NUR HIDAYAH (HAZEL) sits down with a Harajuku advocate to discuss her experience with judgement, online hate, and being herself.
Just like any other Saturday in 2018, Ms Vanessa Leong, 24, and her friends were hanging out at Orchard Gateway. They were taking pictures when suddenly, they heard someone shout: “I didn’t know hungry ghosts came out during the day.”
This is just one of many instances of hate Ms Vanessa faces when she dresses up in Harajuku fashion in Singapore.
Ms Vanessa is no stranger to side-eyes and name-calling from strangers.
It all started in 2012 when Ms Vanessa was still dealing with the growing pains of being a teenager. The constant bullying and social anxiety made her feel alienated in school.
This then led her to discover the online Harajuku fashion community.
Ms Vanessa’s parents were initially “confused and worried” by her interest in Harajuku fashion, according to Ms Cynthia Leong, 28, Ms Vanessa’s sister, but soon “slowly accepted it” when they saw how much “happier and outgoing” she was.
By 2016, she started uploading photos of herself in Harajuku online. In addition to making life-long friends, she started gaining attention from Instagram users worldwide and has amassed over 47,400 followers.
Despite this, not all that glitters is gold.
Aside from the constant experience of getting stares and having strangers take pictures of her without permission, Ms Vanessa has also received her share of criticism online, with the height of it being on a notorious forum called Pretty Little Ugly Liars in 2018.
“She’s so fake her nose isn’t even the same shape,” said one member.
“I saw some of her pictures online and didn’t even realise it was the same person I had met multiple times through mutual friends. She doesn’t even dress like that IRL (in real life),” said another.
“Well, it’s true that I don’t wear... Harajuku outfits all the time just [because] it takes so long to get dressed up. But I’m not fake,” Ms Vanessa says.
“I mainly dress up when I go out with friends or when I go for photoshoots,” she says. "They only see what I post online, not my private life."
Ms Vanessa also admits that she dresses “normally” for her full-time job due to dress code requirements, and when she runs errands for convenience’s sake, which could explain why users have met her without her Harajuku get-up on.
Despite this, Ms Vanessa still chooses to dress up in Harajuku fashion for herself and her supporters. “I wear Harajuku [because] it’s who I am and my supporters like me for me,” Ms Vanessa says.
“Harajuku [fashion] was the first thing that helped me get over my insecurities and fears. I’m always meeting new people and having new different opportunities because of Harajuku [fashion]. I’ve just never been happier,” Ms Vanessa adds.
Mr Tackey Lim, 24, Ms Vanessa’s partner, said that Ms Vanessa is “legit” as he has personally seen her grow as a person and an influencer throughout the six years they have been together.
Ms Vanessa says: “If not for Harajuku [fashion], I might have still been the shy and scared self I was 10 years ago."
Since gaining popularity online, Ms Vanessa has started up her own business called Beast Dodeka, where she designs and hand-makes Harajuku clothing items. She did so as a means for other Singaporeans to have more access to Harajuku fashion and to make some extra income.
“It would definitely be a dream of mine to make Harajuku clothes for a living,” Ms Vanessa says.
Despite the growing Harajuku fashion scene in Singapore, Ms Vanessa notes that the market for Harajuku fashion is still relatively small. Hence, she hopes that through her influence, she would be able to help put Harajuku fashion on the center stage of Singapore’s fashion scene in the future.
When asked about advice she would give to those who fear going out in Harajuku fashion, she says:
“Just do it. People will judge you and hate you no matter what you do. So don’t let haters and strangers stop you from doing what you love.”
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