Relay Column: What Should You Wear to a Club? By Chie Yamauchi

The sensation of music and vibration reverberating through the body, lasers glowing in various colors, delicious drinks, and the energetic atmosphere of the dance floor – club spaces(1) offer experiences that are difficult to come by in ordinary day-to-day life like at home or work. Because of this unique environment, people, especially those who are new to the club scene, often wonder how they should behave, particularly when it comes to the question of "What should I wear to the club?" I was no exception. Back when I had no clubbing experience, I was honestly not very interested in fashion. As long as I wasn't naked, any clothing seemed fine. I didn't bother going into the city to buy clothes; instead, I casually picked up clothes from the clothing section on the second or third floor of the local supermarket.

The reason I started paying attention to clothing came from my current research theme. I am currently focusing on the establishment of nighttime economy policies in Japan. To be specific, as illustrated by the simultaneous raids on clubs in Roppongi, Tokyo and America-mura, Osaka in the early 2010s, clubs have long been subject to enforcement. However, now they have also been integrated into the nation’s inbound tourism strategy, promoting the 'nighttime economy' for urban economic growth (although the situation has changed due to the spread of COVID-19). My interest lies in how this paradigm shift came about. Initially, I was investigating neighborhood crime prevention measures centered around the local community in America-mura as part of my graduation thesis, and in the interviews, issues revolving around clubs (such as noise, customer aggregation, assault, and injury) were often discussed as 'problems' that needed resolution in the area. This experience made me interested in clubs, their surrounding areas, and developments of new policies like amendments to the Entertainment Business Law.