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From Kira to Genking, take a good look at the two images above. Can you see a direct causal link between the styles exhibited by God of the New World Light Yagami there on the left and that of Genking, the fashionista gentleman in the right-hand picture?
The Hindustan Times can. Moreover, it's citing the like of Light Yagami as the reason why current fashions for men in India are becoming ever more 'girly', or at least 'genderless'.
In an article entitled This Japanese guy and more are adopting women’s style because why not? (March 14th 2016), it was pointed out that determinedly unisex clothing is not a new thing in Asia. Items like the ubiquitous sarong can adorn the hips of anyone without eliciting passing comment in regard to the wearer's chromosomes and anatomy.
Meanwhile ladies have been happily blurring the previous gender fashion divide for ages, as trousers become reasonable and respectable female attire. Once such outfits were the sole preserve of men. So why shouldn't the shift in style go the other way too?
To the Hindustan Times writer, Japanese cultural influence has helped oil the path towards increasingly androgynous wardrobe options for Indian men. It's all come on the back of the onset of anime, which has only recently exploded as a popular entertainment genre across the nation.
Of them all, Death Note is the biggest, leading the way with the vision of Light Yagami one of the more readily recognizable Japanese anime characters. His is the new stylish look and male fans throughout India are turning to cosmetics to ape that wide-eyed, 'feminized' look with the tussled hair. Add into the mix the aspect of KPop idols, whose music has leap-frogged into the same arena from the rearguard of Japanese manga and anime. No-one questions the masculinity of Korean men singing pop anthems with boyishly styled physiques and hair and make-up perfectly fixed. A fact not missed by those viewing them openly, perhaps for the first time, as something new within Indian mainstream culture.
So is 'feminine' the new 'masculine' amidst the Indian fashion conscious? And is Kira really to be credited with its cosmetic start?
That's where the Hindustan Times writer doesn't really make the case, continuing instead into the example of Genking - Instagram self-made star and model, now opening at the Tokyo Girls Collection catwalk - whose name on the birth certificate is Genki Tanaka. With his flowing bleached blond locks and carefully articulated make-up, he appears more traditionally female than, well, probably half of the women reading on right now. Yet Genking is known primarily for his fierce advocacy of 'genderless' fashions. Wearing what pleases you, not what the label - seen or unseen - dictates is appropriate for each sex to don.
It's all very interesting, though the issues raised seem more akin to LGBT and transgender debates than touching anywhere near Death Note and Light Yagami. Genking certainly didn't mention Kira as a guiding force in his decision to 'stop pretending' at the age of twenty. Light Yagami didn't grow those lovely, flowing locks.
In fact, maybe I misread it, but the two hardly seem linked at all. Thoughts?
The Hindustan Times can. Moreover, it's citing the like of Light Yagami as the reason why current fashions for men in India are becoming ever more 'girly', or at least 'genderless'.
In an article entitled This Japanese guy and more are adopting women’s style because why not? (March 14th 2016), it was pointed out that determinedly unisex clothing is not a new thing in Asia. Items like the ubiquitous sarong can adorn the hips of anyone without eliciting passing comment in regard to the wearer's chromosomes and anatomy.
Meanwhile ladies have been happily blurring the previous gender fashion divide for ages, as trousers become reasonable and respectable female attire. Once such outfits were the sole preserve of men. So why shouldn't the shift in style go the other way too?
To the Hindustan Times writer, Japanese cultural influence has helped oil the path towards increasingly androgynous wardrobe options for Indian men. It's all come on the back of the onset of anime, which has only recently exploded as a popular entertainment genre across the nation.
Of them all, Death Note is the biggest, leading the way with the vision of Light Yagami one of the more readily recognizable Japanese anime characters. His is the new stylish look and male fans throughout India are turning to cosmetics to ape that wide-eyed, 'feminized' look with the tussled hair. Add into the mix the aspect of KPop idols, whose music has leap-frogged into the same arena from the rearguard of Japanese manga and anime. No-one questions the masculinity of Korean men singing pop anthems with boyishly styled physiques and hair and make-up perfectly fixed. A fact not missed by those viewing them openly, perhaps for the first time, as something new within Indian mainstream culture.
So is 'feminine' the new 'masculine' amidst the Indian fashion conscious? And is Kira really to be credited with its cosmetic start?
That's where the Hindustan Times writer doesn't really make the case, continuing instead into the example of Genking - Instagram self-made star and model, now opening at the Tokyo Girls Collection catwalk - whose name on the birth certificate is Genki Tanaka. With his flowing bleached blond locks and carefully articulated make-up, he appears more traditionally female than, well, probably half of the women reading on right now. Yet Genking is known primarily for his fierce advocacy of 'genderless' fashions. Wearing what pleases you, not what the label - seen or unseen - dictates is appropriate for each sex to don.
It's all very interesting, though the issues raised seem more akin to LGBT and transgender debates than touching anywhere near Death Note and Light Yagami. Genking certainly didn't mention Kira as a guiding force in his decision to 'stop pretending' at the age of twenty. Light Yagami didn't grow those lovely, flowing locks.
In fact, maybe I misread it, but the two hardly seem linked at all. Thoughts?
