Understanding jirai-kei and Japan's fashion subcultures episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 24, 2026 · 1H 18M

Understanding jirai-kei and Japan's fashion subcultures

from Unpacking Japan · host Produced by ZenStudio

Meet Yumechi, a fashion creator living in Tokyo and working for the brand ACDC RAG. She sits down to talk to us about the birth of fashion subcultures, how trends change over time, and her work in the Japanese fashion subculture world.--0:00 Intro0:44 Meet Yumechi2:47 Interest in j-fashion9:56 Finding a community through fashion13:06 Gyaru and lolita today15:02 What makes j-fashion trends so interesting17:00 The sad story behind jirai-kei23:56 Has jirai affected mental health discussion?27:33 Yumechi's fashion styles29:07 Fashion vocabulary30:17 Working for ACDC RAG36:13 Fashion trend cycles38:38 J-fashion overseas41:57 How social media affected trends44:20 Communicating trends to overseas audiences47:06 How fashion affects perceptions of mental health49:31 Who wears these fashions?51:03 Dealing with trends as a brand54:59 Do subcultures branch out to the mainstream?57:34 Growth of j-fashion overseas1:00:25 Yumechi's content journey1:02:43 What is oshikatsu?1:06:04 Yumechi's time as an idol1:07:08 How important are fan groups?1:10:58 The growth of kpop in Japan1:15:57 Looking forward--Follow Yumechi: @yumechi15 https://www.instagram.com/yume.chii/Follow us:https://unpacking.jp/https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapanhttps://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshortshttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapanSubscribe for more in-depth discussions about life in Japan! Interested in working at a global e-commerce company in Osaka? Our parent company ZenGroup is hiring! To learn more, check out https://careers.zen.group/en/

Meet Yumechi, a fashion creator living in Tokyo and working for the brand ACDC RAG. She sits down to talk to us about the birth of fashion subcultures, how trends change over time, and her work in the Japanese fashion subculture world.--0:00 Intro0:44 Meet Yumechi2:47 Interest in j-fashion9:56 Finding a community through fashion13:06 Gyaru and lolita today15:02 What makes j-fashion trends so interesting17:00 The sad story behind jirai-kei23:56 Has jirai affected mental health discussion?27:33 Yumechi's fashion styles29:07 Fashion vocabulary30:17 Working for ACDC RAG36:13 Fashion trend cycles38:38 J-fashion overseas41:57 How social media affected trends44:20 Communicating trends to overseas audiences47:06 How fashion affects perceptions of mental health49:31 Who wears these fashions?51:03 Dealing with trends as a brand54:59 Do subcultures branch out to the mainstream?57:34 Growth of j-fashion overseas1:00:25 Yumechi's content journey1:02:43 What is oshikatsu?1:06:04 Yumechi's time as an idol1:07:08 How important are fan groups?1:10:58 The growth of kpop in Japan1:15:57 Looking forward--Follow Yumechi: @yumechi15 https://www.instagram.com/yume.chii/Follow us:https://unpacking.jp/https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapanhttps://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshortshttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapanSubscribe for more in-depth discussions about life in Japan! Interested in working at a global e-commerce company in Osaka? Our parent company ZenGroup is hiring! To learn more, check out https://careers.zen.group/en/

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Understanding jirai-kei and Japan's fashion subcultures

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This episode is 1 hour and 18 minutes long.

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This episode was published on April 24, 2026.

What is this episode about?

Meet Yumechi, a fashion creator living in Tokyo and working for the brand ACDC RAG. She sits down to talk to us about the birth of fashion subcultures, how trends change over time, and her work in the Japanese fashion subculture world.--0:00...

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