SHANGHAI (Kyodo) — Japanese Lolita fashion, with its lace-trimmed dresses, ruffled collars and voluminous skirts inspired by Western dolls, is winning over a growing number of young women in China, fueling demand for Japanese brands and helping turn a niche subculture into a growing consumer market.
The style, which emerged in the 1990s in Tokyo’s Harajuku, a trendsetting shopping district and center of youth culture, has become one of the defining symbols of Japan’s “kawaii,” or cute, culture.
In China, its popularity has spread through Japanese anime and films, attracting women in their teens and 20s who value individuality and self-expression.
Women dressed in Lolita fashion are now a common sight in Chinese cities.
At Japanese brand Atelier Pierrot’s store in a Shanghai shopping complex, racks are filled with black dresses featuring lace, ribbons and layered skirts.
The clothing belongs to the “Gothic Lolita,” or “Goth-Loli,” subgenre, which combines the signature silhouette with darker colors and motifs.
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