The Potential and Issues with Koakuma Ageha's THIRD Revival (2021 Edition) -Ginza Gals and Omotesando Aunties

 

When Koakuma Ageha died the first time I was devastated. I was sad how natural it had gotten but it absolutely didn't prepare me for how stale the infamous swallowtail butterfly look was going to go towards by its second revival. 

Koakuma Ageha's round two of reviving itself was actually exciting for me. Sakurai Rina was a huge part of the magazine. DaTuRa and Rady were thriving with 3D floral prints being something that was actually really unique and trademark to this older agejo style. However, towards the end of Koakuma Ageha's run, things became stale. 

Golds Infinity, DaTuRa, Ghost of Harlem, etc had died off. Rady has toned town to Ginza Gal streetwear level and EmiriaWiz looks like Omotesando Auntie wear.

To define these terms. The reference to "Ginza Gal" used to be terminology in the early 2000s for women or even gyaru who only flaunted and wore high-end luxury brands by Western designers. They were dubbed "Ginza Gals". They would have jewelry by Tiffany's and Harry Winston. They'd wear have a Hermes scarf around their neck and a matching bag the price of a car payment on their arm. They'd have Jimmy Choos on their feet and Chanel suit sets on their bodies. In all? They were older established women and while gyaru do occasionally flaunt brand name items. Omotesando Aunties are less eccentric. They're more modest looking. I'm not sure how to describe it but a Ginza Gal might be a little bit more gaudy and younger with dyed blonde hair and a Chanel tweed look while an Omottesando Auntie wears long skirts, knit Ponchos, a Hermes bag, and darker hair colors, and is typically (or was) older. 

Emiri Aizawa new toned-down look is the definition of Omotesando Auntie. It's high-end but conservative and very natural. 

 Coco Airi is the epitome of a Ginza Gal. She's still GAL but her look is suuuuper unattainable for the normal everyday gal. Her outfits, accessories, and bags probably cost as much as a car. Emiri Aizawa USED to be a Ginza Gal before her image and brand change. 

Omotesando and Ginza are really famously expensive ritzy neighborhoods in Tokyo with high end luxury stores and high ass rent. One term is official while the other is one I kind of made up but I think it makes sense if I could find a reference to wtf I'm talking about (Emiri Aizawa's current look is a fucking Omottesando Auntie lmao as is Okarie's and Kumicky's...). 

The whole ma*rs motif was everywhere as well as overly cheap-looking lacey body con dresses and less big hair and suuuuper light make up. The blackxpink and the grey check colorway was everywhere and it's still remained a thing TO this day to the point where I can't tell Ma*rs, Liz Lisa, or Ank Rouge apart from one another. The same light makeup is applied with overly lined lips and red undereye puffy eye makeup that has even bled into bangya territory lately. Even RiinaCouture is on that larmey/dusty pink/black/white level that isn't very interesting to me. 

In all? It's monotonous. Imagine my shock where Koakuma Ageha when I heard that the magazine is reviving for a third time and without Sakurai Rina as one of the main gals. The whole reason it was supposedly killed off the first time was because she was such an iconic part of it and I agree. A big mistake the last time with the round two revivals was the fact that their iconic charisma models were getting older and there wasn't a girl that they had hyped up enough to fill in the shoes of Emiri Aizawa and Sakurai Rina. Both women stood out enough to where I knew who they were and could point them out in the magazines. It was hard to say the same for other models. They all looked the same and dressed the same to me. 

Agejo has definitely died out and I think there are a couple of issues with the whole Ageha movement. First off, the fact that it's gone the direction of becoming a straight-up "Ginza Gal" magazine. ThI think a huge issue with gyaru is the fact that it has become too many luxury items versus just bags and accessories from luxury brands. 

Rady doing the casual "street wear" look with Shizuka Mutou flaunting a Chanel bag that isn't a part of her brand in her brand photos. 

Nowadays hostesses have every requirement of what a Ginza gal is and even gyaru, in general, wear a lot of Balenciaga, Supreme, and Gucci even in streetwear. It's the ultimate flaunt but it's incredibly unattainable and not very unique to fans from the West. We see the brands constantly on fame-hungry Instagrammers who are unrelatable with their luxury island vacations and hot-girl bodies. If anything, J-Fashion way back when, was an escape from this standard and it's now infiltrated gyaru. 

The appeal of Koakuma Ageha was the fact that it was attainable fashion and brands had trademark designs that were unique to their brands only. I'm definitely not saying they didn't take things from luxury brands as inspiration/or straight up copied but they most definitely would place their own unique twist on things and it would be at a pretty attainable price point. 

I think this is why agejo even outside of the hostess industry was even a thing. It attainable and not every gal wanted to be a hostess. Some just looked up to Barbie, Elle Woods, or Sharpay Evans for inspiration...and more realistically, the princess vibes of Paris Hilton. 

Seeing how hostesses dress even now, is kind of dull. The cuts of certain dresses make no sense or look like shit an older woman would wear compared to some of the younger gals. They're aging them up more than necessary. It's giving gals who wanted to look like the women from Ageha no inspiration because 1. it's an aged style. 2. It's super unattainable when it's nothing but really expensive luxury brands. Koakuma Ageha is more of the Ginza Gal look if it does look young or if it's too plain or aged up-it straight up looked like Omotesando Auntie status. 

Honestly, I've seen the same with Egg magazine as well. It's too focused on flex and not enough unique design or creativity. 

HOWEVER, seeing Koakuma Ageha's current promo, I can see the potential there. The model who is in their promo video ad is super gorgeous and I can see the nod to Sakurai Rina in her look. Some of their girls that are interviewed on the new YouTube look really fun and charismatic and have an interesting look that could definetely be Ageha-esque. 

 

 The magazine has to potential to be fun. Previous brands could also make a huge comeback and standout from their competition in the future. 

There's been a huge desexifiction in Japanese fashion for a while not and I'm wondering if it's ever going to be old. Also, COVID is affecting the economy, and flaunting luxury items might soon be in poor taste considering how people are financially struggling. Not only that but the hostess and host industry has taken a large hit I think due to social distancing requirements as well as people just not having as much money to blow on nightlife activities. 

This may point towards J-Fashion to need to rely on creativity and have brand staples that set each of their designs separated out from their competition's lines. I think another really cool thing to add to Ageha would be a men's section. Mainly because women read the magazine and due to the female following, it may be nice to have male models promoting brands and clubs to the readers. Hell, I always look at the brand Civarize and go, "I'm a woman and I want to fucking wear this shit". It's gorgeous shit and I highly recommend following Civarize's Instagram accounts or investing in some items. 

It would be also nice to see brands like Ma*rs utilize on the fact that Y2K fashion is trending heavily. They don't have to go their route but I could definetely want to buy items from them if they steered away from larme and went more into blinged-out t-shirts, body con skirts with lace, cute pumps..and just an overall more mature girlier image that doesn't look so common and even juvenile/yami kawaii looking. 

(The fact that Ma*rs hasn't capitalized on shit like this is a little shocking to me. Yes, it's gaudy as fuck but Ma*rs used to be THIS gaudy with heart chain belts, bling, and hot pink). 

Rady could also utilize on having a slight image change without being too over the top or too "auntie" looking possibly.

These are younger women so there need to be brands that appeal to their age range that aren't "out of touch" but are also not too out of trend. I think if there's a lot of diversity in their model lineup and just something that caters to everyone, I can see round three of Koakuma Ageha being around for a while.

What's your opinion on the newly revived Koakuma Ageha? Do you see potential or it staying around for a bit? What do you think would keep it around? Are there any models that strike your fancy? Let me know in the comment section below! :) Until next time guys!