00:04This is my lifestyle.
00:09I feel like I'm going to live this way.
00:15At first, I'm the most beautiful person.
00:31Tokyo, Japan.
00:33This is a land known for order and discipline.
00:36But for every social custom and rule, there are those who seek to break them.
00:41I'm here to find Decora Girls.
00:51More than ten years after this iconic fashion subculture began, a new generation is pushing the limits even further.
00:58This is a culture where there are school uniforms, here there are uniforms for work, pretty much uniforms for everything.
01:04Kat is a German decorer living and teaching English in Tokyo.
01:08How does this allow you to really express who you are?
01:13Decora fashion is fun fashion.
01:14It's very against the mainstream of things.
01:17It's not in a magazine.
01:18It's not elegant.
01:19It's very much boom in your face.
01:21It can scare people a little bit.
01:23Some people just go,
01:24Ooh, that might be a weird person there.
01:26While Decora might be a direct rebellion against Japan's strict uniform culture,
01:31these girls aren't outcasts or loners.
01:34In fact, some of them are celebrities.
01:39It's very interesting.
01:44With over half a million followers on social media, Kuribayashi is one of the most famous Decora Girls in the
01:51world right now.
01:58And Yunyan is one of the rare Decora Boys with an equally fanatic following.
02:03I meet them at their favorite cafe, a self-styling salon in the neighborhood of Harajuku.
02:08Why do people feel that they have to come here to get ready?
02:12They can't do it at home?
02:13If you come to Harajuku, if you come to Harajuku,
02:15if you come to Harajuku, all of them are gathered together.
02:20So you can share it with them.
02:21So you can share it with them.
02:22It's a pattern that you can use here.
02:26It's cute!
02:29How long have you both been dressing Decora?
02:32About six or seven years.
02:37So this is your favorite Decora store?
02:40Yes.
02:46Fun as it may be, I have to wonder,
02:49could they be using the colorful barrettes and accessories to hide behind?
02:53You see this as being like a mask, like you're playing a character.
02:57Or you see this as being like a mask?
02:58It's not like a mask.
03:02It's not like a mask.
03:04It's not a mask.
03:05So then you can't have a mask on.
03:09I'll feel like I'm wearing a mask.
03:10It's like the fish is a skin.
03:13It's just like a shell.
03:14Why does it have to go?
03:15It's like the same thing.
03:19Kurabayashi and Junyan seem to embody this style completely.
03:24But what did Decora look like when it first began?
03:35So Shiaoki is the founder of Fruits magazine, the most respected publication in Japanese street fashion.
03:46He has been documenting Japanese street style for more than 20 years.
04:00The Decora girls that I've seen have really pushed the amount of accessories they wear to the limit.
04:18Japanese culture values the group over the individual. It's the way social order is maintained.
04:25Decora may be breaking the mold, but maybe it's still within the framework of what is accepted.
04:31I'm hoping to get some perspective from a Decora girl who lives outside the city.
04:37When I was in high school, I didn't have a difference.
04:4723 year old Kanaye lives in the suburbs of Tokyo with her husband, baby and extended family.
04:54Tonight, we're going to meet her friends in Harajuku.
04:57And she wants to show me how a Decora look comes together.
05:01I wanted to wear a costume from before.
05:05This is a colorful wig.
05:08This is an accessory.
05:11So how long does it normally take you to get ready?
05:14It's about 2 hours.
05:18Two hours?
05:20Two.
05:21Wow.
05:23How do you decide the arrangement of all the hair clips?
05:39With it, a slow introduction into Decora, or you just one morning decided, I like this style, and you did
05:45the whole thing?
05:56The look is complete?
05:59Of course, a little bit more.
06:02What do you think of Kanaye dressed in Decora?
06:21As we leave the grey suburbs behind, I see Kanaye's demeanor begin to change.
06:26Decora isn't an elaborate costume, or even something to hide behind.
06:31It's just an outer expression of something inside that's just waiting to get out.
06:36But an example, I think that it's amazing to see what's actually a coincidence is.
06:41I think that's fun.
06:48Decora is important.
06:50If you are doing it, it's the best feeling that has ever seen before.
06:56I think it's the freedom of expression.
06:59You don't have to look everyday the same,
07:01you wear the things you love.
07:02The way you want to wear them.
07:04This is not a label, it's not someone else's thing, it's my thing.
07:21Decora truly is a fearless fashion, a celebration of who you are.
07:27It's a reminder to let go of the rules and just wear what makes you feel good.
07:32Have fun with fashion.
