This is a collection of 45 Tokyo street fashion portraits from Japan's premier fanzine. "Fruits" was established in 1994, by photographer Shoich Aoki, initially as a project to document the growing explosion in street fashion within the suburbs of Tokyo. The magazine has since grown to cult status and is now avidly followed by thousands of Japanese teenagers who also use the magazine as an opportunity to check out the latest styles and trends. The average age of the kids featured in the magazine is between 12 and 18 years and the clothes they wear are a mixture of high fashion - Vivienne Westwood is a keen favourite - and home-made ensembles which, when combined, create a novel, if not hysterical, effect. This collection of postcards represents a documentation of the changing face of street fashion throughout the 1990s.
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If you ever wondered where the catwalk got its claws, then the portraits gathered in photographer Shoichi Aoki’s book Fruits, from the streets of Harajuku in Tokyo, point the way to an extraordinarily imaginative and invariably stunning glut of mongrel fashion heists. A "best-of" from the fanzine of the same name, published for the first time outside Japan, Fruits keeps its style clean: front-on, razor-sharp images, ranging from the deadpan to the manic, of the sharpest collages of sartorial influence that, usually, little money can buy. From off the peg to off the wall, kitsch to bitch, each person bears a combination and philosophy as distinctive as DNA. All shades of aesthetic are raided, with exquisite, scrupulous attention to detail. Punk is a favourite, as is, appropriately, Vivienne Westwood, alongside Milk and Jean-Paul Gaultier, and the occasional Comme des Garcons. Many of the outfits, though, are second-hand or self-assembly, such as a skirt drooping petals of men’s silk ties, Wa-mono, when tradition Japanese clothes are topped with, say, an authentic bowler hat, EGL ("Elegant Gothic Lolita"), and a swathe of tartans, pinks and turquoises. The most malleable feature, unsurprisingly, is hair, with dreadlocks, mohicans, back-combing, and crops dyed an irradiated spectrum. While the eye is drawn, obediently, to the mannequins, the background is often worth a look, either for the vending machines against which a number are shot, or the ubiquitous Gap store and bags, a constant reminder of the global mass market.
One enterprising man wears a genuine British paperboy’s delivery bag, and, to pick but one profile, Princess, 18, is trying to be a doll, and is currently pre-occupied with body organs. Mmm. All the subjects are asked the source of their clothes, as well as their “point of fashion” and “current obsession”. The scope for socio-psychological discussion is vast, particularly with the preponderance of infantilisation, through dolls, bonnets, pop socks and Barbie, but this is a joyous documentation of the innovative, celebrating the inspirational polytheism of street fashion, captured with provocative, political zeal. Best let the street cats prowl.--David Vincent
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"'Finding beauty in the unlikeliest places, Steve McCurry's photographs of India are haunting.' - Daily Express. 'Intoxicating...a celebration of the poetry of photography' - Traveller magazine. 'Mesmerizing' - Metro. 'In a world full of stunning photographic books, Steve McCurry's work shines out...An exhilarating experience.' 'Breathtaking use of light, colour and perspective.' - Sunday Herald."
--This text refers to the
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By Ms. S. J. Smith
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Vinyl Bound
This book is amazing, I learnt about FRUiTS by coming across it one day on the internet I had to buy this book, as soon as I found it I ordered it. It is a wonderful collection of photos of japanese teenagers and how they dress. Each page is filled with the excentricity of their bright and outrageous outfits, examples being a man with a paper boy's delivery bag and 1970's punks on the corner of streets.
The book is a must have for anyone interested in fashion, design, art or just the Japanese culture. Inspiration can be drawn immediately from its pages as there is so much action and life in the outfits and settings.
All the people in the book have given a few details about themselves which is typically their age, name, where their outfit is from and their current obsession as well as 'point of fashion' the latter is often answered with oddness such as the 1930's, an alien and a big baby.
Shoichi Aoki has created a wonderful book that does the original magazines justice. Once you have this book you won't be able to put it down every time you look at it there is something new to be found within its beautifully structured pages.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Vinyl Bound
I was bought this book for Christmas 2002 by my best friend and as a fashion designer I found this books absolutely amazing, it's format is so simple and yet the images offer something new each and every time i review it. It’s a truly fascinating photography book and it's a good read whether you're a creative person or not, ‘Fruits’ offers a great insight into Japanese youth culture without being bias.
I am a huge fan of all things Japanese, especially avant-garde design and found the youth of Japan are at the forefront of quirky and innovative creations. It just shows how influenced we are in the rest of the world by mass-produced fashions and how different we can and should dress.
I am a huge fan of all things Japanese, especially avant-garde design and found the youth of Japan are at the forefront of quirky and innovative creations. It just shows how influenced we are in the rest of the world by mass-produced fashions and how different we can and should dress.
‘Fruits’ is simply a great book.
I love this book so much that I bought a copy for my friend so that she doesn't have to borrow mine; it's a fantastic gift for anyone.
I give it two thumbs up, 10/10 and a trillion gold stars!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Vinyl Bound
Well, let me just start by saying you'll never find this kind of fashion sense in Britain! This truly seems to be a movement that could only come from Japan. And you don't realise how much of a shame that is until you look through this book, because page upon page is filled with something that at the least, is interesting, and at the most, completely indescribeable (in the nicest sence of the word). DIY approaches to fashion are married with the premier 'alternative' outlets in Tokyo (Milk seems to be a big favourite) which the wearers use to create personal forms of self expression, a uniqueness that sets them out.
Born out of a zine sharing the same name, Fruits has gradually evolved into a trend setting magazine that thousands read and use as inspiration. The further you read into the book, the more favourites you pick from it; from the Anglophile girl in tartan to the 'ultimate manga cartoon character', the fun that these people are having with their clothes jumps out of the page. Inspirational, evocative and envy-enducing are all words you can use to describe this book, but it's something you really have to see for yourself.
And to prove that this book is more than a senselessly preening vanity project, names and faces are given to the people behind the clothes, with mini interviews for each person. While barely being more than a few lines of information, it shows a personal approach to the fashion, rather than one man photographing the locals in an attempt to exploit them.
Bright, colourful and funny, it makes you wish you had some more interesting clothes in your wardrobe.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
45 postcards
Really pleased with this- an unusual set of photos of street fashion.
received quickly and a very good price; would recommend this supplier and also the other set of... Read more
received quickly and a very good price; would recommend this supplier and also the other set of... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Lee Harkis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential buy for all fans of Japanese street fashion.
I came across FRUiTS online one day and have been hooked ever since. I own this book as well as Fresh FRUiTS and Gothic Lolita - they are always extremely inspiring and I am... Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2008 by Becky C
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fun Book of Pictures of the Outragious Style of Japanese Youth
Shoichi Aoki's "Fruits" is a wonderful tribute of photographs of the Youth of Japan. The book is a collection of these photographs. Hundreds of them. Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2006 by Tony Ukena
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Fruits of a review
If, like me you are obsessed with Eastern/ Oriental culture then this book is a must. Really colourfull with nice little picture descriptions and good forward. Read more
Published on 25 May 2005 by C. Stroud
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiring!
I looked at this book in a book shop and was there for ages flicking through. I came home and got it (cheaper) on Amazon and now it is my most thumbed book in my collection. Read more
Published on 6 May 2005 by "billies_red_tie"
4.0 out of 5 stars
amazing!
i was really pleased to see my fruits postcards pop though the door this morning and i was even more pleased when i opened up the box and started to look through them. Read more
Published on 16 Oct 2004 by "sharrowlovechild"
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing!
This is a picture book, with pictures of colourfull and imaginative people from the streets of Japan. And it is Amazing. If you need inspiration, this is your answer. Read more
Published on 25 Aug 2004
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funky japanese gallore
The cool little boks in fluorescent coloured plastic contains a selection of the same pictures as the book from Phaidon. Read more
Published on 28 Jun 2004 by Rasmus
4.0 out of 5 stars
Boxed Fruits
Fair enough, there aren't as many photos in this postcard set as in the book, but it still has 45 separate cards. Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2004
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic!
This book is amazing. I first came across it during one of my art lessons at college. A friend of mine had it and was using it for her coursework project. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2004 by Mayumiwinn
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