Kawaii: The Aesthetic of Cute in Japan
Guest Speaker: Toby Slade
Summary
This talk explores the origins of the aesthetics of kawaii and kawaii fashion in Japan from the early 1970s, a period that followed political unrest and student protests. As violent activism lost legitimacy, many young people turned to alternative, often ironic forms of expression. Kawaii emerged as one such response: not merely a love of cute things, but a subtle challenge to seriousness, hierarchy, and rigid social expectations. From the playful handwriting styles of schoolgirls to the romantic, doll-like clothing of brands like Pink House, kawaii became a language of emotional expression, particularly for young women. Far from frivolous, this aesthetic can be read as a quiet but potent political statement, an ironic, joyful rejection of adult norms and patriarchal values.
Profile of Toby Slade
Associate Professor Toby Slade is a fashion researcher at the University of Technology Sydney and an authority on Japanese fashion and popular culture. His work explores how clothing reflects shifting ideas of social value in Japan, from historical dress to contemporary luxury. After 16 years in Japan, teaching at the University of Tokyo and Bunka Gakuen University, Toby published Japanese Fashion: A Cultural History, the first English-language book to survey Japan’s fashion history in full, and co-edited Introducing Japanese Popular Culture, where fashion is treated as central to cultural identity. He is a founding member of the Research Collective for Decolonialising Fashion and guest editor of Fashion Theory’s special issue on the topic. His current research focuses on rethinking fashion history from a non-Western perspective, including a project on evolving notions of luxury in Japan.
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