Japanese Photographer Rei Shito on Documenting Fashion Week and Japan’s Street Style Culture

Japanese photographer Rei Shito tells us her mission to document Japan’s street style culture and her experience photographing different fashion weeks

Rei Shito wears many hats. But the one that she’s most known for is her continuous documentation of the street style culture in Japan. It’s something that she’s been doing since 2004, at the height of the popularity of Fruits, a cult fanzine that celebrates the bold, unafraid and ever-evolving fashion and sub-culture specific to Japan and especially Harajuku in Tokyo. The magazine helped piqued the interest of those overseas into Japanese street fashion, with some of its photographers becoming one with Japanese fashion—one of whom is Rei Shito.

The Japanese photographer has become one of the most influential street style photographers and fashion bloggers and even when Fruits ceased publication in 2017 due to the “lack of cool kids to photograph,” Shito still continues on with her work, publishing a book last year to both relive and re-energise the street fashion scene. But besides frequenting the streets of Tokyo, Shito is also a familiar face in fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris—both as a photographer and a fashionable attendee in her own right.

After the conclusion of Tokyo Fashion Week and just as she prepares for Paris Fashion Week, Tatler caught up with the photographer to talk about her experience photographing the biggest fashion shows and the evolving street style culture in Japan.

Above Photo: Courtesy of Rei Shito

How did you get into fashion?

When I went to university, I came to live in Tokyo and started going to Harajuku. At that time, there were many fashionable people in Harajuku so I joined the “Harajuku Fashion Community” and my interest in fashion was awakened. I also learned a lot about fashion from the Tokyo fashion community, as I was working as a model at the same time as my studies. I think those experiences had a big impact on me.

From there, how did you get into photography?

I got into the world of photography by accident when the editor-in-chief of popular Japanese fashion magazines, Fruits, Tune and Street suddenly asked me to take a picture for one of their magazines. At that time, I didn’t have any knowledge of photography, much less any interest in it, but I couldn't imagine turning down an offer from the editor-in-chief, so I accepted the job. I learned a lot about photography by actually doing it.

You’re as fashionable as the people you photograph. How would you describe your own sense of style?

Thank you for saying so. I think my style is a lot of things—Tokyo style, mixture, layered, borderless and going beyond the rules of existing concepts. This is both my own style and Tokyo’s style.

Before you became a photographer, you worked as a model in magazines, TV commercials, music videos and shows. How was the experience like?

I think it was a valuable experience to be able to work with veterans in the fashion and media industries and to actually see and feel how they work.

PARIS, FRANCE - JANUARY 27: Fashion blogger Rei Shito poses wearing a Keita Maruyama coat and Givenchy bag during day 3 of Paris Haute Couture Spring Summer 2015 on January 27, 2015 in Paris, France. (Photo by Vanni Bassetti/Getty Images)

Above Fashion blogger Rei Shito poses wearing a Keita Maruyama coat and Givenchy bag during day 3 of Paris Haute Couture Spring Summer 2015 on January 27, 2015 in Paris, France. (Photo by Vanni Bassetti/Getty Images)

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 1: Rei Shito outside the Sacai show during Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2019 on October 1, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Melodie Jeng/Getty Images)

Above Rei Shito outside the Sacai show during Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2019 on October 1, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Melodie Jeng/Getty Images)

**You worked for notable street fashion magazines such Street, Fruits and Tune. Tell us what that was like?**

Every day I would go out on the streets and talk to people I liked and take pictures of them...it was a lot of fun. The people that I meet and talk to on the streets inspire me every day.

In one word, how would you describe Japan's street style fashion?

Freedom.

What style stood out to you as a photographer?

There are so many fascinating styles that it’s hard to choose. The photo that actually became a big trigger for me—and this will sound ironic—was a homeless man I took in Aoyama, the most high-end street in Tokyo during my time at Fruits.

The photo still burned in the back of my eyes. He wore a knit hat and a blue and white floral dress around his neck like a stole for the sidelines. I can still see it in my mind’s eye: the layered look, the sneakers on the feet, the oversized knit hat that was worn haphazardly, the size, the silhouette, the choice of colours, the overall atmosphere...it was so cool that I called out to him during that time.

It’s like art brut, where you feel fashion in a place that is not fashion. In other words, art brut fashion always impresses me.

Photo 1 of 3 Photo: Courtesy of Rei Shito

Photo 2 of 3 Photo: Courtesy of Rei Shito

Photo 3 of 3 Photo: Courtesy of Rei Shito

What’s the state of the street fashion scene in Japan now? Is it still popular?

In my opinion, the focus in the Japanese fashion scene should be on adult women in their late 30s or later and young men. Among the women in their late 30s and beyond, it should be noted that they are more passionate about fashion and are wearing more challenging clothes than before. Also, it seems that young men are more passionate about fashion than girls these days. They really enjoy wearing clothes. Based on these two observations, I still think the street fashion scene is popular.

**Some noted that fewer people dress up in the streets of Tokyo than in the past which is why street fashion magazines like Fruits shut down, would you agree?**

I didn’t think of it that way this is true for fashion, art, music, and everything else in life. When you’re at the centre of a culture, you’re always meeting new people and seeing new things being born. It’s always exciting and fun, but once you are out of the circle, you are far away from new stimulation and information about what is happening now.

As a result, the things you used to find interesting become uninteresting. When you find something uninteresting, it’s a chance to stop and think about whether what you are watching has become uninteresting or whether you yourself have become an uninteresting person.

You also photographed fashion weeks—from New York, London, Milan and Paris—how different is Tokyo Fashion Week from those in terms of style?

In New York, Milan, London, and Paris, editors, buyers, stylists, influencers, and many other people gather from all over the world, but Japan is just a local market. There are only a few people who come to Japan. Also, there are not many well-known brands that show at Tokyo Fashion Week.

Above Photo: Courtesy of Rei Shito

**You published a book, Style on the Street: From Tokyo and Beyond. Tell us about that.**

It’s been a long time coming for me to publish a book from Rizzoli (an Italian book publisher). If you keep thinking about it, your dreams will come true. That's how I felt when the decision was made to publish the book.

The book contains street snaps of Tokyo, street snaps of other countries, and interviews with key people in the fashion industry such as the designer of Sacai and Scott of Sartorialist. The Tokyo street snaps depict not only the fashion but also the lives and stories of the subjects behind the fashion through photos and text. With 20 tips, it's a great read.

What are the street fashion trends these days? Is it different from the past?

I feel that the so-called “big trend” has disappeared. I also feel that the trend of diversity is spreading, and more and more people are enjoying clothes in their own way with various values.

What do you think is the next big street style trend? Where is street style headed?

I can’t say for sure. Thanks to Covid-19, the fashion world has come to a halt. When the pandemic settles down a new trend will begin. For now, I’m quietly waiting for that to happen.

Topics

rei shito street photographer fashion photographer photographer tokyo fashion week street style street culture harajuku fashion harajuku sub-culture

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