visual kei

For many, the phrase “visual kei” is encountered for the first time. And if the first part of this short phrase can be translated independently, having taken out primitive knowledge of the English language from the depths of the subconscious, then things are much worse with the mysterious kei. And all because you need to move not in English, but in Japanese direction. It was Japan in the 80s of the last century that became the birthplace of a specific musical genre, which was based on glam rock, metal and punk rock. This musical direction was called visual kei, which literally means «visual style». Its meaning is to convey to the listener a piece of his soul, not only through music, but also through the visible, usually shocking appearance of the artist. After all, it is characterized by unusual makeup, complex hairstyles, bright costumes and androgynous aesthetics — a mixture of feminine and masculine principles in one image.

Unusual subculture

Today, the once unique musical genre is already something more than just music, today it is a whole subculture of visual kei, formed, first of all, by the numerous fans of the bands who worked in this direction. Young people belonging to this subculture call themselves visual kids. The visual kei style is often based on images borrowed from other branches of the peculiar Japanese culture: animation — anime, fine art — manga, as well as video games. To date, the visual kei style has come a long way of evolution, which resulted in its gradation into separate classes and types. Among them, there are about 15-20 largest categories, which can both differ quite significantly, and borrow certain external features from each other.

dress properly

In view of such a variety, it is quite difficult to determine which visual kei clothing is traditional for this style. But still, let’s dig a little into the wardrobes of visual kids. So, if it’s about Oshare kei — a fashionable and elegant visual style, then its adherents are young, optimistic people dressed according to all the rules of Japanese glamorous street fashion. Their clothes are dominated by bright and colorful colors — mostly pinks, blues and yellows. As for the outfits themselves, it can be dresses, and skirts, and jeans with T-shirts or T-shirts. Accessories are all kinds of hairpins, bows, caps, beads and scarves.

Kote keion the contrary, is a more gloomy style akin to Gothic, where black tone prevails in the costumes, as well as a heavy combination of leather and metal.

Nagoya-kei — another subspecies of style, the hallmark of which is the wearing of dark, but more restrained in terms of cut and details of costumes.

Speaking of visual style clothing, it is impossible not to mention Kotekote kei. Perhaps the representatives of this trend were among the most extraordinary and memorable to the viewer. The Kotekote kei bands amazed with leather and latex suits, corsets, very large platform boots and a huge number of accessories.

Completing the look

As you can see, the clothes of the participants in this Japanese subculture are quite diverse, unusual and defiant. But in all images of visual kids there is something that makes them all full members of a unique youth movement. These unifying elements are hairstyles and makeup.

Visual kei hairstyles are a challenge to modern hairdressing. These are unimaginable shapes and flashy colors: red, pink, orange, purple or blue, although among all this diversity there are ordinary light and black heads. Visual kei makeup also differs in a non-standard approach. His main requirement is a strongly whitened face, on which luscious lips and bright, dark eyes stand out clearly.

This is such a bright and mysterious world of visual kei, which is spreading farther and farther today beyond the borders of native Japan.