''Fruits'' (stylized "FRUiTS") was a monthly

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

street fashion Street fashion is fashion that is considered to have emerged not from studios, but from the grassroots streetwear. Street fashion is generally associated with youth culture, and is most often seen in major urban centers. Magazines and Newspapers ...

magazine founded in 1997 by

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

Shoichi Aoki is a Japanese photographer and creator of the magazines ''STREET,'' ''TUNE,'' and ''Fruits (magazine), FRUiTS.'' He also subsequently created the ''Fruits'' and ''Fresh Fruits'' (collections of Japanese street fashion) photo-books as a way of offe ...

. Though FRUiTS covered styles found throughout

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, it is associated most closely with the fashion subcultures found in Tokyo's Harajuku district. The magazine primarily focused on individual styles found outside the fashion-industry mainstream, as well as subcultures specific to Japan, such as

lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Humber ...

and

ganguro is a fashion trend among young Japanese women that started in the mid-1990s, distinguished by a dark tan and contrasting make-up liberally applied by fashionistas. The Shibuya and Ikebukuro districts of Tokyo were the centres of ''ganguro'' fash ...

, and local interpretations of larger subcultures like

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and

goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...

Content

FRUiTS featured a simple layout, with the bulk of the magazine made up of single full-page photographs accompanied by a brief profile of the photographed person, which included their age, occupation, and a description of what brands they were wearing (if applicable), as well as their self-described "point of fashion" (style inspiration). Most issues included only a couple of advertisements, and typically only for local businesses. Occasional special-edition issues of FRUiTS also included more extensive profiles of frequently photographed people, or reader-created artwork.

Worldwide reception

FRUiTS helped lead Western interest in Japanese fashion as some of its photographs became first popular in the fashion community, then synonymous with Japanese fashion in the West. A selection of photographs from its earlier issues were showcased in the books ''Fruits'' (2001) and ''Fresh Fruits'' (2005), both published by

Phaidon Press Phaidon Press is a global publisher of books on art, architecture, design, fashion, photography, and popular culture, as well as cookbooks, children's books, and travel books. The company is based in London and New York City, with additional off ...

. An exhibition of Aoki's photographs for the magazine, developed by the

Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Park, Sydney, Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle ...

, has toured museums in Australia and New Zealand.

Closure

After 20 years and 233 issues, Shoichi Aoki announced in February 2017 that FRUiTS magazine would cease publication effective immediately because "there are no more cool kids to photograph".

References

External links

Official siteThe editor of FRUiTS magazine on the rise and fall of Harajuku, i-D JapanFruits Fan CommunityFruits Exhibition at the Powerhouse in Sydney
{{Japanese fashion magazines 1997 establishments in Japan 2017 disestablishments in Japan Defunct magazines published in Japan Fashion magazines published in Japan Japanese subcultures Magazines established in 1997 Magazines disestablished in 2017 Magazines published in Tokyo Monthly magazines published in Japan Shibuya

Content

Worldwide reception

Closure

See also

References

External links