) has an intermixture with other non-native public of different ethnics and backgrounds. This has resulted in the amalgamation of the different culture, even intermixing globalized and localized work together. This composition has caused a hybrid in identity which is identified as "Glocalization", a composed term for globalization and localization. Youths in Singapore are widely influenced by global culture. Firstly from an macro-economic aspects, these asian younger generations reap its benefits from the media and its challenge towards education to find their footing in the world (Jennifer Gidley, 2002). One example of glocalization would be John Galliano's style of work. His fervor for cross-breeding his traveling experiences with native traditions that would leave him with a mix of different styles (Jose Teunissen. Jan Brand, 2006). Next, glocalization are existing in the local population. Youths in Singapore are adapting to global style with their authenticity, such as fashion student aged 24, Josiah Chua, a graduate in Fashion Design who was personally influenced by the three japanese revolutionary designers- Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and Rei Kawakubo and japanese apparel label Phenomenon, designed his graduate collection based on a premonition of an imminent apocalypse based on Egyptian's belief, that had came out on top in the 2012 Triumph Inspirational Award. Hence, this culture of hybrid identities...
In the recent years since 2010, Singapore has been getting support from its government to boost the fashion industry in the local scene. Together with TaFf (Textile and Fashion Federation), IE (International Enterprise Singapore), SPRING Singapore (Standards, Productivity, and Innovation Board), Singapore Tourism Board and private enterprises (Senken Shimbun, 2010) " had come together to conduct Asia Fashion Exchange(AFX), that consists of "Blue Print", a trade show for fashion businesses, "Asia Fashion Summit", a leading conference for professionals from all over the world, "Star Creation", a fashion design competition and "Audi Fashion Festival Singapore", unfolding fashion designers and showcasing their labels and designs from both international and local regions (Senken Shimbun, 2010). Star Creation supports young talents by holding asian fashion contest, with compliments of an internship at FJ Benjamin, a retail company and an opportunity to sell their work at Blue Print Trade Show. 140 brands that had exhibited in Blue Print Emporium, inviting more than 9,000 visitors. Among all, The Design Singapore Coucil had uncovered seven homegrown labels, presenting them on runway shows, featuring "Elohim by Sabrina Goh, MILS, Episene, Ong Shunmugam, Possi-tilly-ty, Triologie and Sundays (Blue Print, 2012)". Also, PARCO. Co. LTD has backed up Singapore's economy with a subsidiary for young talents who invests their time to build their labels. Parco next NEXT, an 18-month program for labels who had won fashion competitions or collections that have been sold in stores in Singapore, nurtures them as they prepare themselves to run their fashion business in the long run. Hence, these support from government and the different enterprises have given favorable possibilities for the young fashion designers to venture their brands overseas and to breed their bijou labels abroad.
Singapore is transforming into a fashion hub with events for people who are fashionably driven. The local market has targeted many areas of consumerism. From small-scale events such as pop-up stores to life-sized events like the World Runway 2011, Singapore has incorporated events into the stark fashion consumption. Amidst the life-sized events such as the Mens Fashion Week or Orchard Fashion Runway lies a queue of youth-driven fashion event. One of which is the Marcellie Runway 2012: Emerge! driven by a group of budding youth entrepreneurs, that unite fashion with charity to influence a bigger population. One of its key segments, "Rising Stars" showcases emerging labels like Quainthood, Odds and Mash-Up. As mentioned by the organizers, "The achievements of the designers behind these labels will serve as a reminder to the aspiring designers, students at Pathlight and to the audience in general to never give up on their dreams because they might just come true (Marcellie, 2012)." Therefore, it is evident that the youths in singapore and the young local fashion designers are inspiring each other for a foremost social economy.
In the recent years, youth culture in Singapore are recognized as a growing part of our global economy. Culture, to define, is a custom that builds the foundation of a nation. It anchors to the community and shape one's lifestyle. "Youth culture" becomes a part of community for younger generation who has a common spirit, hence leading a bigger society. Youth culture are always closely associated to popular culture and street culture where the youths are gathered to manifest something out of their independent creative minds, often influencing each other from the streets to social media.
Statistics of demography, geography and psychological factors in youth culture
By 2011, youth in Singapore aged 15 to 29 have grown with an increase of estimately 204000000 in numbers (Key Indicator of Youth, 2012).
Street art has been closely related to youth culture. Youth culture, as well as the street culture has corresponding expression from individuals. Street culture is coveted with self-expression through different mediums of art such as dance or visuals like graffiti. Youth culture, on the hand is a group of young individuals who come together to be a part of the nation, expressing their want and needs as a part of the society. Focused to the youth, one of the expressive street artist, Ho Rui An, was arrested to creating "public nuisance" with graffiti. Indeed, many had outgrown the topic of judging her work as aesthetically pleasant or rebellion against the government, but compelling the interest of expressing artistically in our streets against the limitation of one's doing to the streets of Singapore. Ho, became a case study to measure the limits of how Singapore would go to such extent to express themselves only to be underpinned by the laws imposed from the government; citizens had debated about vandalism and street art. As street art closely relates to the youth culture, Ho had took the opportunity cause a change and impact in the society. The street artist's work such as the sprayed-painted " My grandfather's road" and "Press One Can Already Lah" expresses our present-day society. The youth hence had an impact on the society. From the uproar of the social media, the local youth culture had shown beyond doubt their support towards the freedom of expression (n,d., 2012).
The youth had also inspired people to become designers. MASH-UP, a streetwear label emerged recently with their seasonal collection, intermixing with recycled items obtained from the city with their personal idiosyncratic touch. The designers describes their label as "a manifestation of our common love for music, partying and fashion" (USEDUNUSED PRIVATE LIMITED, 2012), hence showing their influences from the popular culture. In the most recent Audi Fashion Festival 2012, MASH-UP embraced their season collection and empowered the stage with inspiration from the youth movement.
The urbanization of Japan that had led to one of the most developed east asian countries began when Tokyo was rebuilt as a city in the 1940s to 1950s. Japan's industrialization and manufacturing status grew in population in the late 1950s which secured her international position in the market, marking one of her leading economic growth. In the 1980s, the number of migrants from other parts of Japan grew with the increase of human population in Tokyo, expanding its talents and human resource in the metropolitan area. This development had saturated their talents, leading to a rise in economy in the inner-city. It is believed that with a high number of manufacture industries set up, export-led manufacturing trade will be Japan's primary reason of growth. Tokyo also remained as one of the fastest and most innovative cities that churns out productions that relates to electronics with a rich history of their research and development program. Nevertheless, amidst their struggle and their redoubtable background, with such growing patterns happening in Tokyo, it had served as a conceivable direction as to what other east asian countries would experience aside the impact of the recent disasters.
Despite being an asian country, the japanese reigned and grabbed the attention of Paris fashion industry with their unconventionality and their pattern that was heavily influenced by the notion of postmodernism. They gain recognition after building a name for themselves as a revolution after breaking all traditional practices (Jose Teunissen. Jan Brand, 2006). Fashion revolution did not just happen to Japan like that. The "Big 3" designers received recognition in their work while there was an ethnical change in the eighties- japanese street culture in the western society, and their deconstruction and ways of disintegrating their pattern pieces into avant-garde designs (Yuniya Kawamura, 2012).
During 2011 when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, followed by a Tsunami and Radiation Leak hit Japan, several countries alongside with Japan came together to raise funds for the victims. Held in Singapore, "World Runway: FashionQuake aid 2012" as the name suggests, became a global runway event which was run by Jake F.R. behind Tokyo Girls Collection and Asia Girls Explosion on a majestic stage show. Countries that were involved are Brazil, France, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, United States of America and Singapore. Each team from every countries were given a limited fund to produce 10 runway styles. Using fashion as a platform, the organization attracted the global attention and youths by staging Korean and Japanese popular singers to keep the attention of audiences going. This event had gone international with the media coverage of FOX TV and japanese TV programs (Kai, 2011). The winning team will be granted with $100,000 (SPR) with an option to donate half the amount to the natural disaster relief movement. With the support of Singapore Tourism Board, Japan had capitalized on Singapore with the niche as a trading port to reach out to other countries. Hence, Japan had staged this youth-driven event by the watch of the universe, influencing youth culture in the fashion-sphere.
Tokyo Rising, a documentary that summoned back about the post-disaster (Tsunami, Earthquake and Radiation Leak in 2011) had brought the hearts of Japan together in regards to Japanese' resilience. Tokyo, an urban city of neon lights during the night time is accompanied with its art and music culture. In the movie, Yuka Uchida- musician from Trippple Nippple band, Akashi- editor of Likten Magazine, Fashion Designer Yoon, Chim Pom- a collective of artists inspired by its local youth movement, Koshiro Ebata- fashion designer of Garter, Nigo- founder of Bathing Ape and Kunichi Nomura- Art director and editor of Tripster contributed their thoughts and movements in response to the apocalyptic-like disaster that shifted their youth culture. They had derived that the disaster was called 3/11 in their definition of 911 attack (in the World Trade Center of United States of America) when the 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck Japan. These leaders of Japans' youth culture created a new business model and caught the attention of the younger generation, a crusade against what they felt of the fact that Japan was a safe city to live in was hidden from them. In response to the disaster and government, an amateur revolt called the Shiroto No Ran staged three anti-nuclear street protests as a sign to speak up on behalf of the populace, held at Koenji, Shibuya and Shinjuku of Tokyo. These leaders, including Akashi from Likten Magazine, realized that their city needs a social change. One had created a group in Tokyo called the 3331, where artists would come together to bring all the stories of people into artwork, fashion, graphic and fine arts. Youth movement such as the Chim Pom had also involved themselves with an art installation across one of the train station in Tokyo, Shibuya known as the Myth of Tomorrow by Taro Okamoto, showcasing the chronicles of Nuclear damage from disasters like Hiroshima, Nagasaki, the Daigo Fukuryu Maru at Bikini Atoll. In remembrance, Chim Pom contributed a small part of their artwork in Taro Okamoto's graphic style to the art installation, and filmed a short documentary near the Fukushima Plant that had imperiled their lives. Japan's youth culture was transformed mainly after the defeat of world war ll (check reference), where the youth wanted to be westernized. The japanese culture mistranslated the western culture and became a revolutionary group that produces belongings that are original and individualistic in the process of doing so. Nomura, art director and editor of Tripster took a stance and mentioned that the street culture was their heyday twenty years ago, where the increase of street culture would dress in a wide range of color under one assemblage, which is now commonly known as the Harukuju style in Japan. Harukuju movement was inspired by the hippie movement in the United States of America in the sixties. (add on)
The rise of independent fashion designers came about due to the awareness when designers realized that they need their voices about their local government to be heard while struggling with the mass quantity of fast fashion. A surging number of shops in Koenji, grew in numbers, housing independent labels. Many of these independent fashion designers in Tokyo such as Rachel Harris, owner of ILIL, and Koshiro Ebata, owner of Garter) had created fashion by their own style to break free from fashion as just a consumer goods. Rather, they focus on individualistic pieces that sticks closely to that of the consumer. Hence, the youth movements after the japan disaster emerged as a stronger community and led to a rise in the young fashion designers and labels.
An interview with designer behind Japanese brand The Viridi-anne, Tomoaki Okaniwa speaks of their design philosophy and its native youth culture. Viridi-anne, since their debut in 2000 shot to the international market in Paris. Firstly being inspired by Vivienne Westwood, the fine artist graduate took his opportunity to transform art into fashion. The designer closely related himself to the brand's identity, which is a larger persona of himself. In the recent years after an abundance of experience in the international market, the designer took a slight turn in his role as a designer. Questioning its roots, his tenet of his philosophy was the spirit of a samurai, a figure in the japanese culture, embracing a tranquil yet spirited body. The young fashion designer does not see himself playing a major role in the market yet, but would evolve through improvements from time to time. As a japanese, his hope for his native youth culture to stand as a singular body as to follow one's inner voice and attitude, leaving room for individualism and independence. Japan's triple disaster in 2011 left the designer more resilient than before to work even harder for humanity, issues of humankind against misfortunate events.
