In Gwen we trust: Pop diva launches laudable new label
Sorina Diaconescu

Fashion Wire Daily - Los Angeles - However one may feel about Gwen Stefani or her music, nobody can deny that this is a woman of many accomplishments: she rules the charts, she’s a trendsetter, she’s a fashion mogul in training. And in her latest guise, she’s also making inroads as a cultural ambassador.
When she previewed her new apparel line Harajuku Lovers on Friday at a late-night bash that capped a meandering L.A. Fashion Week, the pop diva reaffirmed a laudable interest in cross-cultural pollination. Although they feature designs based on lyrics and iconography from Stefani’s solo debut record, “Love.Angel.Music.Baby,” the colourful clothes and accessories on display were above all inspired by Tokyo’s Harajuku neighbourhood - a busy retail district somewhat similar to L.A.’s Melrose Avenue, known for its eye-popping street fashions and for being Japan’s prime incubator for teen style trends.
When they hit the stores later this year, Harajuku Lovers’ Valentine candy-print underwear, backpacks, tees, and even luggage tags will undoubtedly have stylish Japanophiles squeal in delight, “kawaiiiiiiiiii!” - that’s Japanese for “cute.” But beyond that, there’s a good chance that the clothes will also afford the average American consumer a peak into the wonderful, bizarre specificity of Japanese teen subcultures. Even the line’s slogan (“A Fatal Attraction To Cuteness”) is a humorous yet insightful allusion to the Japanese teen girls’ obsessive pursuit of fashion.
Hosting the party inside the historic Max Factor building, amidst framed memorabilia commemorating Old Hollywood glitz, was a nice touch. The locale seemed well suited to showcase Stefani’s new glamour puss-meets-street-savvy urchin fashion enterprise.
Newlyweds Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, accompanied by one of their daughters, came to pledge their support, as did fierce Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson. Inside, cornrowed homegirls break-danced like ghetto-fabulous versions of ‘60s go-go girls; members of L.A. indie band The Like shimmied on the dance floor, and a jeans-clad Daryl Hannah tossed her long blond hair back and gave a hearty laugh that displayed a set of fake elongated canines. Veggie tempura snacks and drinks flowing from no less than five bars kept the guests satiated and liquored up as they waited patiently for Stefani to wrap up her concert at the nearby Hollywood Bowl.
The one who “ain’t no hollaback girl” finally appeared around 1 a.m., surrounded by her Harajuku Girls stage posse and intimidating security detail who whisked her to the top floor for a photo op with Interscope Chairman Jimmy Iovine. She looked whimsical and festive in a white dirndl outfit, smiling her million-watt crimson-rouged smile for the cameras.
L.A.M.B., the singer/designer’s line of smart-casual separates, has been selling briskly in department stores, and on Friday Harajuku Lovers looked like another hit in the making. How clever to make hipster underwear with tags that proclaim, “This is not a mass-produced garment!” And the accessories created in partnership with plush-toy manufacturer Nakajima made good on that “fatally cute” threat.
Melding a Hello Kitty sensibility with Stefani’s celebrity is of course not the most original or the deepest of ideas, but it appears to be a well-executed and timely move. Style junkies have relished for years the secret thrill Japanese cult labels like Hysteric Glamour or A Bathing Ape. As for the Harajuku scene itself - it has been documented in exquisite detail by photographer and urban anthropologist Shoichi Aoki, whose street fashion compendiums “Fruits” and “Fresh Fruits” have found an eager Stateside audience in recent years. Interview magazine recently put out a Tokyo-centric issue, and even The New Yorker broke down Japan’s “Gyaru” female fashion tribes for its readers. The point is that so far this stuff has been the province of hipsters, intellectuals and devoted Japanophiles; Stefani’s crossover appeal might just make it palatable to kids who shop in malls across America.