[Editor’s Note: I little while ago, I asked Darla (Toxic Tsukino) if she’d be interested in writing a guest post for this blog! Finding someone who’s so into the Gyaru subculture as I am is rare for me so I didn’t miss my chance. I’m ✨HONORED✨ to post this amazing piece here on Churikko and I hope you enjoy this read as much as I have! It’s the mother of all pop culture posts, so I’m making this a mini series + providing a small surprise and token of my appreciation at the end of this! Enjoy part 1! ♡]

The year is 1995: The Eurobeat boom is thriving with hits such as, “Try Me” are making waves across the country. The single not only airs on radio and television broadcasts but also is played at clubs such as Velfarre and Juliana’s where Para Para routines for this and many other tracks were enthusiastically performed by club-goers. The track “Try Me”, received dual attention as both an English and Japanese song. The Japanese renditions were performed by the infamous idol unit Super Monkeys, who came to be known for their standout front runner Namie Amuro. “Try Me” was only one of the few songs that would be a part of the Eurobeat staples that lined Namie’s previous activities with her idol unit, with songs such as, “Go! Go! Yume no Hayasade” being another hit that was given a dual-language version of the Eurobeat treatment. Other artists would eventually follow in the footsteps of Namie Amuro such as Hiroko Anzai, Hinoi Team, and briefly; AAA as they made their co-ed debut.

However, despite the impact that Super Monkeys left as a group, Avex eventually decided to break them up. The Super Monkeys would go on to be a part of the unit MAX, known for catchy dance tracks such as “Give me a Shake” and “Hikari no Veil”. They were not small fry in the industry despite their front-running lady becoming more well-known; They were the group that would become the blueprint for the girl-group Dream formed later on by Avex in the 2000s.

Namie Amuro was given a different fate by the entertainment label. This young artist, without even trying, easily stood out, and would have not thrived in a unit shared by other people. So, with this being kept in mind, unlike her fellow idol-members, Namie was to stand on her own among the larger acts of what was dubbed to be the TK Family. This family happened to all be artists that were produced under the infamous Avex producer and ex-member of synth-wave group TM Network, Tetsuya Komuro. He already created buzz outside of TM Network through his own group projects such as Globe and TRF. Namie Amuro was one of his many solo projects and one of his many new solo artist projects with other acts such as Hitomi and royally fucked over Ami Suzuki also being a part of the TK Family. However Namie, unlike Komuro’s other acts, would soon create massive waves that would set a high bar to be beaten beyond the music market in Japan but also the fashion industry.

It’s unknown as to whether or not Namie Amuro was a trend-setter or if the stylists in charge of her overall look had just so happened to follow the upcoming trends other young people were following in her beginning heyday. However, what is known is that her style created a mass following of fans who often copied her distinct sense of style. In the Super Monkeys, Namie’s style consisted of the typical nineties-style teen garb. Now as she made her solo debut, her style matured into something that teenagers became rather enamored with. She often wore clothes that consisted of fitted suit sets with a bare midriff present or mini-skirts that were paired with chunky style platform boots. Namie being part-Italian and being from the island of Okinawa naturally had stand-out qualities such as sun-kissed hair and skin, along with distinct facial features that people often wanted to emulate. Tans were appealing because it brought out the wispy untoned blonde highlights and metallic silver makeup much better than it would on pale skin. It was as on-brand to the mid and late nineties wave as it got.

While the beginnings of Gyaru were rumored to have already been existing organically before the era of Namie Amuro on the streets of Shibuya, it’s still undebatable that Namie Amuro’s presence in the pop-culture sphere of things contributed to Gyaru’s popularity overall. After all, Gyaru have always had a thing for celebrity worship. Before Namie, rich kids who could afford to purchase goods from overseas despite the steep price tag were most likely fascinated by American magazines and television dramas that featured the likes of Pamela Anderson alongside Los Angeles and Miami beach babes. Finally, Japan had a celebrity of their own that fit the aesthetic and lifestyle that they already were hyped-up on. Namie didn’t have a language barrier attached to her and that was appealing. Fans of her music were most likely already club-going guys and gals who were Para Para-ing to the Super Monkeys tracks on the narrow back streets of Dogenzaka Hill all while shopping at Shibuya 109 the afternoon after their club crawls, emulating the styles of their new Gyaru-friendly idol. In all, the continuation and evolution of the overall island Gyaru look was undoubtedly a nod towards Namie Amuro’s Okinawan roots. Individualistically consumers also desired an escape from the concrete-barred city life where parties ended when the sun rose, the first train rolled into the station, and the idea of a vacation away from the obligations of work or school was far off in the distance for many. A theory could be that people desired the easy-going vibe that came with a vacation all in the midst of a declining economy after the Bubble era finally burst. Young people took this desire and brought the vacation to the streets of Shibuya and were determined to make it a lifestyle that lasted beyond the hours of the neon-lit signs.

However, what comes up, must eventually come down. Namie Amuro’s first climb to fame by the time the late nineties rolled around would be short-lived. The pop star had found herself committed to having what was rumored to be a shot-gun marriage with TRF member Sam, due to her surprise pregnancy. She had gone on hiatus due to this and everything onwards from this time period seemed to have only spiraled downward further for Namie. Her fourth studio album, “Genius 2000” does well with her fans standing by her during the rise of the new millennium with “Never End” being an undebatable anthem. Just as it seemed like Namie was about to finally make a long-awaited permanent comeback after giving birth to her son and an album release, she received news that her mother and step-father were axe-murdered by Namie’s uncle from her biological father’s side of the family. To make matters worse, she then also faced a divorce after this tragedy had occurred.

Her fifth album, “Break the Rules” is released and has poor reception sounding dated compared to the music that was coming out around that time. In response to this, Namie departed from working with Tetsuya Komuro which ended up not being a beneficial move at the start of rebranding herself yet again. Her Komuro-less album, “Style” does not do well despite consisting of solid tracks such as “Come” and “Four Seasons” that would be used in the InuYasha anime franchise.