Articles

Accessibility & Downtown Fashion: Chihuahua Sasaki on 'Pien Style Ladies' & Kabukicho

2022.05.25

Young people's fashion changes rapidly. And youth fashion often has places where it is based. For example, various cities such as Ginza, Harajuku, and Shibuya have been connected with specific trends. Among them, in recent years, attention is being directed toward the fashion styles of young people who in Shinjuku-Kabukicho and Toru-Yoko (the plaza next to TOHO CINEMAS in Kabukicho).

As various social backgrounds are changing, what is the unique power of urban areas and downtown areas that shape contemporary fashion styles? This time, we interviewed Chihuahua Sasaki, the author of "「ぴえん」という病　SNS時代の消費と承認" (Fusosha Publishing) who has written about young people's consumption from fieldwork in Shinjuku-Kabukicho, about the fashion and characteristics of 'Pien-style ladies' and Kabukicho.

PROFILE

Chihuahua Sasaki

Born in 2000, from Tokyo. She has been going to Kabukicho since she was in her teens, and her research on the 'sociology of Kabukicho' began after stopping a suicide attempt. While doing that, she writes and appears in numerous media as a writer and commentator. Author of "「ぴえん」という病　SNS時代の消費と承認". Currently serializing "ヤマアラシのシーシャ" in Grand Jump and "令和4年、歌舞伎町は今" in Weekly FRIDAY.

Image Credit:@tsubasaworks_12

'Pien Style Ladies' & 'Landmine-Style/Mass Production-Style' Fashion in Kabukicho

Can you briefly explain about your activities, Sasaki?

I am attending the Faculty of Integrated Policy Studies at Keio University. While studying sociology in Shinjuku-Kabukicho at university, I also work as a writer, writing articles for weekly magazines, and recently, I have been involved in writing manga and commenting on Kabukicho culture and contemporary youth as a commentator.

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